My Schedule - A Framework for My Days

I love schedules! There's something about having a schedule in black and white that just helps me feel more at ease and helps me stay productive. To me a schedule is just a kind of framework for my day. It helps to ensure that things stay balanced, that I make time for what's important to me at this time. And because following a schedule or routine ensures that things get done regularly it's not disastrous if something interrupts because I know I can just pick it up again and keep going.

 I love reading other people's schedules. Since it's been a long time since I've shared one here I thought I'd share my current schedule. My days now look so much different than they used too and I feel very fortunate to have the life I do. 

The times I have labelled homemaking I had originally labelled housework/kids but the term homemaking better captures what I'm aiming for during this time. This time includes housework, activities with kids, cooking, gardening and taking care of the animals. I also have teenagers who help with a lot of this work so it's not all up to me. That's another big blessing. 

6:00 Personal (Get ready for the day)

6:15 Bible Reading

6:30 Online Work (this blog and things associated with it)

7:00 Homemaking

7:30 Online Work

8:00 Homemaking

9:00* Shared Learning Time (Mon/Wed) Homemaking (Tues/Thurs)

11:00 Lunch/ Email

11:30 Homemaking

12:00 Read w/Austin and Amanda

1:00 Online Work (some afternoons there is also schoolwork to supervise)

3:00 Homemaking

6:00 Dinner

6:30 Homemaking

7:30 Read w/Michael

8:00 Online Work

10:00 Personal

10:30 Read

11:00 Bedtime

Wednesday we have church in the evening, some Monday evenings and Thursday afternoons I have meetings, and some Friday evenings we have Bible Study. Friday is also our errand day so we leave the house around 9:00 and then just pick up the schedule at whatever time we get home. 

*Shared Learning Time is when I am at my sister's and do a variety of learning activities with the kids their and with Michael. On the days we're home Michael has school assignments we work on together. 

LINKING HERE
WEDNESDAY - Ladies Collective Linkup, Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop

The Walnut Acre Daily Thursday October 10, 2013

WORDS TO LIVE BY

Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise. Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.

~ Proverbs 19:20-21

WORKING, LEARNING AND PLAYING TOGETHER

Today has been wonderful. I was able to take a large part of the day and enjoy some time to just work in my planner, tweak our schedules, do some blog work and simply soak in the peace and quiet. A friend took the kids for me from 9:00 AM until 3:20 PM and I went to the library and for the day. The library is one of my very favorite places to simply relax and regroup. My favorite library even has a little place where patrons can make a cup of coffee or tea and sip while they work. Thank you so much Karen for letting me have this time today.

Later this afternoon I took Amanda to the SPCA so she could work with some of the dogs there. This is still a very important part of her week that she looks forward to very much.

Later this evening is my weekly hour in the Community Prayer Room at church with my friend Tammy. 

IN THE KITCHEN

Breakfast this morning was simple - cereal with milk, bananas and juice. Michael helped me put meatballs for meatball subs in the slow cooker before I left this morning and that was what they had for lunch, along with some applesauce. On my way home from the SPCA this evening I stopped at McDonald's and bought chicken sandwiches for our dinner. 

ON MY MIND

There has been a lot on my mind lately - but one of the things in the forefront has been how much I tend to think I can do things on my own and that no one will understand some of the things I struggle with. But as I've opened up more and talked to more people I've realized how important it is to share with others instead of trying to walk alone. Of course, God is always with me, but He also made us to be in relationship with each other. Anxiety and OCD has made life very difficult for me for a large part of this year (and has been a large part of the reason my blogging has been so sporadic lately) but it has also made me grow in a lot of ways. God has used this time that I've worked on getting past these things to teach me so much about His love for me and His desire for me to stop trying to walk through things by myself. 

READING AROUND THE WEB

A Balanced Life is a Beautiful Life at The Welcoming House

How to Plant a Fall Garden at New Life On A Homestead

TODAY'S QUOTE

As long as you live, keep learning how to live. ~Seneca

Homeschool, Earthquake, Doctors Appointment and Ritalin - What a Week

I never meant for a whole week to go by before I updated here but this past week was simply not my best friend.

Monday was a quiet day and since we were starting school on Tuesday I gave Austin and Amanda a very easy day, letting them sleep in and basically have most of the day off.

Tuesday we started our schoolwork. I thought I had everything well planned and I was excited to get things started. As it turned out Amanda really didn't like the science I had planned for her and I greatly overestimated the amount of time Michael could sit still and work for me.

Then, midafternoon, we were hit by a 5.8 earthquake. Having never felt an earthquake before I have to admit it shook both Amanda and I up a bit. After the initial surprise I thought it was pretty interesting but Amanda really didn't agree with me there. Austin didn't feel it very much so he didn't have much to say about it.

Wednesday afternoon Michael had his five year check up. I had quite a bit I wanted to discuss with the pediatrician and he graciously listened and talked with me until I felt we both were on the same page. Michael has been having a LOT of behavior issues, along with difficulty sleeping at night. The tantrums are hard and long, the mood swings are wild,  he's bouncing off the walls, and very defiant at times. We've tried everything we know to do on our own and seem to be getting nowhere. And quite frankly, I was feeling tired and discouraged. After talking with me and reviewing his record the pediatrician had two recommendations. The first is to get a full evaluation done at Kluge Children's Rehabilitation Center. This would include physical, developmental, learning and psychiatric evaluations. I am full agreement with this. The other suggestion was to begin him on a trial of Ritalin. I hesitated here. I know children sometimes need medication, and I have no problem with that. Austin has been on medication for migraines, I am on medication for OCD. But I guess I wondered if there were other things we should try first, of if maybe we should wait until the evaluation was done. Sensing my reluctance he didn't write out the prescription immediately. But as we talked about how the other children are handling this, I think we both realized it is causing them some stress so he gave me the prescription. He said to just try it and see if we feel like it makes a difference. He pointed out that if Michael does not have ADHD we really won't see much difference while he's taking this. Either way it will help us understand what we are dealing with and what course to take from here.

So Michael started the Ritalin Thursday. Between starting new medicine and the four shots he got, he really wasn't in the mood for much schoolwork on Thursday. I was still working on some other options for Amanda and looking at a different schedule for Michael so we didn't get much done Thursday either.

Along with all this I ended up getting an awful itchy rash that started Thursday and has been getting increasingly worse. It started on my arms but has worked it's way up my neck and face, and is also now on my legs. I have no idea what is causing it but it is driving me crazy! Along with the rash I wasn't feeling very good, headache, sore throat, achiness. The rash is still bothering me, but otherwise I am starting to feel better. Depending on how I feel tomorrow I may make myself a doctors apppointment to see what going on.

Anyway, I write all this too simply say - We really didn't get very far with homeschool this week.

But, I reworked our schedule, reworked the record keeping system, and found some new options for schoolwork, and I think we're ready to hit the ground running tomorrow morning.