Mama Said There'd Be Days Like This...

(Sing it with me, everyone!)
There'd be days like this, my Mama said.
*mama said, mama said, yeah!*

We'll start with the good...
Today was a good day academically- math, Latin, reading, reading. (We read quite a bit today.) The boys nearly imploded when I stopped reading Old Granny Fox (Burgess) just as Granny Fox was in Farmer Brown's Boy's sights. But I placated them (and the need to do some cooking) by asking them if they thought she would get out of the situation, then supplying the necessary very big paper and many crayons for them to draw the scenarios they pictured. The results were truly fantastic. I laughed and giggled and enjoyed them thoroughly.

James' art work is gaining great depth: he used a darker shade of red to show her farthest two legs shadowed by her body, her body is positioned so she is leaping at an angle to the paper, and he included "motion lines" behind her to indicate that she was leaping (in case anyone thought she was falling, I suppose).

John's art work is along the impressionistic side, leaving tons of room for interpretation. The stories he makes to go along with the drawings, however, are rich, detailed, and generally involve some Tragic Act of Nature and a helicopter. Farmer Brown and His Boy didn't fare well in John's narration.

Oh, and the house looks great! John mopped the kitchen floor today. The mop is twice his height, and it was a struggle, but he did it, and it was beautiful! Not perfect in Martha Stewart terms, but I think it just shines. I know he did when he finished.

That pretty well concludes the positive portion of today. Thanks for tuning in.

****

Then the bad...

I think the high today was 20'. Two of three children are now expelling mass crud from their bodies at alarmingly high velocities (the Grapefruit Seed Extract is working wonders on whatever had lodged in their lungs, though, and I'm thrilled to see it coming *out*!) This combination of factors pretty much ruled out the long overdue library excursion I had planned.

Jacob is showing a rather pointed preference not to be located in his crib. When he is wide awake, he will lay down on the couch, on our bed, on the floor and pass right out. Not a problem. You can wash him, change him, roll him over like a little steam roller and he'll sleep right through it. But even from a deep, comatose-like sleep he will leap to full alert mode when lowered into his crib.

I'm inclined to go with it (after all, who wants to sleep where we aren't comfortable), except for the fact that, well, between him pinning me down and Zorak's Elbow of Death (which I can generally avoid if not under a small child), I'm really tired.

So, I'm thinking it's time for a toddler bed. Could it be? Now? Already? *sigh* He may be ready, but I'm not. quite. there. yet. Could it be anything else? Really?

And finally, the UGLY...

Our local homeschool group is taking meals to a homeschooling family that's facing some medical issues right now. This week is my turn. Today I prepared a truly lovely meal. It was a wheat-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, peanut-free, low vitamin-K meal that promised to be succulent and tasty! But then... *insert lost stare* I don't have *any* idea what caused it, but the chicken exploded! I mean that in a very literal sense. Zorak went so far as to approach me and say, "Erm, may I inquire what the chicken did?" I couldn't take that over! So tomorrow morning I get to call, apologize profusely for detonating their food and arrange to bring fresh, non-volatile food to them in the afternoon. *sigh*

Ah, well, I am going to do some math. The boys are over at the Wonderful Neighbors house, watching a movie and enjoying their kerosene heater before bed. Heat pumps don't work extraordinarily well in this level of cold. I got to stay behind and put the Smidge to bed, and am sure wishing we had a nifty kerosene heater to warm our tootsies by tonight! (See, I can handle the Elbow of Death because Zorak's body temperature rises at night- so he gets in first, warms my spot, and I get to enjoy all the benefits of an electric blanket with none of the side effects or concerns! Definitely worth the occasional bruised temple, trust me.) Zorak is over at the Wonderful Neighbor's, "watching" the kids. (I think the adults are actually gabbing in the kitchen, but that's the nice thing about having kids like these four and parents who are all friends!)

So, I'm thinking do a little homework, get an early bedtime, perhaps an early start tomorrow, and hopefully we'll be hosting a much better sing-a-long tomorrow night!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy