I finished my first semester back in school with a 4.0. To lessen the time I'm in school, I took a few summer classes, including Calculus. That was intense. But, I made it through with my 4.0 in tact. Phew. I'm currently taking a couple classes - Calc II and introduction to computer programming -, working part-time on the weekends at a Crisis nursery, and am a TA during the week at a math lab on campus. My schedule is erratic and often opposite of Ben so that he and I can switch caring for the kids. We're often juggling the whole trade off with our one car thing, but we're making it all work.
Ben is busy in his job. I can't remember if I mentioned this at all, but Ben was promoted around January to a manager position as tech support manager (meaning he basically solves the tech problems at the contact center). He is beloved by all and very busy. I am grateful that he and I can support each other in our work/school spheres by contributing equally to our family sphere.
The children are boisterous, generous, and very sweet. Since Emily missed the Kindergarten deadline by a few weeks, she is continuing with preschool. But, since preschool is quite expensive, I've homeschooling her and her brother. It's going quite well. This first month was all about bugs. We learned about Arachnids, Beetles (and Bees), and Caterpillars. We've watched The Secret Life of Bugs and colored a variety of bug pictures. We've collected and discussed the various bugs in our backyard. The kids could identify many spiders, caterpillars, and beetles. I may not be as organized as I'd like to be (which makes sense considering I have one day off a week, Friday), but I certainly try to engage them in various school related things each day.
Emily is quickly picking up on reading. She's had all the skills in place for sometime now - letter and sound recognition, punctuation knowledge, spelling ability - but hasn't really shown an interest in putting it all together until recently. I picked up a bunch of I can read books from the library so she and I can read a paragraph or two together daily. The one subject that Emily thrives in is math. She really enjoys math problems. I try to include math into everyday living by asking math-related questions regarding our routine.
Andrew is getting interested in various forms of learning. He knows the letters A, B, and C and is starting to get interested in counting and other forms of math. He loves to sing and dance and is quite goofy. He can make all of us laugh by his movements and jokes.
Amelia is doted on by all. She barely started walking this past week but still prefers the faster - for now - mode of crawling. She has started saying some words, like "all done!" "dog!" and, of course, "dadda" and "momma." She loves all of us so very much. She likes to play and sing and read and chase after Emily and Andrew.
Our house is in various forms of chaos at all times. Emily and Andrew are getting very good at helping with little chores - like putting away dishes (Andrew's favorite thing), cleaning up their toys, and putting away the dishes they've used into the sink. Despite that, the messes just continue, as they are want to do. The laundry is an incessant monster always lurking in the background (and all over counters, tables, floors, etc). The dishes refuse to stay clean. Crumbs and dirt jump all over the floors and couches. For some strange reason, we must clean regularly or else it gets dirtier.
So, in a nutshell, we're as busy as ever. In all the hubbub, though, we manage to fit in regular family dinners, small outings, and family togetherness.
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