Just Popping In to Empty My Brain...Quick Take Style

1.  Ollie found some old pictures the other night and Hannah took pictures of the pictures and here's one of them.  I think I was pregnant with Joe at this point...we had our hands full then and life was busy and days sometimes seemed endless.  With that said...I think my life today is considerably busier, harder, and more exhausting.  I go from the time I get up in the morning until I fall into bed at night and still am forever behind.  Usually on housework.  Many days I don't get dressed or even put a bra on until after lunch.  Sometimes I don't even eat breakfast until after lunchtime because my day just gallops away from me.  Homeschooling three kids and juggling other commitments and keeping up with the daily chores that keeps a house functioning makes for a very full day.  I used to do a weekly menu plan and start dinner prep in the morning.  Now at about 5 I start to wonder what I should make for dinner.  We eat more convenience food than ever and more often than not, dinner is black beans and rice or pasta with canned sauce.  It's easy and fast.  I do take short breaks here and there and that's when I read...also, I read at red lights, while I eat breakfast and sometimes lunch (if no one is talking to me), and at bedtime.  There is NO time for any other hobbies though.  Gone are the days when I sewed or scrapbooked.  Honestly, I can't imagine having time to do that now but someday I will again.  I know that investing all of these hours every day will pay off someday and I don't regret for one minute my decision to live this lifestyle.
2.  We've been doing testing this week and last week and I'm thrilled to report that 2 out of my three kids area done!  It was pretty brutal on Joe but he and I survived and it was a good experience for him to have even if it was pretty stressful.  I have graded them each as they've gone and they're doing fairly well.  They are weak in exactly the areas I knew they were weak in.  One surprise though is just how weak they all are in math skills for their grade level.  They did okay, they didn't bomb it but I wish they had done better.  I'm not quite sure what to do about it.  Maybe just supplement their math curriculum with some critical thinking practice??  Not sure... I will probably wait and see once I get the official results back. 
3.  The one area that is not tested but I know my kids are behind in is writing.  I have tried a writing program this year with the girls--Institute for Excellence in Writing and that  has helped but they still have very little experience with writing.  I checked out a couple of books from the library that I'm thinking about purchasing for next year, one is Writer's Express and the other is Writer's Inc. and they look pretty good.  I've decided to have Hannah use their format and explanation to write a report.  She and I have been brainstorming topics and I plan to start that process probably tomorrow.  I'm embarrassed to say that she has never actually written a report so this could be interesting...I'll probably have to let Ollie actually grade it and give her feedback.  I'm the math person, he's the words person.  I am putting Grace and her (is that grammatically correct??)  in Florida Virtual School Language Arts next year in order to work on their writing skills but I'm also considering an online writing class.  
4.  Willy Wonka seems to be going well.  Joe is almost off book for the entire show and is getting better at the heelies.  They finished blocking the whole show yesterday so they start run throughs tomorrow.  Woohoo, so exciting.  I've made a decision to chillax about it all and have asked Amanda (the director) to let me know if I need to start stressing again.  I love that Joe got a lead in a show and he loves it too but it's a lot of pressure!!
5.  I have to start making it a priority to get to the gym again.  I'm so completely out of the habit but I'm trying to fit in two days a week.  I went last Tuesday and it's Tuesday again and I haven't gone since last week.  I am thinking about going tonight after dinner.
6.  Speaking of dinner, I'm making Quinoa and sauteed veggies for dinner tonight.  I've never made Quinoa so hopefully it will turn out okay.   I'm trying to be healthy.  :0)
7.  My leg is getting stronger and stronger and I am so thankful.  It still hurts a lot but I have way more stamina than I did even just two weeks ago.  Woohoo for healing!!  I go back to the doc for another checkup on Monday.