Three Thought Thursday: Episode 38

1. This week, it's kind of all about the new way of doing things around here. Yes, this week was the official kick-off to "school." Three days in and we're going strong! It's been both easier and harder than I expected it to be. Easier in the organization, planning, putting together aspect, and harder in the actual teaching part. I know, I know. I used to be a teacher! Like a public school one! But that was ninth graders. This is a two, almost three year old. Fifteen-year-olds know when to drop the sarcasm and silliness. (Usually.) Two-year-olds think it's funny to respond with "rooster!" every time I ask what a baby cow is called. I even left it alone for a day and returned to it the next, only to get the same answer. But all in all, it's been a great success so far. Kolbe loves when I ask, "Are you ready for school this morning?" And his learning board has become the perfect show-and-tell for when Dada gets home in the evening. And best of all, it has added some much needed structure to our days. Now instead of pulling my hair out when we reach a lull in our daily activities, I already have something planned. And if the activity I have planned doesn't take as long as I expected, I can always go back and review stuff we've learned so far. And each "school thing" we do really only takes about forty-five minutes. So the other things we used to do and still need to do (like the grocery store, for instance) still get done. It's nice. Really nice. I love structure! And so far, the boys do too. In fact, here's a quick pic of our learning board so far this week (number is today and rhyme is tomorrow...):

A few people have asked, so I'll dish: The "curriculum" we're following is the one found at http://www.letteroftheweek.com/. We are doing the Step One: Preparatory Curriculum. It's kind of like a pre-cursor to learning phonetics. So they're just learning what the letters and numbers look like...not the sounds and variations just yet. If all goes well, we'll be moving on to that in the spring. In case you're interested, the site offers various programs for children from birth up to elementary age. We're following this for now, with various living skills and Bible lessons added in.

2. In addition to our new "school" routine, we've also started a new Wednesday morning activity: Bible Study. Actually, it's more of a women's prayer and study group that I was invited to join. Right now we're going through a book about praying for our husbands. The women in it are the women from our Feast and Friendship group at church, but from what I've been told, anyone who wants to come is invited. (In case anyone is interested, it's on Wednesday morning at 7:45am) When first invited, I definitely balked at the time, but since some of the women work, this was the best time available. And really, it's rough getting out of the house that early with the boys, but I keep reminding myself that most working moms do that every.single.day! (God bless you!) We've been two weeks in a row, and I must say that it has definitely been worth it. I love having the fellowship time with other women, and have really gotten a lot out of our discussions about praying and caring for our husbands. It's easy to feel alone some times, when in all actuality, all married people are going through similar situations. Sharing with others helps so much!

3. Mark made it through his first week of work and is knee deep in week two. Last week made for crazy hours due to him being on call. This week hasn't involved any middle of the night phone calls, but he has worked insane hours. Six-thirty am to seven pm pretty much every day. We keep having to remind ourselves that this, just like Midland, is only temporary. He's training right now. Of course they're going to want him to stay for every single case and watch every single surgery. It's the only way he'll learn. Down the road, he and the other P.A. he works with will be able to trade off and hopefully we'll see him a lot more! It's a sacrifice we have to make for now. In order to have the life we dream of having later. And oh yeah...tonight he's off on a trip to Vegas for a conference. Completely paid for by his job. Three nights, all expenses paid to the Bellagio. Lord knows I've never been privileged enough to go to Vegas, but from what I hear the Bellagio is like the nicest of the nicest on the Vegas strip. And yes, I looked in to going with him, but the flights were completely booked meaning I couldn't use a buddy pass, and to buy one was going to be about $600. I don't think so. Maybe next time. He also got a new iPhone from them as well as a new Sony laptop. Perks! Lucky dog! I wonder if he could convince them that his wife needs an iPad...