A Day In The Life...

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

~Monday, September 14, 2009~

Monday morning dawned brisk and chilly. Not that I went out in it. I was in the kitchen as soon as I pulled myself out of bed as Mr. B was travelling for work. I made him lunch and coffee and sent him on his way. After a quick shower, I started the laundry.

While I was doing a quick perusal of the blogosphere, The Boy Child emerged. Normally, he cozies up on the couch for a wake-up, but yesterday he was stoked: First Day of Hockey. We went downstairs to try on his gear. Nothing like leaving it to the last 9 hours. I rebooted the laundry while The Boy showed me he could put all his gear on by himself. Except for a jersey...and skates...This is an improvement compared to the years I have all but poured him into his gear. My goal is to be out of my dressing room responsibilities by Christmas.

The Girl Child was up and about before we were done with the hockey gear. She hits the computer and the kitchen immediately upon stumbling downstairs in the mornings. I don't mind that much. She has two friends she keeps in touch with via chat, email and private webpage because they live out of town a ways.

After we all had a bit of something to eat (I have to remind The Boy to eat every day), I jump-started our morning with a half-hour of housework. We had a busy day planned and after my feelings about last week's first week of school, I was not looking forward to schoolwork. But, I figured perhaps it would be an ok day since we had so much more to do.

We were at the table together at about 9:45. We motored through a bit of journaling, a math lesson each, a reading in Story of the World 3 and the chapter review questions. The Girl surprised me by asking to take notes while I read aloud. She continued to do so through the Q & A. Then she composed a very thorough paragraph. The Boy composed a paragraph, but the agreement is that I will scribe it into his notebook for him. Neither of the kids were looking forward to the 'narration' part of things this year, but I'm hoping that they will come around. This was our second attempt and I was impressed with the results. We then cracked open the French we're using this year and began the first unit. The Girl really likes this program we're using: L'Art de Lire (book 3). The Boy is not in love with it at all. I might have to find something different for him later on if he can't find his French Groove. It was noon; we were done with the books for today.

The Girl ran off to get ready to go for our afternoon. I helped her out with the hair straightener and then I had a go at my mop. The Boy needed to tape his stick. Again. This required the use of the beloved Swiss Army Knife. Pretty much any job that might possibly maybe probably could use a Swiss Army Knife becomes a priority for The Boy these days. We made a quick lunch of sandwiches and fruit. We had a bit of a talk about the propaganda pamphlet that showed up in the mailbox regarding the H1N1 Flu.

Before we left the house, I pulled up a couple of webpages and the kids and I figured out the most efficient way to use the city bus to get us downtown and back home later on. Round trip: $12. Cheaper than taking a cab. Our co-operative plan worked out perfectly. Walk .5km, grab a bus. Transfer. Argue politely over who gets to pull the stop-cord. Arrive near our destination and walk a block.

We were meeting up with a large-ish group of homeschoolers to attend a Library Orientation. The new children's librarian put together a really great, interactive program for the kids. I was very impressed because, as I'm sure you can guess, a library tour can get a wee bit dry. The kids learned a lot about the reference areas and they spent a good amount of time looking at the resources they don't really use: books on CD, microfiche, newspapers and magazines. They got pretty good at using the search catalogue as well. The Girl will head back in two weeks time for the 'advanced' orientation program. I'm going as well. I'm interested in learning about the online databases available to library users.


We had just enough time after the program to grab a junkie snack at a nearby Tim Hortons. We walked over to the bus stop and waited, snacked and talked. The bus ride home was uneventful as was the walk home.


I was surprised that Mr. B was not yet home from his day when we arrived home at 4:30. We peeled the Skittish White Dog from the ceiling and got her to stop bouncing around shortly after we managed to force our way past her and into the house. The kids were dispatched to do a wardrobe change while I attended to a mouthguard fitting in the kitchen. THe kids had to fed for themselves when they announced they were famished. Snacks were had in front of a favourite cartoon - Phinneas & Ferb - while I did the laundry and tracked down Mr. B.

The Boy dressed for hockey in the living room and we were back out the door at 5:10. I hadn't arranged dinner and was a little worried that it would be chaos and low-blood sugar fits when we returned home.

Hockey was great as usual. The Boy was anxious, as usual. It was shortlived. The kids on the ice did skills and drills before a scrimmage. It's a good thing they use the first couple of weeks to get to know the players and balance the teams. The Boy was quick to let me know that he scored 3, assisted 2, saved 2 and set 'Spencer' up for a goal. He likes to keep track of stuff like that.

After we got home I played short-order cook in the kitchen. We did a bacon and eggs dinner. Four different types of eggs. I tossed a last egg on the hot pan as I was clearing the stove once everyone else had their dinners. I made it to the table just as the kids were finishing. I'll get better as the season progresses. Note to self: Don't make plans on the afternoons The Boy has hockey. Especially if Mr. B. is out of town.

At 8, The Boy turned up with a bad headache so he carted himself off to bed. The Girl was deep in a book enjoying the first quiet time of her day. The laundry was done, the kitchen cleaned up and Mr. B finally shut off his work PC as The Girl went off to bed at 9:30. He and I vegged on the couch for an hour and then we turned in ourselves.

All in all, a busy day. I was very impressed that it all turned out as well as it did. Now, the next time a busy day rolls around, my goal is to make sure the Skittish White Dog gets her walk.



  © Blogger template Cumulus by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP