First Full Week Of School

School started back here full time this past Monday. Now it's Friday. So, how did the week go? Well, after having my mini nervous breakdown on Sunday (after a pretty stressful week), this week went amazingly smoothly. I'm really surprised since I decided to pack the kids' lunches everyday instead of having them eat lunch at school. This way I know what they really eat, and save a TON of money on school lunch accounts for 4 kids. Sidenote: We have applied for reduced lunch just in case. We are right at the very top of the maxiumum allowed for a family of 6 to receive it. So hopefully we'll get it. Then I could let them eat lunch or at least breakfast at school a few times a week and not break the bank. I've actually done it though. Yay me! LOL They all have cool new lunchbags they picked out. I made sure they were all the upright kind so their drink bottles would not be lying down, and they're actually pretty good sized. A lot bigger than the dinky lunch boxes we had when I was a kid.

Some of the lunch items so far have been: Homemade pepperoni pizza. Ham and cheese sandwiches (with fresh home grown tomato slices in separate baggie to add when they eat it.) Home made veggie and turkey soup in thermoses I got for like a $1 each at a thrift store! WOOHOO! (And they are actual soup thermoses and fit in the lunch bags perfectly.) And I've actually been able to keep lunch meat, and tons of snacks and things on hand without them eating everything. In fact, I think they're pigging out on stuff less now than when they ate school food.

When they get up in the morning, I have a sealed container on the counter with something for each of them for breakfast. Usually it's muffins, but I could have pop tarts, sausage biscuits, etc. I make these for them when I get off work at 3:15am so it's all still pretty fresh when they get up at 5-7am.

Of course this all goes for my husband as well. I've been packing his lunch faithfully for months now and I feel like it blesses him to have that ready for him. There were countless days in the last few years he didn't eat because he didn't have time to pack something and I forgot or just didn't feel like doing it for him - and he didn't have any money to buy anything. Or when he did have money, he had to spend it on fast food that was bad for him (especially his heart). I am SO glad I have changed my whole way of thinking. I wish it had happened earlier in our marriage, but from here on out, things will be better at least.

After school, the two middle ones get home first. I get them to sit at the dining table and do their homework while I clean out their lunchbags and see what (if anything) wasn't eaten. Then put the containers in the dishwasher. I get them an afterschool snack and a glass of iced tea while they do their home work. No playing or TV or computer time til it's done. They don't need computers to do their homework so far, so it's working out well. If one needs to write a report on the computer later on, then I'll set up a laptop at the dining table and let them use it for that and save to a flash drive. If they want to work on the report again later on their own computers, then that's fine. (Each kids' bedroom has a computer.) But they have come to learn when they get home, go to the table and stake out their desired chair and space and get busy. I still have to get on to them to put their stuff BACK into their backpacks when they are done and then to out the backpacks in their closets instead of my living room floor - maybe that's a habit they'll get into too (I HOPE).

When Zoe, the youngest gets home, I help her with her work and see what the teachers has requested we go over with her, sign her reading log and make sure she wears her reading glasses. I also write out some of the math problems from the sheet in the back on her MOOSE book. So, on nights it says math homework, I have her work on those. I feel like we really let her down last school year when she was struggling, and I want to correct that and make it up to her this year.

Now Corina, the oldest, and a senior in highschool has been a bit harder to wrangle. She's still used to the freedom she had during the summer. And yes I remember that summer before my senior year and the following one and how great they were, but she's going to have to change her habits. Like today, I had to text her to remind her she is to come HOME first, not go to her "fiance"'s house first. She says she can do her homework better there since they don't have any little kids making noise. Well, I'm still not so happy about it. I feel she needs to come home, drop off her lunchbag, take car of HER cat, and do her homework and get some chores done before she gets to go see him. If she ends up getting a job, I can understand her needing to go straight there after school, but for now, she needs to get herself home.

So there's still a few kinks and bad habits to work out, but overall the week has gone well.

I had gotten a little behind with the laundry, so I sent Corina and TJ (her Fiance) to the laundromat to wash the big stuff like comforters and pillows and quilts. (Had a sick cat that kind of got lots of stuff all yucky). So that was an unexpected expense, but at least those are all washed and dried now. I really need a full day of being awake during the time the sun is up and hot so I can get lots of clothes hung and dried outside. However, that is not going to happen tomorrow. I have to go to the bank, pay bills, run by the library, get some groceries for the weekend, come home and clean up the main living areas, vacuum, make dinner, then go see Julie and Julia with my 13 yr old while Corina babysits. She doesn't know she's babysitting yet. Won't she be thrilled? Then after the movie and when Hubby gets off work at 10:30, it's time for our date night when the kids go to their rooms to read or chat or sleep. Then hubby and I get to watch movies we got in the mail and finally chill and relax a little. I'm hoping the day turns out to be as nice as I am hoping heh.

Then Saturday, we're taking the kids to the county fair during the day. This is not a "ride as many rides as you can before you hurl" visit. I want to walk around with the girls and look at the animals and craft things and baking stuff,.. things like best apple pie, best blackberry jam and stuff like that. I'm all for letting them ride some stuff, but if the weather doesn't change quick, then it'll be in the 90s and not really fun for sitting in a metal ride seat. We can't go in the evening which I really would preferred (there's nothing more nostalgic than the lights and sounds of a fair as the sun goes down.) because we have friends coming over. One of the couples is leading the couples' Bible study we're all doing together and we'll be doing that, then we're going to play games and have some face-to-face time with other adults. LOL Of course the ones who work out of the home get to see other people, but some of us are sometimes home for days or over a week at a time, and having conversations with anyone over the age of 17 is a treat! LOL We love playing games with them all as well, so it'll be fun.

Then Sunday we are praying Hubby's boss doesn't make him have to come in (it's his Sunday off), so we can FINALLY all go to Sunday School together. I am going to make sure we stop the activities early enough Saturday so that everyone can get to church on time the next morning. The last several Sundays, we've made it to service but missed Sunday School and that bothers me. So that's my goal for this Sunday.

So, here's hoping nothing horrible or unexpectedly bad happens this weekend, and all goes smoothly. I hope you all have a great weekend too!