Seven Quick Takes Friday--volume 97

One.

We have survived the first week of school!  Yes, today is a school day, but I keep a light schedule on Fridays, as do many homeschoolers.  I managed to keep up with the laundry and prepare a decent dinner each night.  And the kids have not yet asked me when their next vacation is!

Two.

In spite of these successes, I am still really fighting to find time in the day after school is done to do things like help Una make costumes (her Christmas presents for her brothers), sew up winter pants for Gemma, work on   my knitting, bake or do other things.  The trouble is that the children's writing, spelling, history, science and religion all require my time.  And the writing and spelling are all separate, as is the bit of time I put aside for Adrian.  Then there is the stuff I must look over for Una (she corrects her own math and grammar work).  With a half hour break for snack and recess, and an hour at lunch, we are still doing school until 2:30, and then use another hour for music or art or read-alouds before I start on dinner (we eat early--about 5:30).  I would have Una do work with Adrian, since she finishes her work first, but he is eager to go first thing and doesn't want to wait until after lunch.  This is why nearly every year we end up dropping all but the core subjects at some point.  I am determined to hang in there this year as best I can!

Three.

Our CD player has bitten the dust.  Only months before Christmas.  Drat.  Without a replacement, there will be no cozy evenings of baroque music, no books on CD and no Christmas music.

Four.

As much as I adore autumn and cooler weather, looming in the back of my mind is the dreaded Changing of the Wardrobe.  I would rather clean my oven AND scrub the bathtub.  Everything is in bins in an attic crawlspace, and I bash my brains out multiple times twice a year trying to get the winter stuff out and the summer stuff put away.  Then there is the trying on:  does this fit so-and-so, or must it be put back in the bins until another child grows into it?  It is a week-long process, and a hateful one.

Five.

Flu season has many people running for shots.  Don't do it: apparently this year's vaccine will have the swine flu vaccine as part of it (hm...are they trying to use up the leftovers from our non-pandemic last year?), and Europe has been seeing some cases of narcolepsy in teens who were vaccinated with it last year.  There are just too many potential problems and not enough study being done with these vaccines.  Instead, eat well, rest well, take your vitamins (especially D-3, but it is best to have your levels tested, since it can be toxic in too-high doses), wash your hands, avoid crowds and trust in God!

Six.

I am off to the lab today to have some blood drawn, to see what is up with this thrush I can't seem to kick.  Say an "Ave" for me.  I feel fine in every other way (tired, yes, but I've been tired since Una was born), but this thing is becoming a bother, and I worry about passing it back to Gemma.  Garlic, vitamin C, GSE, cider vinegar and prayer are apparently not having any effect, so I need to try something in addition to what I am doing.  I am very nervous about the whole thing, as the next medication they would prescribe is a category C, which means I would have to wean Gemma and be very, very careful about pregnancy.  I really do not like putting toxic things into my body.  If I did, I'd go get a flu shot...

Seven.

Gemma has developed the Prima Donna Scream to a high art form.  Whenever any of us do something she doesn't like, or thwart her in her desires, she lets out a single, high-pitched shriek that can send our poultry running for cover.  I certainly don't spoil her at all, but she is used to being indulged by all her doting siblings (except for Dominic, whom she supplanted as Baby of the Family).  She has also discovered what each previous baby and toddler eventually found out: family rosary time is also Baby Comedy Showcase.  She pulls out all the stops and does her cutest, funniest and most irresistible stuff during this time when the bunch of us are all assembled.  She obviously thinks that we gather to watch her perform.  It makes a quiet, recollected rosary an impossibility.

If you would like to read more Seven Quick Takes or join in and add your own, visit Jennifer at Conversion Diary.