Things have felt more manageable this week. Changing things around with schoolwork and getting the more difficult ones out of the way first is working well. Thomas having a nap a couple of times this week meant that I was able to catch up on some of my own work. I’ve had a little more sleep (not quite enough still, but it’s been less broken which has helped). And although it still feels like we’re juggling a few too many balls, I don’t feel like I’m dropping quite so many of them!
What I’ve been grateful for this week:
- Day 29 – I am grateful for a glass of Prosecco, a lovely roast dinner and two days ahead with no remote learning in them!
- Day 30 – I am grateful for the birds that visit my garden. Sophie and I enjoyed spending an hour spotting all the different types that visited our garden for the Big Garden Birdwatch and we even had a couple that we’d not spotted before in our garden which was nice. We’re getting better at being able to identify them now too!
- Day 31 – I am grateful to have made it to the end of what has been a very long January! Fingers crossed February will be a little easier.
- Day 32 – I am grateful for all the little ways in which Thomas reminds me of Jessica. The way he looks up hopefully after breakfast, asking “pudding?”, or looks in the fridge at the yogurts on the shelf and does a happy dance at “all the puddings!” and his love of cake which his biggest sister shared. So often he’ll say something and I hear her voice so clearly in the way he says it, or see her in his smile, and she’s there with us once more and it’s beautiful.
- Day 33 – I am grateful for how much fun these two have together and although I’ll always wish that it could be three of them having fun, I know that Jessica would be so happy to see how much her siblings adore each other.
- Day 34 – I am grateful to have moved on to something else in English today after twenty lessons on the story of the little bird and the forest fire!
- Day 35 – I am grateful for pipe-cleaners. These are some of the pipe-cleaner animals we’ve been making for Sophie’s shoebox rainforest home learning project.
Other things that have made me smile this week:
- Getting out for a child-free walk!
- Joining a new musical theatre choir on Zoom.
I’m glad you are finding things more manageable. How lovely that Thomas reminds you so much of Jessica, nature is a wonderful thing.
Thank you Anne. I do love seeing glimpses of Jessica in Thomas.
Manageable? There’s a good word … well done, it can’t be easy homeschooling.#WOTW
It’s definitely been more challenging this time around! Thankfully half-term is just around the corner now.
I am glad things are better this week. It sounds like you have found a routine which works and hooray with you getting a little more sleep.
Ohh! Your husband looks very smart for your meal. My fella and I are having a special meal tomorrow as a treat. I feel like we need it.
That is lovely that Thomas reminds you so much of Jessica. He really is a cutie just like your girl was.
Thank you Kim. The new routine works a lot better for us. I love that Thomas is so like Jessica in so many ways. Hope you and your fella enjoyed your meal x
Amazing how small changes can make such a cascade of difference. Glad it was an easier week. We missed the bird watch for the first time since it started. Exciting to see new visitors in your garden. How lovely to see the similarities between Jessica and Thomas. I mix the voices of my three all the time and I think they play on that sometimes. I hope February is calmer and more manageable for you all. #wotw
Thanks Cheryl, the new routine has made a lot of difference. Much less stressful now. This was our second year taking part in the birdwatch and we had a few more birds visiting the garden which was lovely. I do love the way I get glimpses of Jessica in Thomas (and sometimes Sophie too).
I’m glad things have worked out a bit better this week,Prosecco, a roast dinner and home school free two days is absolute bliss at the moment! Thomas is a little cutie, I’m sure Jessica is smiling down on him (and all of you)
Thanks Karen. The weekends are very much needed to recharge our batteries at the moments. I like to think of Jessica smiling down on all of us. She would have adored Thomas.
Love those pipe cleaner animals. Very creative. I didn’t do the garden bird watch – but then it was such a miserable weekend weatherwise, we hardly saw any birds compared to normal.
Thanks Emma, we had fun making them. We did our birdwatch during a break in the rain which seemed to be a better time to spot them.
Glad that you have found things more manageable this week!
We need to do the garden bird watch next year.
Loving those pipe cleaner animals!
Thank you. We had fun making the pipe cleaner animals.
It’s lovely that Thomas share’s some of Jessica’s traits. I think we all long for the weekends just so we don’t have to stress about school work for a couple of days. We enjoyed looking for birds too #365
It is lovely to see glimpses of Jessica in Thomas. Weekends are definitely my saving grace right now. Thank goodness it’s almost half-term.
I was introduced to the world of pipe cleaner crafts so very recently. they are lovely! and so easy for kids to play with.. that dish looks amazing. It is lovely that you get to see Jessica in your son now.
god bless
I love pipe cleaner crafts and we had fun making the animals. It is lovely to get little glimpses of Jessica in Thomas.
I’m so glad you had a better week. A child-free walk what is that! ;0) I wanted to take part in the bird watching. The school even sent us some of the information but I totally forgot about it. I’m glad you can see moments of Jessica in her siblings #WotW #365
It’s been a while since I last got out without the children so it was a lovely treat to have a walk!
Goodness, 20 lessons on the same thing sounds tedious! I think I have valued the relaxation at weekends more than ever before! #project365
20 lessons on the same thing was very tedious. It was such a relief to get to the end of them! I know what you mean about valuing the relaxation at weekends more than ever now.
So glad this week was better for you. I do think routine is the key I find that when we don’t do homeschooling at certain points because of home working it all goes out the window. So lovely that Thomas has moments that remind you of Jessica, I love the idea of asking for pudding after breakfast! I may start doing that myself.
Thank you Clare, having a routine does help. Thomas makes me chuckle when he asks for pudding after breakfast.
Manageable is a good word, and a good attitide, I can be happy with manageable. Glad this week went well. Your husband looks very smart for dinner, I was wondering if it was for a special occasion. Birthdwatching could be so rewarding.
How sweet that Thomas gets so excited about pudding. It’s wonderful that you see glimpses of your dear Jessica in him. I sometimes see glimpses of my late Dad in my older son’s smile.
Very cute crafts with pipe cleaners.
Thanks Galina, how lovely that you get glimpses of your dad in your older son’s smile. My husband was attending a virtual awards evening on Zoom which was why he was all dressed up 🙂
We had a child free walk this week and it was lovely. So nice to get out without having bickering children following you LOL
It is so lovely to get out for a child-free walk. Glad you were able to enjoy one too.
Those pipe-cleaner animals are very cute. You have both done a fab job. Glad you have managed to get a bit more sleep and have found a way to make things more manageable. haha mine used to always ask about pudding after breakfast too!
Thank you Karen. It does make me giggle when Thomas asks for pudding after breakfast. He’s always so hopeful!
I hear you Thomas with ‘all the puddings’ I’m the same lol. I’m glad to hear you’ve had a more manageable week, sounds like you really do need the break with home schooling. I hope the sleep pattern improves for you soon, hopefully the unbroken sleep will improve
Thank you. Jessica would have definitely approved of Thomas liking “all the puddings” – she was a little cake monster! 🙂