Made it!!!

Mark is in the air as I type (I think around Las Vegas???) and we survived the day without daddy. I think I even still have some sanity points left and I yelled far less than usual. Our being more consistent with routines and our use of the PEG board this week has really helped things go more smoothly. Now, I'm not saying there was no raising of voices, just that it was very minor compared to what it's been in the past and that was for the week on a whole but miraculously included today too.

Other wonderful accomplishments for the week:
*Managed to get a lot more school time in with Jonathan including Phonics every day but today. He only has some Art and Music to do this weekend from this week and then some extra Phonics and LA just because we are so far behind in those subjects. Much better than from weeks past!

*Matthew does have catch-up work to do this weekend but it's not nearly as bad as previous weeks. He settled down and did his composition on the day it was due (a major thing for him) so he just has some spelling, music, and literature to do this weekend. A vast improvement from weeks prior.

*Christopher had some problems at the beginning of the week and still has a lot of catch-up from weeks' previous where he said he did the work but when I asked for the papers I was told "Oh, I needed some help on a question" or something to that effect. He has just about dug himself out of that whole for the most part and should be caught up in everything but the math this weekend. For that, he had really needed more of my time and help and with everything else going on, I hadn't been able to fulfill my part of the agreement so since he's just about done with LA, we are working on that at a slower pace and throwing extra math in each week. I think actually the little bit of a break did him good as he is approaching it with a much better frame of mind and some of it seems to have sunk in by osmosis or something. LOL

*Nico is starting to sleep better. I'm sure I'm probably jinxing myself by saying that but his 7day average is now hovering in the 10-10½hr range rather than the 9hr range it was in for a few months. Those were brutal and I'm glad that although his sleep is still not wonderful, it's better than it was in December. Never thought I'd be happy that my child is sleeping 10hrs a day but it's all about perspective. LOL

*I've been starting to declutter again ala FLYLady. My routines are starting to get a foothold and my laundry is just about caught up (except for the pair of pants that Nico has on his head as he runs through the house) and I just need to take care of the socks/underwear and hanging clothes this weekend as well as just stay on top of the 1-2 loads per day.

*I hired someone to come take care of the outside of the house. I just don't have the time right now and I ask every weekend for Mark and the boys to do it and well...it just doesn't get done so I hired someone to at least do the clean-up for now. Maybe I'll just have him come once a month to do the weeding and such to keep the place looking neater. I'd love to have time to do it with the boys. Maybe once we get our routines more fully established, but for now, I just want it done.

*Well, the big boys are on their way to bed and Nico is running amok. It must be 9:30p. LOL

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Insights from the Dalai Lama:
I have long looked forward to the time when we could devise a political system, suited both to our traditions and to the demands of the modern world. A democracy that has nonviolence and peace at its roots.


State of my sink: Shiny!