5:30a-6:45a
Time to rise and shine. Getting dressed and ready for the day, then it's our normal morning chores (coffees to go, empty and reload dishwasher, make lunches for the babies, make lunches for the parents, packing a snack for Violet who has double practice this afternoon. Then I set out breakfast choices - breakfast bars, prep food for guinea pig, & pack and ready backpacks.
I also had to braid Gem's hair this morning before I left. I also put ground beef in the fridge to thaw and packed a snack for afterschool for the kids because Gem has a game. A LOT of forward thinking starts every day. (Bless B for tending the farm every the morning and sets the coffee to brew at 5a for us. He also like SuperDad gets all 6 kids out the door and to where they need to be every morning on his own!) Then its a squeeze and a kiss goodbye to everyone before I head out to the day.
Commute to work and listen to The Reformatory: A Novel by Tananarive Due. It is such a compelling story and the narrator is so incredible. I am locked in and I really do enjoy the drive to work to get my head ready for a day with kiddos.
Right after my last elementary class, I hop in the car and head for the high school because I have eighth grade expo special at 10:55am! We are on week 2 of expo class so we are learning target structures (camina, corre, ve) and today we did some translations and a 'snowball' battle to make it a little more fun. Always a big hit in class when we do snowball battles and since I am a mom of 6, the level of chaos I can tolerate is pretty extreme, so it works for me. LOL
Deep breath. It's lunch/prep. I close my door like a recluse and eat in total silence usually while reading or staring into the void. LOL. It was an entire morning of entertaining, leading, and monitoring kids - so let me have these few moments in disassociation (hah). Before the period is over though, I get copies made for the afternoon or next day, put in some grades, and stop at the bathroom because the afternoon is generally another sprint.
End of the day wrap up. Making copies, taking down notes about lessons for next week, responding to emails, and grading anything that needs to go in before ineligibility gets checked in the morning . I also take down our post-its from Mental Heath Thursday check in and check the notes bin for any anonymous letters from students that need a safe grown up for something (none today!) Just general closing up shop: unplugging twinkle lights, turning off the projector, setting up the powerpoints for tomorrow.
Commute home from school and listened to the Reformatory on the way home again. I am on Chapter 10! I have to be at the babies' preschool by 4p and I got there right around 3:56p to snag them today, so as usual, there is a bit of tension and stress about making it in time...dang you road construction on route 219 for always slowing me down, hah.
With babies in tow, we head to the high school for Gemma's soccer game which started at 4p. The kids snacked on the stuff I had packed for the game and Gem and her team did awesome (they are really playing well together this season!) Rusty came down from the fieldhouse after he got dropped from the elementary school bus and share a few snacks with us. B and Grey were at the football field for Thursday night walk through practice. Violet was at the elementary school right from the school day for her cheer practice.
After Gem's game I brought home the 3 smallest kids and we emptied backpacks and had some PB&J's for a snack because everyone is always starvingggg after school. I got Rusty to do his little bit of Math homework too. Gemma stayed at the high school to take yearbook pictures for the boys' jr high football game.
B and Grey came home from football practice and B offered to take Rusty to flag football practice and take the babies with him (!!) Big time win to be able to sit in peace and have a cup of warmed-up-from-the-microwave coffee. Grey goes straight to the shower after practice, so it was literally just me, my coffee, and my book (Parable of the Sower) for a 25 minutes. HEAVENLY!
Grey asked for help with his Civics article and presentation. So we read up on cellphone bans in school because that is currently the buzz in PA. In between the homework assignment, there is also little bits of chatting unrelated to school; a little look into what is on his mind and hearts these days. It is always nice to get one on one time with any of the kids, but most rare with the biggest teenage boy - so laughing and teasing each other for a while this evening was appreciated.
7:15- 8p
While Grey continued to finish homework at the kitchen table, I started evening chores - cleaning up the kitchen, making dinner, switching a load of laundry. I knew chaos was soon to descend when everyone else got home from the fields - so I tried to get ahead as much as possible to ease the transitions between getting home to dinner to bedtime. Hang on to your horses, girl!
Convincing kids it is time for bed - LOL. The big kids are pretty good about it: Grey gives a kiss and a 'goodnight mumma' before heading into his room, Gemma needs a rundown of what to expect for the schedule the next day, Violet is usually half asleep already in her bed with a book, Rusty needs several hugs and a tuck in. The babies get 'poop medicine' (hah, probiotics) and then a book or two and both wanted to start in our bed (to be moved after they fall asleep). I laid with them and read Parable of the Sower until they fell asleep.
Hot tea and a snuggle on the couch with my handsome husband while he watches Thursday night football which turns into falling asleep and waking up a sore neck but the happy realization that it is not actually time yet to wake up for the day (yay!)