the mundane, and more

Recently I've had the problem of not remembering what I'm doing or, for that matter, what I've done during the course of the week. During casual weekend conversation when someone will ask, "How was your week?", I find myself at an utter and complete loss. I try very hard to remember what I've done. Surely something important or meaningful must have happen, right?

Well, I've decided to close this week with a "My Week At A Glance" sort of post. I'll try only to hit the highlights and not bore you with the mundane. Although, I have to admit, that a lot of mothering and simply being "at-home" has a lot to do with being faithful and motivated in doing the mundane. It is the mundane that keeps us alive, right?

Monday...
Made a a new version of "play dough" from this amazing and creative Montessori site. It is a no-cook recipe so I gave each of the children a bowl and let them measure, mix and knead their own dough. Simple. It got lots of use and now lives in our fridge just waiting to be taken out and squeezed!
We attended our last "Monday Homeschool Class" at the Lutz Museum and watched Sophia's chorus class perform five interesting and beautiful songs. Loved it.

Tuesday...
I attended a meeting of "Birth Network National" at the Papaya Patch for their monthly meeting. It was "Doula Night" and I had a chance to meet up with some of my favorite doulas and meet a few more. Oh, and got to browse this shop- one of my favorites.

While there I borrowed a few books and decided to join (yet another!) book club. This one is sponsored by Birth on Labor Day and the two books for November/December are "Ina May's Guide to Childbirth" and "Spiritual Midwifery", both by Ina May Gaskin. They clincher is that we get to participate in a conference call with the author next month!!! This is amazing for me... I consider Ina May to be truly inspirational. I am loving the latter book (I've already read and re-read the first book while pregnant with Elias- amazing).

Wednesday...
Yet another trip to Old Sturbridge Village. What can I say... I can't refuse FREE admission to anything (they validated our tickets from two weeks ago for another, complimentary, visit). This time Mike joined us and loved it just as much as we did. I could just see him getting all inspired and giddy looking at those old timber-framed homes!

Thursday...
I am finding that the best way to start the day is to ease into it! This, lately, has meant loads of pillows, quilts and cushions from every corner of these being borrowed for forts, massive beds and the like for the children. We have been powering down our TV and putting on music instead. Perhaps it feeds the imagination. I don't know. BUT, these "forts" certainly do hold the attention of all three of our kids. This means time for coffee and devotionals for the mother... everyone benefits.

A lovely visit with our friends in the afternoon. Despite the rain and the gloom, lots of fun was had in our house which was bustling with SIX children. It's always good to sit (on the floor) and chat with you Amanda!

Friday...
A library visit. And some amazing books. We had just finished reading, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" taken from William Shakespeare's play and were really wishing for some more visuals of Puck, Oberon, Titania and the other fairies. Well, we found a book with full, color photos on each page. It is so great to see my daughter get excited about the same things that I am loving!
Oh, and she insisted on borrowing another version of "A Child's Garden of Verses" because she liked the artwork for her favorite poem, "Fairy Bread", better than the version we own. Now that's taking ownership of your education!

A night with only one child... my parents have taken the older pair overnight for a sleepover. Apparently there are some "secret Thanksgiving plans" for some sort of play. I think it may be a re-enactment of the first Thanksgiving because Sophia brought her bonnet and Nicolas was asking me for a hatchet and some feathers!!!!!

I am ashamed to say that I don't ever recall ever having any real, quality, alone-time with Elias. Tonight was that night. We read books, played chase, ate a quiet dinner alone and baked the yummiest banana muffins. He was so helpful. I even let him lick the spoon. It felt so good to be able to give him all of me. He was living for it. And so was I.


So that's it. My week, in a nutshell.