We've been plugging away at school for a few weeks. This week has been different, and better. We woke up and went to 7:30 Mass almost every day (Fr. Brooks was in town!). It has been a blessing to get up and get things done early. That said, 2pm is a frightful hour and if I continue this schedule, we'll be working in naps or quiet time (for me too!)

School this year is, well, hard. I don't want to complain too much about it. It's there. I know I have to do it. I could go on and on. But in a nutshell, it's just hard. Trying to balance the time, yet feeling tremendous pressure to keep going- not being able to lessen the pace is very stressful. If we sleep in, the bewitching hour is 10:30am, when the baby needs to go to sleep, the 3yo is bored already, and the kindergartener and 2nd grader are falling apart because they both need me "right now!". But getting up early has allowed the baby to have some time awake, and he's usually ready to go back to sleep right before school starts. Oh, everything has it's ups and downs, and there's no perfect schedule...yet. Hard as it all is, I know it's just something we have to go through, I have to work out the wrinkles by going through (and sometimes getting burnt) by the steam. I am learning too.

We had the most wonderful day at the Wegerzen Kids garden last week. We went on Thurs. after co-op. Packed a lunch and had it at their picnic table. Don't know if I posted pictures of our lunch there in the spring. That was the first outing I took all the kids to. This was just as lovely. We are studying Botany in Rose's science this year, so I couldn't think of a more appropriate place to go. Sadly, I didn't bring the camera. Our favorite place was the bamboo secret garden: a little path amidst the tallest bamboo shoots! Everything was in bloom. I don't know if there is a park that I enjoyed as much, if not more than, the kids! I want to go back, and I'll bring the camera!

We've been having quite fun with science. The botany and garden trip were wonderful. Dominic has kinda been doing his own unit study...on caterpillars. He seems to find them so often, and sticks them in a jar of some sort with sticks and leaves. And then they die, or something. I haven't been paying much attention. He found three one day, and put them all in a jar. Two of those actually cocooned, and today we found they were moths! There is debate whether they are actually moths or butterflies. Didn't get a good look at the aentenna. Ah, all the details you learn as a homeschool mom. So when DD said five days ago he found a caterpillar, I again, thought nothing of it. He came walking in the house with a viney plant that had a 2 in green and black striped caterpillar on it. Woah! First I sent him right back outside with it, and promptly got a clear jar for him. Turns out it's a monarch butterfly caterpillar. So cool. He found it on the milkweed plants outside. Who knew? We watched it munch and munch the three leaves that were on that vine. Later that day, we went out to pick more milkweed to put in the jar. We put a LOT in the jar, but the next day, he didn't seem to be eating any. By the end of the day, he was curled up, not moving. That night, I was on the phone kind of late, and I was looking at this caterpillar. It was curled up, but somehow the stripes on it seemed to be moving. It was hard to see, because we put quite a bit of milkweed leaves in this jar. Before my eyes, he was creating a green cocoon to cover his body. It was neat and creepy at the same time. Wish the kids could've seen it.

So that's where we're at with that. It was so rewarding to see the moths flying around in the jar. Can't wait to see what this one looks like!

This is what we've been busy with on Fridays for the last 8 weeks. I love this homeschool soccer group. I thought my kids would too. Just Sam and Dominic played. Sam did great for a three year old. Some nights, he didn't play at all. Other nights, he played the whole time. And everywhere in between.

Dominic has been my funny one, though. I thought he would just love this as an outlet for all his boyish energy. Not quite. His team seems pretty tough, and I think Dominic is not into contact sports. The first few weeks, when I would watch him, he was staring at the birds in the sky, or running around in circles (this is only his first year of playing...anything!). I guess he got better. After about six weeks, though, he said he hated it and never wanted to play again. I'm talking to him, trying to get to the root of the problem. I think it had to do with the red vests that half the team wears when they scrimmage. Trying not to be an annoying soccer mom, I asked the coach if he could wear one that night. Sure, sure. Later that evening, close to halftime. I wandered over to see DD. He's sitting on a blanket. I asked what was going on. He didn't want to play. We talked a bit, and then I told him my rule of, if he doesn't play, he doesn't get snacks. That hit a nerve. After many tears and almost a fit, thank God Dad was there, and someone even managed to get him a red vest. That kept him playing the rest of that night.

I feared he would do the same thing the next week. Turns out, he was super excited to go to soccer, and played the whole time- no complaints whatsoever! Two things we did different: he ate pizza on the way down- his belly was FULL. And I was coaching 3yo, so I didn't watch him AT ALL. Again, thank God for Dads. :) He did as well as one can expect for our DD. He did have a good time.

And finally, how did this happen!!! He's pulling up to everything, bonking his head on everything, crawling faster, and just getting cuter by the minute! Love, love, love it!