A Day in the Life (of Sick Homeschoolers)

I had a bright idea of hosting a blog carnival with Thomas Jefferson Education homeschoolers so we could sample a day in a life of several families. Every family is different and usually every day for each family is different, so I am excited to see the inspiring ideas people come up with. I'm also excited to see that people are just like me and maybe not so inspiring all the time and are just doing their part of making it through the day!
Yesterday was just such a day in our house and it just so happened that it was the day I chose to chronicle our day in a life, hour by hour.

6:00 am: L-14 comes in to wake me up so I can drive her to early morning seminary. I pull on some sweats, don't brush my hair, grab a blanket and stumble to the car. On the way out I notice that C-12 is awake in the family room and reading a book. He is also coughing. A lot.

6:15-7:00: I listen to Oliver DeMille's The 7 Keys to Great Teaching cd. Sometimes I read my scriptures, but today I don't want to open my eyes and try to focus, so I lean the seat back and curl up with a blanket.

7:15: L-14 and I both have leftover chili for breakfast (protein!) and I check my e-mail, favorite blogs and facebook. L-14 checks her e-mail and favorite blogs, too. C-12 is on the pc reinstalling an old Bionicle cd.

8:00: I start some laundry and have a shopping accident for some books at Amazon. L-14 and I discuss her day and what she's going to work on.

8:30: I start on some backlogged dishes in the sink, L-14 practices piano, C-12 tells me he has re-programmed the Bionicle game with new commands (I have no idea what language he is speaking, but nod and encourage him), P-10 gets up and asks me to make him a fried egg and he goes back to bed. M-8 is awake but still in bed, reading her 800th Magic Tree House book of the week. She's coughing. A lot.

9:00: L-14 starts working on a Shakespeare assignment (Character Analysis of Nerissa in The Merchant of Venice) and a Sword of Freedom (civil war class) assignment (write a letter home from the Battle of Gettysburg) but first tells me that Bakerella is writing a cookbook and has a publisher. I kick C-12 off of the pc, I notice P-10 is in bed doing schoolwork (Draw Write Now and a reading comprehension writing workbook someone gave us a long time ago.) I tell him I think it's cool that he has chosen those things to do and he tells me it's because he wants to have Wii time at 3:00pm. I start making blueberry muffins before my fresh blueberries die a slow death in the fridge.

9:30: L-14 still working on assignments on her laptop at the kitchen table (with e-mail and g-mail chat breaks...we need to discuss new computer rules that include computer socializing. After 3:00pm like the Wii, perhaps?) C-12 is either reading or building Bionicle guys. And coughing. P-10 is in bed reading Harry Potter #4 again. He keeps trying to get me to let him read #5, but I say nay. Too much boy/girl angst and kissing for a 10 year old, in my opinion. M-8 and I sit down in the living room and read two chapters of Little House in the Big Woods, two fables from an Oakmeadow fable anthology, and one chapter of The Burgess Animal Book. We sort the animal classification cards we have been making.

10:30: L-14, C-12 and I eat some muffins (the other two say no thanks), I take a phone call and L-14 puts out an e-mail survey to some friends on which Vera Bradley purse they like best. (Her first "real" purse.)

11:30: L-14, C-12, M-8 and I chat about the Vera survey and cast our votes. P-10 still reading HP. C-12 finishes Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Again. I make Cream of Wheat for C-12, P-10 and M-8. It soothes their sore throats.

12:00pm: I read a story from The Children's Book of America, a chapter from Mathematicians Are People, Too Vol. 2 (which I like much less than the first volume), and several chapters from D'Aulaires Greek Myths while we're sitting at the kitchen table. P-10 remembers a painting in a DK book that has gods in it but he wonders why the names are different from the book. We talk about the differences between Greek gods and Roman gods and look at the painting. M-8 goes to her room to read Magic Tree House, but she falls asleep for the next 3 hours.

1:00: L-14 still working on her papers, C-12 starts reading The Lightening Thief for the first time, P-10 reads the Dangerous Book for Boys and makes a code breaker. If we were well, at this time we would be at piano lessons for P-10 and M-8.

1:30: I take L-14 to her piano lesson (5 min. drive, 30 min. lesson) and read the first chapter of my new book The Gift of An Ordinary day. We come back to the boys in the exact same position as I left~ reading on their beds. M-8 still asleep.

2:30: L-14 makes more blueberry muffins from the leftover batter and I have some lunch. C-12 is missing his group violin lesson.

3:30: M-8 gets up and tells me about some Magic Tree House trivia (Australia which she compares to my History Club lesson on the Aborigines a couple of weeks ago), and sinks into the couch to watch t.v. She feels warm. C-12 is still reading, P-10 comes out and makes a toasted bagel.

4:00: L-14 practices piano again, boys are still reading, M-8 is watching PBS and I finally take a shower!!

5:00: I make some quick soup for dinner, read over L-14's assignments with her then I take her with me to a presidency meeting at church and then mutual. She brings The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to read while she waits. The boys are missing scouts and M-8 is missing her very first Activity Day. Dad comes home shortly after.

9:00pm: I get home to find C-12 reading The Lightening Thief, P-10 reading the Greek Myths book, and M-8 reading her third Magic Tree House of the day.
Everyone gathers for family prayer and waits for me to get off of the phone with my YW advisor. I think about how I never played the math game with P-10 that he wanted to, wondered if he ever played on the Wii, lamented that C-12 didn't practice violin or did anything else beside computer programming and reading. I hope that M-8 feels better soon. I give L-14 a neck rub because shes really tense. I spend some time talking to my husband, reading e-mail, watching Seinfeld, and my day is done!

11:00pm: I step into the hall to check lights, etc. and notice the boy's light is still on. They are both reading (they traded and C-12 is now reading the Greek Myths book and P-10 has started The Lightening Thief) and I quickly tell them lights out was over an hour ago! Get to bed!