Friday

I wonder why I’ve been sleeping so much recently? I should start timing, to see exactly how much sleep I am getting. Since Aidan and Paddy have been sleeping through the night recently and I’ve stopped having anxiety attacks at 3 am (I don’t know what that was about but it lasted for a couple of years) I ought to be less tired. But it’s not so. So maybe allergy season accounts for it.

Yesterday we had homeschool group — Stations of the Cross and playtime for the kids — about a 20 minute drive down to the foothills. We’ve changed it to 10:30 am now that it is summer and getting so hot down there. It is a very small core group — 3 families — and about 5 additional families that come infrequently. I had trouble getting out of the house in time but apparently not as much trouble as the others because we were the first there by a long shot.

Once we got there the kids had fun, though it was hot even in the morning. Patrick played a chasing game with A. He is just barely getting to the “play together” stage but like all my kids, is a bit hesitant in jumping into a game with an unfamiliar person. Clare got to play the piano and give the Harry Potter sheet music to R. She got a bit ill and because I didn’t want Aidan to wear out, we left after a couple of hours. We managed to go by the drug store and get some Hi-9 tapes (finally) so the kids can continue their movie-making. Kieron takes a while to warm up to playing and this time, just as he and the other kids had started having fun — M had a light sabre, R had a pirate sword and he had his bamboo staff and they were doing swordfights — we had to leave. He was good about the disappointment and the other kids came to the car to say goodbye to him and tell him they wanted to continue the game next time.

In the afternoon I fell asleep — always makes me wonder if my kids will grow up with memories of a mom dozing during the day. Healthy life choice or poor example?? I don’t always need those naps but often I do!

Aidan was uncomfortable — good thing we didn’t stay much longer. I spent the afternoon applying Desitin and managed to make a phone call. The teenage boys have been playing with their Bionicles recently. They have an elaborate game set up. Liam has started working for Kevin again for the summer — so he’s been spending the daytime in his room on his computer. Clare took a nap and woke up feeling better and wanting to help make dinner. We had light simple food — I chopped up lots of veggies and made a tuna salad and cut up some fruit and put out carrots. But we ate at the table. Our goal was to start eating family dinners once we got our dishwasher, and so far it’s been happening several times a week. Getting to be a nice habit to come together as a family and just talk and eat. PReviously, we had been in the habit of buffet lineups — lay everything out on the kitchen counter and then go and sit anywhere, usually with a book. Not quite as sociable. I notice that the table meals help me put out healthier food.

After dinner Kevin played Scotland Yard with Sean, Kieron and Liam. It took a LONG time. They didn’t finish until 11 pm and Liam and I said a Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Usually we say a family decade and Liam and I say an additional rosary, but not last night. Liam says he’s enrolled with the Legion of Mary now so part of the commitment is to say a daily rosary.

Oh, and memorably! Brendan started his new book on June 1, wrote 2 pages and then wrote no less than 18 pages yesterday! He is so UP. He rarely appeared from his room where his computer is, but when he did he was jumping around like a grasshopper. His goal for this month of June was 30 pages so I guess he will meet his goal : ).