Another week

We're continuing to work on our adjustments to the school routines here in the Mischnick home.  I have jokingly commented to a few people that once 2 p.m. hits, there's little else I can "accomplish" on any given day, even if it's something as simple as sending an email.

This observation was confirmed one evening last week when Matt asked me what I thought about a particular school email that came home in the afternoon.  Sure enough, when I was finally able to read it (after the kids were in bed), I learned that it had been sent at 2:15 p.m.

One of the main differences this year is that the kids are in three different schools, with three different (yet slightly conveniently staggered) start times and end times.  I have learned in the last month to embrace the 10-15 minutes of one-on-one time I have with each kid in the car over the course of the day.  That kind of special time wasn't built into our routines during the summer months and I value it now.

But, that means that not much on mom's list gets crossed off after 2 p.m.  That's okay with me most days; I'm much more motivated and productive in the mornings anyway.

Last week was a little more full than normal.  Monday was the second week in a row where Anna stayed after school for Art Club while Kate had a piano lesson from me at home.  At first she was excited to get back into the swing of lessons and practicing, but then she realized how my expectations for her have risen this year :)

Tuesday we picked Anna up a little early from school and took her to the dentist for a regular check-up and cleaning.  Although this kid still has zero cavities, we are going to need to jump back in with helping inspect her teeth after she had brushed them.  We pushed for independence in this regard over the summer, but her motor challenges and reduced saliva (from radiation) mean that she still needs some more coaching to keep her teeth and gums clean and healthy.

The kids and I met up with Matt at Culver's for dinner before he took the girls home for homework/evening routines while Ethan and I attended his school's open house.  The new building looks stellar and Ethan was incredibly proud and motivated to show me around.  One of the few comments we got from his teacher that evening was "He's a keeper."  Agreed!

Wednesday was soccer practice for the boys.  Matt has been taking Ethan most weeks and jumping in to help the coach when he can with crowd control.  Although Matt will admit that he knows next to nothing about soccer, he's pretty good with kids and I think his help is appreciated.

Thursday was perhaps the only day last week when the sun was shining all day.  We've had a rough stretch of wet and gloomy weather here.  I took advantage of the cool, crisp day by going for a walk with a friend and then cleaning out the garden as much as I could.  The chickens have been appreciative of having more space our there to forage for bugs since Thursday :)

Friday we were scheduled to have our first family 4H event in the evening, but it was rescheduled due to weather.  Thank goodness!  Matt and I were in the worst days of our cold; Anna was still feeling yucky; and Kate and Ethan just wanted to play.  We did our best to recover over the weekend, but we're not all 100% just yet.

And finally, since Anna is half way through her first quarter of middle school, she had her first round of middle school tests.  She studied as best she could; we advocated for whatever accommodations seemed appropriate; now we will all wait until she learns how she did.