Terrific Tuesday. :)
It’s 4pm on Tuesday afternoon, and I’m taking a moment to breathe. 
I have about an hour before dinner must be started, about 20 minutes before the kids and I finish up a few schooling loose ends for the day. Our schooling takes SO long, and as hard as I try to adhere to my Maxwell schedule, days like today prove that just cant always happen. So, I am sitting here with a cup of tea, in an effort to reflect on the fact that in spite of my lack of schedule following today, stuff ended up gettin’ done, and the day isn’t quite over yet.
Today, the kids and I managed to get quite a bit of school done, with only one subject remaining undone at this point for each of them. Gavin really impressed me today by doing his creative writing without having to be asked. He even typed up a final draft and printed it out for me. I honestly had NO idea thats what he was doing. I thought he was reading the entire time. Turns out he started off reading, but finished his book (The Outsiders) and managed to complete the entire corresponding literature unit. My boy really does enjoy a sense of accomplishment, and I admire that about him. Trinity walked herself through her math lesson today, while I was working w/the other kids. I was letting her piddle around a bit until I could get to her, but she not only started the lesson, but completed it. Days like today remind me that they really are learning, even though it feels at time that they dont hear a word I say. Piper started 1st grade math yesterday, and today finished the first unit. I have to slow her down some because I really dont *want* her to start 2nd grade before she has a chance to turn six, LOL! Right now, Gavin is upstairs writing some more, and the girls are singing on Trin’s karaoke machine. The Annie soundtrack is still in heavy rotation around here.
I’m sitting downstairs, with all of the windows open. The breeze is beautiful, and the sun is out. Just before I sent the kids upstairs for free time, we did a one hour “power clean”. The house looks and smells great, and it gets done so much faster when the kids comply. 
I have to admit, I really like hearing “yes ma’am, I’d be happy to” when asked to do something around here. I dont rule with an iron fist at all, but the kids and I seem to have a mutual respect for eachother that makes it easy for us to want to serve one another. While the kids sorted laundry, put away school books, and took out the trash, I swept and mopped the bathroom and kitchen floors. I gave them a good “hands and knees” bleaching, and can I just say, I LOVE the feeling of a freshly bleached floor under my feet. It gives me such pleasure to mop my floors here, and I think its because the tile is stark white. It looks so bright and …I dunno, sanitary (?) when its done, lol. Love the feeling of clean, cant help it.
I think the highlight of my day was just before lunch. The kids and I piled into my bed and just had some “snuggle time”. It was quite chilly earlier today, and it was nice to snuggle up and keep eachother warm. I’m fairly certain I dozed off for a bit, but managed to snap out of it just in time to fix lunch for a few hungry little monkeys.
Speaking of food, tried a great new recipe with moderate success. I made spelt waffles from a batter I made last night. They texture and taste were great, but they are going to take some getting used to when it comes to the kids. Piper really loved em’, as did the hubs and I. Gavin ate about half of one (belgian waffle, so even 1/2 was decent!) and Trinity was “too scared” to try them, but she’s not much of an eater these days, so I figure she’ll give em’ a second chance next time.
Dinner tonight is a slight adjustment from my original plan, as my sister took us all out ot lunch yesterday, and we ended up eating the leftovers for dinner last night. This left me with a lot of beans leftover. Tonight, I’ll be making refried beans, fried potatoes, fideo, and tortillas. I had some of the beans and tortillas for lunch, so I must admit, I’m not really looking forward to more beans at this point, but I figure it will be tasty w/the potatoes. Maybe I’ll fry up a few eggs to go with it.
Gonna start an afternoon devotional with the kids, and then get moving on dinner. Hope your Tuesday was a good one.
