Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Coming down.....

.....from the holiday high. It's rough- am I alone in this? Yesterday morning we hit the books and it took Peter FOREVER to do his math which is just not like him. He said that's because he forgot everything. In a week? YIKES! And THAT'S why we don't take breaks! I wanted to give the kids plenty of time to enjoy their Christmas gifts, but I also plan to get 3 full school days in this week. The morning started out okay. The little girls were having a great time with the tiny tea set and mini American Girl dolls from Grandma. Kate got to work with mini Samantha looking on and Peter even got to listen to a little of his new Jonathan Park before we started. By 11 am the 3 youngest were getting crabby so lunch started early and Ella and Charlotte went down for naps. That gave Maddie a fresh attitude to do some work. The three big ones had a great time making a poster about the Great Fire of London in 1666. Then the littles got up and things went down hill. You'd think after a good nap they'd be fresh and perky, but that isn't always the case. Ella wanted to use her new paint. Fine. Charlotte wanted to do it too- not such a great idea. Painting session over. Three little girls wanted to play with a two person tea set. Kate tried so hard to be a mediator for them and get them to share the dishes, but a certain little girl was being VERY selfish and domineering which led to an all out screaming fit by two of them. Thus discipline was administered, dolls and tea sets taken away for the rest of the day which led to more screaming and me wondering, "am I reading Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends to them in vain??!!" Dinner was just not fun as I had made a big meal of roast chicken with carrots and onion, mashed potatoes, and rolls to serve without Pete since he had a meeting. It's always best to stick with SIMPLE meals when he's not here, but the chicken was thawed before the meeting was planned so there we go. So three littles oohed and aahed over a meal that they then picked at and one ended up - as usual- in tears at the table. I felt that we all needed our spirits lifted and so we sat down for a mini hymn sing. The result was Peter yelling at the cd we sang with because there was a very long instrumental portion before the singing on several of the hymns- and he just wanted to sing already. Ella cried because she can't read the words and didn't know the songs. And Charlotte just poked around and made an even bigger mess in the living room.
Now that the digging out of unpacking mess is about done and we've all had a full night of sleep, I am hoping for a good, happy day!!

4 comments:

Wife said...

:) I love reading about your days, Rachel. I can't wait to meet you! 41 days until we leave :) :) :)!

brookebrownell said...

aahhhh the post-Christmas meltdown. so relaxing and cozy.

Anita said...

Ah Rachel, I don't handle Christmas well. Too much chaos. I look forward to hitting the books again next Monday. I need a schedule...badly.

Anita said...

I just figured out my password again and I wanted to say CONGRATS on receiving a court date! That is so exciting!!!!