This year we have approached our extra-curricular activities a little differently. My girls absolutely love being involved in ballet, gymnastics, soccer, music, church activities, and just about any other kind of lesson or activity you can think of. It is the highlight of their week. So this year, we decided to just go with it. We stacked our schedule, particularly Wednesdays, full of out-of-the-house fun. It has been a lot of fun, but it has also worn us out. By Wednesday night, we are struggling to stay awake in the car long enough to get home and drop into bed. It’s a good tired, though. We are spent, but well-spent. Here’s a look at a typical Wednesday for us:
Since our schedule is well, scheduled, we have to go on no matter how the weather treats us. Yesterday it was yucky, rainy, cold, and gray. But, as they say in the theater, the show must go on.
Our first stop was to Mommy and Me music class, AKA Patti Music. This is probably the highlight of Patterson’s week. She thinks Miss Stephanie, our precious leader, hung the moon. She wakes on Wednesday mornings saying, “I go to Patti music and see Miss Stephanie?”
Although she usually sits quietly and watches in stead of actually singing and participating, she is indeed having the time of her life! Every once in a while, she stops people-watching long enough to actually SMILE!
Patti Music is enough to wear out a little girl, even though it’s only 11:00 am!
And when a girl gets tired, it doesn’t matter if you’re in Patti Music or not! Sometimes you just gotta lie down and take a nap!
While Patterson and I go to music, MA is next door working on her schoolwork. She benefits GREATLY from this quiet time to get her work done. She is free of distractions, and able to accomplish a lot during this time.
After the excitement of Patti Music, we usually find somewhere fun for lunch and scoot over to the library for a quick trip. We return books and check out new ones.
Next up: ballet for Mary Anneliese. This is her second of two ballet classes for the week. She is still at Briarwood Ballet, which we adore. While she is in ballet, Patti and I run errands. Yesterday we hopped over to Whole Foods to look for a particular vitamin that we couldn’t find anywhere else.
We finish in just enough time to run back to Briarwood pick up Bitty and move on to our next stop… the nursing home.
My grandmother has been at the nursing home since last year, when she had a major stroke. It left her unable to do much for herself, and affected her speech, leaving it impossible for us to understand when she needs something. It’s a heart-wrenching decision to put someone you love into a nursing home, but we know she is being better taken care of by a team there than we could do for her at home. The girls and I try to go by and check on her at least twice each week, so we swing by to say hi. She is doing well, but having a sleepy day. (With the weather like it is, I’m having a sleepy day myself!). We chat a minute with her and the nurses to make sure she is doing well.
We dash out of South Haven in just enough time to get MA changed into her second leotard of the day – this time for gymnastics. Again, it is her second gymnastics class of the week. I think she loves gymnastics best of all the activities she is involved in. She has learned so much this year, and has learned to take some risks. She has become good friends with her classmates. One of those classmates is Damaris, whose family owns the Mexican restaurant a few stores down from the gym. We usually eat there multiple times each week, and last night Jonathan was able to meet us for a quick dinner before we need to be at church.
In a few short weeks, we will have the children’s spring musical. A couple of weeks ago kids auditioned for singing and drama parts. Drama practice started last night, so we left Jonathan and Patterson at the restaurant to head to church. We were pleased to find out that MA was given a drama part in the spring musical, and she stayed to practice with the rest of the cast until time for choir.
After getting her settled, I headed over to the mall for a minute to look for Easter dress. I only had time to go into two stores, and I didn’t really find anything I liked. I ran back to the church to pick up MA, giving her a few extra minutes to play in the playground with her friends. We headed home and got there just in time to put both girls to bed – only a little past bedtime.
Whew!
What about you guys that homeschool and/or have busy children? Do you stack your busy-ness into a few days or does it work better for you to spread it out? How much is too much for your family?
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