in pursuit of wild things

The kids get a break from history and memorization drills since I went to the dentist this morning. I had some fillings that were deteriorating and one cavity. I opted to get the work done in one sitting so my entire mouth is currently numb. It is all I can do not to drool on myself at the moment. The kid with braces and an expander is completely sympathetic; the rest are highly amused. I went through the usual routine of a complete over reaction to the anesthetic shot and had to listen to the doctor’s same little pep talk about the fight or flight response. Anyway, I was more concerned with my encounter with the dental chair than the dental work. I was up most of last night with constant back pain. I could not get comfortable enough last night to fall asleep. Once they elevated my feet the chair wasn’t so uncomfortable. I hope my back is a bit better before going into work tomorrow.

March is generally a tough month for me with home education. I am usually a bit done with our current materials and full of new ideas from researching for the upcoming school year. Now that I am a few years in to this homeschooling lifestyle the research is more inspiring than difficult. I’ve already got my list prepared for next month’s convention and my Rainbow Resources wish list is online. At this point I only need to select some novels for my crew to read. We have three and a half months remaining for this school year. We need to cover history from the American Revolution to the Civil War and the westward expansion. I doubt we will get these materials finished in time. In the past I would have totally flipped but I know it isn’t really much of a tragedy for studies to carry over to the next academic year. We’ve already finished our current art studies, poetry studies and a science text. We are ready for a few new books.

Sparkles’ follow-up with her specialist went well enough and we do not have to go back until June. She is now down to only one medication. Some days she still feels bad but most days are good. Her red blood count is still low which indicates either anemia or that she is still bleeding internally. The doctor isn’t too concerned since this is normal for UC. But I worry anyway.

Middle Boy worked the lower wire off of his braces yesterday. The dentist decided to go ahead and put in his upper wire which was scheduled for the next visit. He also put in a stronger lower wire that Middle Boy could not work loose with his tongue. I wonder how many emergency trips to the dentist I’ll be making with this kid…

Last week was project week. I will need to rethink how to do these in the future. We didn’t get as much done as we would have liked now that I work away from home. I plan to work in a few of the projects we missed as science experiments (cheese making) and a few of the others with read-alouds. Oldest and I discovered that basket making is challenging but the end result is satisfying. He worked on some tin punching and made a few meals. He still has a fish dinner to make sometime this week. Middle Boy made a working night-light, designed and made a Minecraft inspired felt cube, and helped Littlest with a few projects. Littlest learned needle felting and also designed a felt cube. His cube was inspired from a game called Geometry Dash. Sparkles spent most of her time making a rag doll. She also made a few catnip toys for her cat and a couple of desserts.

My husband and Oldest travelled to the old house again this past weekend to prep the house for the market. It goes back on the market some time this week. I hope it sells very soon. I will always love that house but it breaks my heart to know it is empty. I know it sounds cold but I would be okay if I never saw the house again. I find it hard to visit places I used to live. Even if the memories are good and sweet.

The kids have been working on math and some independent studies this morning. I plan for us to watch a documentary before lunch. Most likely I’ll doze off but then they can narrate the information back to me. Maybe my mouth will no longer be numb and I can indulge in a cup of coffee afterward…

poetry breakfast

Poetry breakfast time cuddles

tin punching

using sewing cards

project week

finished basket

traveling west

snow at the old house

Elkhorn Creek

herding his bunnies

Monty and Polly

bubble fun

poetry and breakfast