Friday links: 29 April, 2022

Good morning, and happy Friday! Boy, am I looking forward to the weekend, with slightly less to do (…maybe). I don’t think we have anything on the schedule, so maybe I’ll actually get to watch those YouTube videos I’ve been saving for a few weeks!

Today is our shortened day of school, with my daughter’s counselor appointment at 12, but we’ve been trying to squish in some extra schoolwork when we get home. The same will go for today, as long as I can also figure out what to make for dinner in that space of time as well…

Anyway, here’s what I found interesting on the internet this week!

 

1 in 5 Educators Say They’ve Experienced Long Covid

Coming soon to likely every school near you: a staff full of struggling people (and that’s not even touching on how any of the kids have been affected…). We were already struggling to keep teachers in the profession before the pandemic; now, with teachers having been and still continuing to be treated like garbage by both administration and parents and the community at large AND now they’re being disabled en masse by a virus we insist is no big deal? Yeah…this is an awful situation for everyone, and it’s just beginning. I think we’re really in trouble here.

 

‘Everywhere Babies,’ a picture book celebrating infants, on list of banning targets in Florida

*blinks*

This is how bad it’s gotten. The illustrations here aren’t even specifically of two dads or two moms (NOT THAT THAT WOULD BE A PROBLEM EITHER); they could be two not-parenting-together people of the same sex- a woman and her next-door neighbor, for example, or a dad with his brother- but either way, we all know that two people of the same sex never, ever do anything or go anywhere together in public unless it’s for nefarious purposes that are against these book banners’ limited sense of how the world is supposed to be. *insert the biggest eyeroll emoji you can think of right here*

Can you feel how disgusted I am? We’re actively working as hard as possible as a species to dumb ourselves down as much as we can, and it really seems like we’re succeeding at a disturbingly rapid pace, based on what these morons are doing. Speaking of disgusting morons (these people are putting me in quite a mood)…

 

Tennessee Lawmaker Suggests Burning Banned Books

Because THAT has worked out SO well throughout history! Book burners have always been looked at as paragons of freedom and liberty! Definitely not the opposite!

What is going on? Why are we so desperate to drag the country into fascism? Tennessee has been trying this out for years, and they’ve never been a state to embrace any kind of progressive measures – when I lived there and our schools couldn’t open for the year in August because they didn’t have enough money in the budget, one of the county commissioners sneered at us and told us he went to a one-room schoolhouse and turned out fine, so our kids, in 2012, shouldn’t worry that the computers in their schools were older than any of the students there (my son was ten at the time), that they didn't NEED technology at all! – but this is beyond disgusting. I hope this dude never has a solid bowel movement for the rest of his life.

 

Simplicity

This is a wonderful article that mentions Wendy Mogel, the author of the fabulous parenting book, The Blessings of a Skinned Knee (which I highly recommend). I’m a little bit in the process of mentally examining all the things I own and trying to figure out what to keep and what to send on its way to its next home. Articles like this really encourage me to keep the process going, because owning fewer things means fewer things to take care of.

And along those lines…

 

Do Less: The Power of Simplicity

Does this ever sound appealing after the hectic week I’ve had!

I do have a bit of a beef with this paragraph, however:

Business consultant Alan Weiss points out that “Time is the great equalizer.” Everyone has the same amount of time in their day, rich and poor alike. It’s what you do in that time that makes all the difference.

That’s entirely untrue. Someone who commutes or takes public transportation two hours to work each way does not have the same amount of time as a person who works from home. Someone who gets home from work and has a wife who takes care of every. single. thing in the house – food, laundry, cleaning, etc – has WAY more free time than someone who needs to come home and make dinner and help the kids with homework. People who pay someone else to do their housework have more free time than people who do scrub their own toilets and floors.

But, in general, less is often more, and simplifying life often means fewer things to worry about. What can you drop that isn’t bringing you joy?

 

And that’s it for this week! I’ve got to get dressed and then put my daughter’s carseat back in the car. Wish me luck; this is hard on my back and it’s already not feeling great. Wishing you all a wonderful, relaxing weekend! Shalom, friends. : )

What's Been Going On: Monday, 25 April - Wednesday, 27 April, 2022

Phew! The last few days have been an exhausting whirlwind and I feel like I haven’t had a moments’ rest. I haven’t been to visit all of you lately, and I’m sorry for that. There just hasn’t been any chunk of time where I could sit down and use the computer (I still have a video that was released two weeks ago on YouTube that I haven’t managed to sit down and watch yet. Maybe this weekend…). And as busy as I’ve been, I still haven’t gotten done even a fraction of the things that need to be accomplished. At this point, I either need about 48 extra hours in the day, or an entire horde of sister wives…

Hopefully things have been a little more relaxed for you! Here’s what I’ve been up to so far this week.

 

Monday, 25 April, 2022

Happy birthday to my daughter! She turned eight this day.

After coffee and breakfast, I finished writing and posted my Monday post, then edited and posted my book review for This Close to Okay by Leesa Cross-Smith on my book blog.

I got dressed and emptied the dishwasher, and when I was refilling it, my mom arrived! She was early, but it’s hard to predict what traffic will look like between our two houses, and she’s not the kind to care what state my house is in (thank goodness!). I cleaned the kitchen and tidied the living room, and then my daughter opened her birthday presents, which was just delightful chaos. : )

She got a set of unicorn bedsheets, a watch, a whole lot of books and a princess sticker set, and Grandma gave her a whole lot of clothes and toys. My son showed up after a bit to spend the day with us. And after that was the birthday surprise: we were off for the day to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. My daughter was absolutely delighted!

I hadn’t been to the museum since I was young, but it’s still just as awesome. We toured the coal mine first (boy, I did not realize how much I knew about coal mining, labor practice, and workers’ strikes before this…The guide kept looking surprised when I answered all her questions, haha!), which was super cool. We had to show my daughter the fairy castle, which she loved, and there were just a ton of amazing exhibits, including this model of Chicago. I think this is my favorite museum around here. If you ever get the chance to go, DO IT. Such a fun place.

 

We stayed until after 2pm, and we were all tired and hungry (and my back and hips were screaming at me. SO much walking). We had cake at home, and then my mom and I dropped my son off and picked up three HUGE garbage bags full of girls’ clothing from Freecycle. I’ve been watching Freecycle for ages for bigger-sized girls’ clothing, since there still aren’t any church yard sales (which is where I get most of my daughter’s clothing!). I’ve gone through all the clothing I had stored in larger sizes from before the pandemic, and I was starting to get a little worried about what to do when she outgrew what she has now. My mom and I looked through the bags after we ate dinner at home, and there’s SO much gorgeous clothing in those bags, in nearly perfect condition. There’s even a North Face jacket! I haven’t separated it all yet, from what she can where now from what I can put away for later – no time – but I’ll get to that soon. SO grateful to this wonderful lady from Freecycle!

I cleaned up the living room and tidied my daughter’s room, took out the garbage and recycling and replaced the bags. My mom and I hauled the cans to the curb, and she headed back home. I put dinner away and showered. I did my Duolingo and read, and my husband and I watched one episode of Deadly Women before going to bed.

 

Tuesday, 26 April, 2022

After coffee, I edited and posted my book review for Golem Girl: A Memoir by Riva Lehrer on my book blog. I emptied and reloaded the dishwasher and ran it, took the laundry downstairs and started a load, then carried my husband’s clean laundry up to the bedroom.

We started our school day with On This Day in History and geography (Mexico). We did math, I switched the laundry and started a new load, and we did spelling and Language Arts. We read a chapter from our book on food history, and I switched the laundry and started a new load.

After lunch, I emptied the dishwasher, scooped the litterbox, and folded a load of laundry and put it away. I brought up toilet paper from the basement to the bathroom.

We watched an episode of Horrible Histories, then I switched the laundry and started a new load (are you sensing a theme to my day here???). We read about genetics and evolution, and tackled two chapters of our history book. We read about fashion history, did our 30 minutes of Read Harder/silent reading, and did 15 minutes of journal writing.

I got my daughter the piece of cake from the garage freezer she requested, took out the compost, brought the cans in from the curb, took out the recycling, and put the soaking dishes in the dishwasher. I switched the laundry and started a new load. I did an hour of volunteer work, then carried four loads of clean laundry upstairs and folded and put them all away.

After dinner (leftovers), I did a 26-minute HASFit workout (it was a 38-minute one, but I decided to listen to my back and quit while it was still only mildly complaining) and showered. I put my daughter to bed, read my book, and my husband and I watched half of a documentary on child marriage (which I’d actually see before) before going to bed.

 

Wednesday, 27 April, 2022

After breakfast and coffee, it was time to make out my grocery list! Nothing super amazing, but there was some decent produce on sale, which made me happy.

We started our school day with On This Day in History and geography (Micronesia), did math, spelling, and Language Arts. We read a chapter of food history, and continued reading the book on genetics.

After lunch, we watched an episode of Horrible Histories, then finished the book on genetics. We read more about evolution, and then dove into some fashion history. I left my daughter doing her silent reading (she’s reading a book of fairy tales, so she was completely happy with this…not so happy about the math I also left her to complete), and I left for groceries.

I went to two stores, and the best deal I got were another four full-sized bottles of Suave conditioner for 99 cents from the marked-down shelves! Super happy about that. I’ve got one more store to stop by today. At home, I put all the groceries away, then sat down for another hour of volunteer work (working on compiling lists of addiction treatment places in Tennessee). I also baked the pizza while I was doing this.

After dinner, I did my Duolingo, then went upstairs and did a 23-minute Yoga with Adriene video, then I showered and came downstairs to begin working on this post. I tidied a few things in my bedroom, then settled down to read (I’m reading One People, Two Worlds: A Reform Rabbi and an Orthodox Rabbi Explore the Issues That Divide Them by Ammiel Hirsch and Yaakov Yosef Reinman. 300 pages of rabbis arguing in letter format!). My husband and I finished up the documentary we had started the night before and then went to bed.

 

And that’s it! Pretty much every moment of my days has been spoken for. I’d love a few hours of the day to sit and knit and relax (or at least sit and not have another 3482374932 tasks that are waiting for me to complete them). I desperately need to clean the living room and kitchen floors (different methods; one is wood and the other is vinyl), I need to wash the blankets on the couch, I need to sort my daughter’s new clothes, the kitchen is in terrific need of a whole-room scrubdown…there’s just not time. I quite literally do not have enough hours in the day in order to get all of this done, and there’s a new mess to take care of (or five!) every time I complete a task. Anyone know where I can get a sister wife or ten?

Hope you’re having a great week!!!

What's Been Going On: Thursday, 21 April - Sunday, 24 April, 2022

Eight years ago today, I lay in a hospital bed, snuggling one of the prettiest babies I’d ever seen. Her head was perfectly round and her skin was super pink, and there wasn’t a single mark on her (my son, by contrast, had been banged up a little more by the birth and had various bruises). As soon as they handed her to me, I said, “Oh, hello!” and she immediately stopped crying and just looked at me, like she recognized my voice. One of the most beautiful moments of my life. Happy birthday to my feisty little girl, who turns eight today!

We had a wonderful weekend; Saturday’s weather was nearly perfect and I spent almost all of the day outside. We’re not quite there yet for the weather to be like that full-time, but it’s coming, and I’m trying my best to be patient until it gets here! SO much reading to be done on my swing this summer. : )

Here’s what I was up to the second half of last week!

 

Thursday, 21 April, 2022

After coffee, I finished writing and then posted my Thursday post. I got dressed, brought in a yogurt bowl from the garage freezer, then filled and ran the dishwasher.

We started our school day with On This Day in History and geography (Mauritania), then did Language Arts and spelling. We read more Egyptian mythology, then more from our book on fashion history.

After lunch, I emptied and reloaded the dishwasher, took out the compost and recycling, cleaned out the sink and scrubbed the stovetop. I made a batch of taco seasoning, and then, as per a suggestion from my online homeschool group, we watched an episode of the show Horrible Histories. My history-hating daughter loved it! We’ll definitely continue with this.

We did two chapters of our regular history book, read more fashion history, and then it was nice out enough that we took school outside! We did our Read Harder/silent reading on the back porch (I’m reading The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Music History; my daughter read a chapter book about fairies), then did our 15 minutes of journal writing. When we finished with that, my daughter wanted to play in her sandbox, so I pulled my chair up and finished reading our book of Egyptian mythology to her (which took about an hour!).

I read outside a little longer, then heated up our leftovers. I finished reading The Lost Arts of Hearth and Home: The Happy Luddite’s Guide to Self-Sufficiency by Ken Albala and Rosanna Nafziger Henderson, then started How Good Do We Have to Be?: A New Understanding of Guilt and Forgiveness by Harold Kushner. We had dinner, I did my Duolingo, and then it was off on a three-ish mile walk. While at the pond, we saw this guy, whom people from the iNaturalist app have informed me is a red-tailed hawk:

 

At home, I showered my sandy daughter, then showered myself and put my daughter to bed. I read, and my husband and I watched one episode of Deadly Women before bed.

 

Friday, 22 April, 2022

After coffee, I wrote and posted my Friday post, got dressed, and tidied the living room.

We started our day with On This Day in History and geography (Mauritius), then did a level of math, some spelling, and blasted through the rest of Level 5 in my daughter’s Language Arts curriculum. Woohoo! This took us up until 10:45, when we had a little bit to eat – NOT a full lunch after last week’s barf-a-thon – and then it was off to the counselor’s office.

This week went SO much better. There was no barfing, thankfully, and she developed a really strong rapport with the counselor. He’s amazing at asking just the right question and steering whatever subject they were talking about into an example or an idea for conversation. I really think this is going to be helpful!

Afterwards, we ran into the grocery store to pick up some corn tortillas and canned enchilada sauce (I usually make my own, but today was just too full, and this was an acceptable price), and a bag of marked-down tomatoes. At home, we had a late lunch, and then I made an enchilada casserole. My daughter and I watched an episode of Horrible Histories, then read part of a book about evolution, which she really liked. We looked through about half of a book on cat breeds, then, at my daughter’s request, I supervised as she watched some videos about the human body and did a few of the accompanying workbook pages (I was ready to relax at this point, and she was super into doing these pages, haha).

After dinner, I did my Duolingo and showered, then put dinner away. I spent a little bit of time crafting a thoughtful reply to someone online who had asked about my volunteer work, then I picked up my knitting. I attended virtual Shabbat services at my synagogue (music was provided by the synagogue’s bluegrass group, which is always lovely!). I read my book for a little bit afterwards, and my husband and I watched an episode of Deadly Women before bed.

 

Saturday, 23 April, 2022

Coffee, and then I wrote out two book reviews (SO behind in book reviews, ack!). I cleaned the kitchen, took out the compost and recycling, and emptied and reloaded the dishwasher.

It was already nice enough for me to haul out my folding camp chair and read on the porch, so that’s what I did the rest of the morning. SO relaxing, which was nice, because after lunch…

I mowed the lawn. Our yard isn’t huge, but it took me 1.5 hours in order to shove the mower through the super-long, super-thick fall-and-winter grass. I had to stop a few times to catch my breath, and it wore the skin off my left hand and left me with a huge blister on my right. OUCH.

 

That wore me out. I’m not at all ashamed to say I spent the rest of the afternoon reading on the porch. I finished the Harold Kushner book, then began reading Lovesong: Becoming a Jew by Julius Lester.

After dinner, I did my Duolingo, showered, then read on the porch until it was time to come in. I put the chairs back in the trunk of the car, then put my daughter to bed. I read my book some more, and my husband and I watched one episode of Deadly Women before bed.

 

Sunday, 24 April, 2022

I had breakfast and coffee, then began work on this post. I wrote out some of my book blog’s monthly update, then ended up taking a decent nap. I’d slept absolutely terribly the night before, so I very much needed this!

After lunch, I spent a little time on the computer, talked with my son on the phone, and then it was time to head out the door to meet my mother-in-law at Walmart so my daughter could pick out a birthday present. She picked out a set of doll accessories (she uses her stuffed monkey to play with it more than her dolls, but that’s fine!), and it was nice to chat with my mother-in-law for a short while! Back at home, I chopped up some tomatoes and onions, prepared them for roasting and got them in the oven, then took out the compost. I filled and ran the dishwasher, then did some more stuff on the computer. I blended the tomatoes and onions into sauce, got it into a pot to warm, then boiled the noodles. Spaghetti for dinner!

 

I did my Duolingo and showered, put dinner away, and settled down with my book. I finished Lovesong by Julius Lester, and my husband and I watched one episode of Deadly Women before bed. I had the second night in a row of very little sleep, and got up for a while to begin reading One People, Two Worlds: A Reform Rabbi and an Orthodox Rabbi Explore the Issues That Divide Them by Ammiel Hirsch and Yosef Reinman.

 

And that’s it! My daughter doesn’t know it yet, but we’re off to the Museum of Science and Industry this morning. She’s going to be so excited! : ) Have a great week, y’all!

Friday links: 22 April, 2022

It’s Friday! Always nice to have the weekend juuuuuuuuuust about here. This has been a pretty good week so far, so I’m not desperate for a break like I have been some weeks! Yesterday was amazing; almost 70 degrees, full sun (enough for me to slightly toast my right arm, whoops), it was gorgeous out there and we did a bunch of our afternoon school sitting outside, plus we went on a really nice walk afterwards. Saturday’s supposed to be hot as well, but then back down to chilly. Ah well. Can’t have it all at once, I guess!

I haven’t been online all that much this week, but what I did find was at least both interesting and useful. Here we go!

 

Illinois Officials Recommend Residents Take Down Bird Feeders, Baths Due to Avian Flu

Ours will be coming down either later today or tomorrow (we’ve got some thunderstorms rolling in, so it depends on when we can sneak out there). I know this is a problem in multiple states, so if you’ve got bird feeders or baths, heavily consider taking them down until May 31^st to stop the spread of the EA H5N1 strain of Avian flu, which is hitting both wild and domestic birds. We love our birds; they provide us so much joy and entertainment at the feeder right outside our living room window, and that’s why we want to do everything we can to keep them safe and healthy.

 

Covid: Woman caught virus twice within record 20 days

If where you live is like where I live, you’re seeing way more of people’s faces than you’re comfortable with these days. Sometimes I’m the only one in the store wearing a mask. It doesn’t bother me; I’ve never had any problem with standing out or being different. But cases ARE going up. The wastewater data doesn’t lie, and it’s up, up, up. And now we’ve got evidence of people being reinfected within a three-week time frame? Not good news. Wear your masks, friends. Be careful about large gatherings, especially indoor ones. Multiple infections do our bodies no favors.

 

God Is Not a Consumerist

This is an article about Hanukkah (just a little bit), but it’s truly applicable for all holidays. Why are we so driven by stuff, and what does it mean? Is there any way out of this cycle? It’s hard: hard to explain why and follow through with our children, hard to make our extended family understand that we appreciate their generosity, but we don’t need anything (I’m thinking particularly of my mom here, who is wonderful, but whose love language is gifts). How can we better celebrate holidays in ways that don’t involve consumerism? Definitely something to ponder.

 

Simplicity as a Jewish Path

What a great article. One of the many, many things I love about Judaism is its demand for constant self-reflection: what are you doing with your life to help others, how are you living out these principles, are you helping the arc of the universe bend toward justice? It forces me to constantly reconsider what kind of person I am and want to be, and I love that so much. There’s a tradition of voluntary simplicity in Judaism, known as histapkut b’me’ut, and this article goes into what that means (and how the trauma of Jewish history has affected the way many Jews have struggled with this concept, which is entirely understandable). This article is giving me a lot of joy today, and you definitely don’t have to be Jewish in order to find inspiration in it.  

 

That’s it for today! There are a few places on the list for some scary weather this weekend, so if that’s you, take care and stay safe. Wishing you all a wonderful, peaceful weekend. Shalom, friends. : )

What's Been Going On: Monday, 18 April - Wednesday, 21 April, 2022

 So far, so good this week! It’s actually been pretty calm here, which has been a nice change. Definitely something we all needed.

The weather is still gross. Rainy and cold, so cold I lost feeling in my feet the other day (my body really doesn’t seem to respond well to that damp-chill kind of cold, when it’s both cold AND rainy). We have a few nice-ish days coming up and then back to the cold. I swear, whoever said that April was supposed to be a halfway decent month was a filthy liar...

Warmer days are coming soon. Likely not until the end of May, but they’re coming. I just have to keep reminding myself of that! (She says, gazing at the rain-streaked window and sighing.)

Here’s what I’ve been up to so far this week.

 

Monday, 18 April, 2022

After coffee, I finished writing and posted Monday’s post, then edited and posted my review for Free: Two Years, Six Lives, and the Long Journey Home by Lauren Kessler on my book blog (highly recommended!). I got dressed and put a batch of chickpeas into the Instant Pot, then brought in a yogurt bowl from the garage freezer to thaw on the counter for lunch.

We started our school day with On This Day in History and geography (Malta), then did a unit of math. We read more of the outdoor science book, read some Egyptian mythology (I’ve never read any of this before, so I’m really enjoying this right along with my daughter), and read more about food history (the book we’re reading is called There’s No Ham in Hamburgers: Facts and Folklore About Our Favorite Foods by Kim Zachman, and it’s a LOT of fun!).

After lunch, we worked on spelling and Language Arts, read more Filipino children’s stories, did two chapters of history (my poor daughter. She hates history. Tough luck there, kiddo!), then finished our biography of Walt Disney. We did our 30 minutes of Read Harder/silent reading (I started reading The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Music History by Michael Miller, a book I borrowed off my son’s shelves; my daughter was finishing up a Geronimo Stilton book. I let her read whatever she wants during this time), then did 15 minutes of journal writing.

I headed to the kitchen to start chopping things for dinner, what would become Greek Quinoa Buddha Bowls, except I used brown rice because Aldi was out of quinoa. I got the rice in the Instant Pot, scooped the litterbox, unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, took out the garbage and recycling, took the cans to the curb, and replaced the garbage bags. And then it was time to sit down for an hour of volunteer work.

After dinner, I did my Duolingo, did a 36-minute Yoga with Adriene video (love her!) which was pretty painful for my left hip, then showered and put dinner away. I headed upstairs to read, and my husband and I watched one episode of Deadly Women before going to bed.

 

Tuesday, 19 April, 2022

After coffee, I read for a little bit, then got dressed and tossed a batch of chickpeas in the Instant Pot. (Lots of chickpeas this week. I think Passover week is always like that around here. Yay for kitniyot!)

We started out our school day with On This Day in History and geography (Marshall Islands). We did math (measuring!), then worked on spelling and Language Arts. We read more outdoor science, Egyptian mythology, and food history.

After lunch, we finished the book on Filipino children’s stories, read an interesting book on paleontology and archeology, read half of a fiction book on the Underground Railroad, and did two chapters of our history book. We did our 30 minutes of Read Harder/silent reading and 15 minutes of journal writing, and then it was off to the kitchen with me!

I made a large bowl of Chickpea Salad, took out the compost, and filled and ran the dishwasher. I sat down and did about 20 minutes of volunteer work, but then bailed to go for a chilly walk with my husband and daughter. Our friend the heron was back at the pond!

 

At home, we had dinner; I did my Duolingo and showered (I was feeling stiff enough from the 3-ish mile walk that I figured I’d count that as my exercise), and put dinner away. I hung out on the computer for a bit, and then it was time to put my daughter to bed (where we skipped reading our regular novel to read – her choice! – a book about the history of water purification). I read my book, and my husband and I watched an episode of Deadly Women before going to bed.

 

Wednesday, 20 April, 2022

After coffee, I made out my grocery list (nothing good on sale this week), and got dinner – Slow Cooker Veggie Curry – in the crockpot. This is the second time I’ve made this, and…it’s just not inspiring, at all. I’m going to have to jazz up the leftovers with some jarred curry sauce, I think. I got the chickpeas (SO MANY CHICKPEAS) in the Instant Pot (I added them to the crockpot when they were cooked!), unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, and got dressed.

We started our day with On This Day in History and geography (Martinique). Math, Language arts and spelling came next. My kiddo was a little grumbly, but she got all her work done. We finished reading the outdoor science book, and then it was time for lunch.

Back to school! We finished the story about the Underground Railroad, did two chapters of history, and read a little more Egyptian mythology. I left my daughter working on her spelling words and headed out for groceries.

I didn’t spend much this week, because we really didn’t need much. I did buy a mess of marked-down clementines, though, so that was nice! I also hit up the post office for stamps and stopped by the library to return a bunch of library books.

At home, I put the groceries away and returned my father’s phone call; he had called when I was driving. My grandmother, who is in a nursing home, isn’t doing well; she isn’t expected to live more than six months at the most. It’s sad, but not entirely unexpected.

I did a whole bunch of volunteer work at this point, probably a little over an hour or so, just because I got caught up in it (working on addiction treatment resources in Tennessee now). After dinner, I did my Duolingo and put dinner away, then headed upstairs to change and do a 20-minute PopSugar arms and abs workout. It was the first PopSugar workout I’ve ever done; I liked it, but I think I need to hit up the 30-minute ones, since the 20 felt too short! I showered and worked on this post for a bit, then I settled down with my book. My husband and I watched one episode of Deadly Women before bed.

 

And that’s it! Nothing huge so far this week…which is good. Tomorrow we go back to the counselor; I’m reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally hoping my daughter doesn’t explode like Old Faithful again, but I’ll have a bag with me just in case. *nervous laughter* Wish us luck!

What's Been Going On: Thursday, 14 April - Sunday, 17 April, 2022

Phew! Interesting few days around here. So much as we try, the best-laid plans often go awry, and there’s just nothing we can do about it but laugh. Life is just like that sometimes.

Despite the…messes…of the past few days, things are at least running a little more smoothly. My daughter has settled down a little, so we’re staying out of tantrum territory. The weather has been gross, though; it’s been cold and windy this whole past weekend, but I’ve been motivated enough with my other projects that it’s only making me a *little* grumpy. (SERIOUSLY, APRIL, YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE WARMER THAN THIS!!!! FORTY-ONE DEGREES, ARE YOU KIDDING ME???)

Anyway. : D Here’s what I’ve been up to lately!

 

Thursday, 14 April, 2022

After coffee and breakfast, I wrote out and posted my Thursday post, then got dressed. We started our school day with On This Day in History and geography (Mali), then worked through math. We took a short break so I could empty and refill the dishwasher and took out recycling, and then we dove into Language Arts and spelling (I will say, my daughter’s spelling has seriously improved since she’s started homeschooling! It’s by no means perfect, but there are times when she’ll write a few sentences and everything is spelled correctly, which definitely wasn’t happening before. Could be homeschooling, could be she’s just hitting her stride and reaching a developmental milestone. Either way, I’m happy!). We read some of her outdoor science book (birds!), then started a book on food history.

After lunch, we read some of a biography of Walt Disney, did two chapters of history, and read from a book of Filipino children’s stories. We did our 30 minutes of Read Harder/silent reading, 15 minutes of journal writing, and then my daughter and I had a long talk about the therapist we would meet the next day. She was so nervous, so I did my best to reassure her. She did her math work while I made tofu scramble with veggies, baked pumpkin oatmeal, and air-fried some sweet potatoes. I got a batch of tomatoes reading for roasting, cleaned up, and got the tomatoes in the oven.

 

After dinner (which was SO good), I did my Duolingo, put dinner away, and did a 36-minute Yoga with Adriene video. I showered, returned an email to the therapist we would be meeting on Friday, and blended the roasted tomatoes into sauce (which went into the fridge). I settled down with my book, and my husband and I watched one episode of Deadly Women before bed.

 

Friday, 15 April, 2022

This is the kind of day you just have to laugh at so you don’t cry.

After breakfast and coffee, I wrote out Friday’s post and got it up, then ran the dishwasher and got dressed.

We read from our biography of Walt Disney, read more from the outdoor science book and the food history book, and then we had an early lunch before heading out the door to the therapist’s office.

He seems very nice. My daughter sat on my lap a good part of the time we were in the office; occasionally she got up to play with the slats of the vertical blinds. We’d been there chatting with him for maybe 30 minutes when my daughter, who had been *so* nervous, just turned around and vomited all over. All over herself, the floor, me, both our coats…If anything ever deserved an oy vey, this did.

I apologized nine million times (fortunately, he has kids, so he gets it, but STILL. OY VEY) and did everything I could to clean up. We made an agreement to come back next week at the same time, and my daughter and I hustled out to the car, where I stripped her soaked-with-vomit shirt off and got her buckled in with a just-in-case bag. I cracked the window driving home, because lemme tell you, the car did not smell great. OY.

At home, I got my poor embarrassed kiddo upstairs and showered her off (after changing my clothes first), and then I collected the laundry and got it going. I snuggled her in my room and read out loud to her for a bit (we’re reading Follow My Leader by James B. Garfield).

After my husband got home, I walked to the gas station behind our house (not directly behind, but it takes like two minutes to walk there) to get a caffeinated drink, because – no surprise here – I had a headache! At home, I pulled out the last purple stripe on my blanket; it was rumpling in a way I didn’t like, and I figured I’d try to reknit it (still not completely thrilled with it, but oh well).

It was leftovers for dinner, and I attended Central Synagogue’s abbreviated Shabbat service, followed by their Passover Seder, both of which were lovely. I often ‘field trip’ there when my synagogue doesn’t have services, and services at Central are always absolutely phenomenal. The music is mind-blowing; you’d think the rabbis and cantors stepped straight off of Broadway. I have to say I do love my own synagogue’s services best, but it’s always nice to virtually travel to Central. : )

I showered after the Seder was done, then put my daughter to bed (it wasn’t my turn, but sometimes when you have a rough day, you just want Mom, and she did). I read my book, and my husband and I watched one episode of Deadly Women before going to bed.

 

Saturday, 16 April, 2022

After coffee, I finished reading This Close to Okay by Leesa Cross-Smith. I emptied, refilled, and ran the dishwasher, and took out the compost.

I got dressed, and then it was time to head off to the library a few towns over to return a book (and pick up a few more!). I was one of a very few people wearing a mask in there *sigh*, but I grabbed the books from my list, plus one extra.

 

At home, we had lunch, and then it was time to clean my daughter’s room, because it was a mess again. I wish I’d gotten a picture! This took over two hours, and by the time we were done, my hips were absolutely screaming. Sitting on the floor is really, really hard for me. I curled up in my chair with Golem Girl by Riva Lehrer and read for a good long time, and then we all hopped into the car. My husband had to run into Menards, and then we went and got ice cream (I’d promised my daughter ice cream after her appointment the day before, and, uh…obviously that wasn’t possible then. Not as a bribe, just as a, “I know this is a tough thing for you, so here’s something nice to look forward to afterwards").

At home, I read until dinner, did my Duolingo, and did a 27-minute Yoga with Adriene video. I showered, hung out on the computer a bit, then read my book. My husband and I watched one episode of Deadly Women before bed.

 

Sunday, 17 April, 2022

I hope all of you who celebrate Easter had a lovely one!

I woke up at 6 am and snuggled with my daughter until 7, which is a far more acceptable time to wake up! After coffee, I read my book with the microwaved rice bag draped over my neck and shoulder (I had a stress-induced muscle spasm last week and it’s *still* incredibly painful). Finally, I got dressed and headed to the kitchen to start dinner for later: taco-flavored lentils in the Instant Pot, and sautéed onion, garlic, red and green peppers, and zucchini, all for homemade taco bowls later on. I ran the dishwasher, took out the recycling and compost, took out the tomato sauce I’d made earlier in the week to the garage freezer, and tidied the kitchen.

After lunch, I knit while watching YouTube for a bit, then my daughter and I went upstairs to clean out some of her toy drawers. They were getting much too full and not only looked terrible, but they were unorganized and chaotic. We sent two bags’ worth of items to the basement toy stash (she can still play with them; it just keeps the number of toys in her room to a more manageable level), and everything is much more organized now. I’m going to be thinking of ways to make the absolutely enormous mess on and under her blue table more manageable as well. That thing is out of control!

I came back downstairs and knit while watching YouTube; on and off, I’d get up and do something else, like tidy the living room, and start a batch of rice in the rice cooker.

 

After dinner (which was good as always! I love making my own Chipotle!), I headed upstairs to do an absolutely brutal 36-minute HASFit workout that left me completely disgusting, dripping with sweat, and barely able to wash my hair when I showered! (Seriously. Those Michelle Obama arms better be coming my way soon!) I was laughing the whole time in the shower at how floppy my arms felt! I put dinner away, put my daughter to bed, did my Duolingo, then struggled to keep my heavy book upright while I read. My husband and I watched one episode of Deadly Women, and I slept like the dead!

 

And that’s it! Here we are at the beginning of a brand-new week. We woke up this morning to a dusting of snow *eyeroll*, but by the weekend, it’s supposed to be in the 80’s. Oh, Midwest… Twenty-eight schooldays left, until we switch over to our summer schedule. Who wants to take bets over whether we’ll be ending the school year in pants and sweaters???

Wishing you all a wonderful week ahead. I’m crossing everything this week goes smoother than the last few!

Friday links: 15 April, 2022

Good morning, and happy Friday! Yesterday was a pretty good day here; we got through all my kiddo’s schoolwork with no issues. She’s pretty nervous about today’s appointment, so I’ve been doing my best to reassure her that it’s no big deal, and it’ll be like having a friendly conversation with a new grown-up. I’ll be there with her the whole time, so she can snuggle with me all she needs to.  : )

Here's what I found interesting online this week!

 

People developing trauma-like symptoms as the pandemic wears on

Trauma-like? Maybe they’re just experiencing trauma symptoms because most of the US seems to have given up on any kind of precautions and are pretending everything is normal again? (Meanwhile, our local parent groups are abuzz; an elementary school about 20 minutes from my town had 89 COVID cases in one day this week. And yet they’re continuing in-person learning.) Maybe medical personnel feel like their faces are being spit in because of this. Maybe the immunocompromised, who have no choice but to remain isolated if they want to stay alive, feel like society has collectively abandoned them. Maybe parents of kids too young to be vaccinated, who have been constantly insulted when they express concerns about their babies being infected with a virus for which we don’t know the long-term effects (did you hear about the new study that more definitively links the Epstein Barr virus with multiple sclerosis?), are furious about how no one cares how stressed-out they are. It would be more surprising if people didn’t have trauma symptoms, I think.

 

Cleveland Clinic COVID-19 vaccination policy prevents dad from donating kidney to 9-year-old son

For years, this father has trusted his son’s medical team to treat his ill son and keep him alive. But suddenly, Dad, who is a near perfect match to donate a kidney to his child, knows WAY more about medical things than the doctors do and refuses to get vaccinated so that his son can live a more normal life.

I do not understand this. If one of my kids needed something from me, I’d be scrapping myself for parts. Take half my liver. Take a kidney. You need me to take those nasty anti-malaria pills that have hideous nightmares as a side effect? I’ll take an entire bottle every day for the rest of my life. Chop off my leg, remove my entire heart if that’s what my kid needs. They’re more important than I am. I would do all of this and more with zero hesitation, and this guy refuses a vaccine that billions of people have received so that his son can live??? I’m generally pretty lax about other people’s parenting and try not to judge, but this? I can’t imagine not doing everything in my power to help my sick child.

 

We’re Pressuring Students to Read Too Fast, Too Much, Too Soon

Agreed.

No one is more pro-literacy than I am. And that’s why I completely disagree with how we’re handling reading in this country. Now, to be fully honest, both my kids were able to read by kindergarten age (my son was a more fluent and more eager reader than my daughter at that age). I taught them both; my son was homeschooled completely at the time, but my daughter went to public school kindergarten (until March 2020, sigh). In my daughter’s case, I knew that her teacher would be overwhelmed with teaching all 20-some squirming little five- and six-year-olds to read, and I didn’t want my daughter falling through any cracks, so I taught her to read before. But reading is hard for a lot of kids that age, and so many of her classmates really struggled with sight words. I felt really bad for those students and their parents.

The best way to destroy a kid’s love of reading is to force them into it when they’re not ready. Pushing kids to do anything when they’re not ready for it is a great way to cause unnecessary stress. I keep wondering what the next step in all of this is. We’ve pushed first grade work back to kindergarten; will we push it back to preschool next? Why can’t we just let kids be kids and stop stressing them out with lists of sight words when they’re five?

Speaking of reading…

 

NYC libraries are offering free digital library cards to people across the US

If you’re in the US and have a device mentioned in the article, you can check out some free books from the New York City library system! They’re not at all psyched about the recent book bans spreading like wildfire by the purposely-intellectually-stunted across the country, so they’re fighting back by providing access to some of those books. Go NYC libraries!!!

 

And that’s it for this week! We’re about to get started with a little bit of schoolwork. Our appointment today is at noon, so we’ll work up until an early lunchtime and then head out. Wish us luck!

Passover starts tonight (I’ll be attending a virtual seder, which I’m looking forward to), and Easter is this Sunday, and Ramadan is ongoing, so whatever you celebrate, or if you’re celebrating nothing at all, I’m wishing you peace and happiness this weekend. Shalom, friends. : )