Week 5, 8th

Well, this is just ridiculous.

MONDAY:

My mother is here and we are playing every day.  With the puppy and the chickens and the dogs and the home school and the cooking and eating and playing and restauranting, there's no time for anything silly like sitting down or blogging.

Just quickly, school is going beautifully.  The schedule is working beautifully and the Banker has mastered those pesky concepts in pre-Algebra that had been kicking his butt.  He breezed through the last chapter and aced the test.  We were both terribly proud.  I think he had been concerned and the success did wonders for his confidence and faith in this home school thing.

We are cooking and shopping and then cooking and cocktailing today.  Well, mum and I, the Banker will be doing Latin, Science and Physics.  Sometimes it's good being the grown up.

I'm loving the time mum is here.  She's digging the chickens, Alouette has decided to lay eggs in my chair on the patio,  Luckily the Banker made a nest from my chartreuse Ikea blanket for such an auspicious occasion. The two of them sat and watched her, in my chair and on my blanket, lay a beautiful brown egg then hop down and wander off, job for the day well done.

It's weird here at the moment, I kind of love it.  I'll be lonely as hell when mum leaves, it's been fantastic and amazing to have a grown up to chat to on demand :)

/Tracy

TUESDAY

Every once in a while there is a moment in time that confirms to me the Banker is getting it. "Hey, mom, is it ok if I do another chapter in my Newton iPad book? I'm really enjoying it..." Um, sure dear ;) The temptation to do a fake anger and send him to his room was rather sizable. HAHA I love love love this part of the home school experience. If he digs something, he simply keeps researching/reading/studying it. Wow, what a crazy concept. I think he's finally stopped looking at clocks and doesn't ask me how long he needs to do something any more. He reviews his daily schedule and simply works through it until it's all complete, hands the comp books to me for review and bingo, day done. Sometimes he's working until about 1-2 and sometimes, like yesterday, he works until close to 6 because he's enjoying the experience of learning something and investigating something.

I am having a blast with mum here.  Yesterday we played with coconut rum (she'd not tried it) and make the best cocktail on earth, dangerous cocktail because there isn't the slightest hint of anything alcoholic in it.  Coconut rum (1x) Pineapple juice (2x) 1 banana and loads of ice.  Blend in my Ninja and you've got a smoothie, refreshing, 2 fruits! and it's ab/so/lutely delicious.  I don't think we should have more than 2 in any sitting though, well, unless we have no intention of standing. HAHAHA

The Banker and mum just went for a walk around the neighborhood and now she's getting organized, the Banker is working on his literature work and I've just put millionaire shortbread up to cool and am going to go walk on my treadmill for a few minutes before my shower and then I'll be ready for a Monday Afternoon (which is what we're calling the rum cocktail) and a think about what we should do this afternoon that's almost touristy without being blatantly so.

Alouette and Chicken are still the only ones producing eggs but they're pretty much each giving me one a day.  Alice pug puppy is coming along nicely with her training and is now on a solid 11pm-7am crate schedule and is going in for 2 hour naps without a peep. She has figured out I need her to pee/poop when we go outside THEN she can play and she adores Lola, who has the patience of Job and is the best mother of any species I've ever seen.  Walter Pug may have come to figure out Alice isn't going anywhere and has stopped being so grumpy with her.  She plays, loves on, cuddles (and runs to for support) with Lola  and she sits, stoically beside Walter watching the world go by, she's found her spot in the pack.

For the moment, it's all good :)

/Tracy