MIA

I think this February might go down in history as one of the most crazy Winter months that I have had.  First of all, I do experience seasonal stir crazy/cabin fever every year around this time and I am ready to jump the parenting and homemaking ship and ride off into the sunset in search of adventure, sunshine, warm(er) weather, and peace....alone.  Alas, I usually just tough it out.  There has been one other time in history when I strongly considered putting one child in school (I think it must have been 5-6 years ago) and I really wondered if having a personal break from homeschooling might be the best thing for everyone.  I even contacted our wonderful piano teacher and veteran homeschool mom about homeschooling the children for the rest of the year (she wasn't able to).  

I had one of the worst homeschool parenting weeks on record two weeks ago, followed by a scary "botched" heart procedure with my mom this past week to finish up the month of February.  I am still trying to figure out what happened LOL.  I feel like I entered some sort of alternative universe where time is topsy turvy and everything routine and normal implodes.  

So...I will try and peace together the last two weeks...

First, I am calling it, SPRING has arrived.  I have already shared that I count the seasons according the months not the actual official days and March would normally start tomorrow except for Leap Year but close enough, I say!

Sunshine and clouds, a hint of warmth, morning frost, and bird's migration and nest building.  FLOWERS, yes, Spring is here!

Baby chicks at Wilco.

Spring flowers and vegetable starts!

Sprucing up the house with a new shower curtain in the downstairs bathroom.  A child, "Mom, why can't you just be normal?"

The upstairs bathroom turned into the Federal Mirror room and Phil put up the medicine cabinet, the light bar, and replaced the sink.  It is almost a finished room (besides cabinet pulls, trim, and paint).

Federal Mirrors....my parents bought the mirror on the left at an estate sale a loooonnnnggg time ago.  We had it in our house growing up.  It is "hideous" in a fantastic sort of way.  They gave me the mirror and I have had it sitting by the medicine cabinet in the hallway wondering what to do with it.  I decided to put it up on the bathroom wall and BAM, the bathroom clearly needed to become the room of Federal Mirrors.  I found two smaller ones locally (one on Facebook Market place and one on Craig's list) and then I got the one on the right as a "Valentine's present" because it was big and very old.  I need a few more to complete my vision but I love what just "happened" to this room.

I have shared in just about every post as of late my homeschool crisis...being burnt out, needing a break, being really overwhelmed by parenting.  This has been a very difficult Winter and I got to the point where I really needed to do something about the current trajectory.  I decided to take the month of March off.  I decided that I would take a couple of weeks and ponder and prepare for independent school and a break from Barton and all subject matters that involved my direct involvement (within reason of course).  I started to plan out an alternative schedule and a made a plan for a quieter, slower paced morning that included all of us easing into our day with individual Bible time and organizing ourselves.  I got journals and stickers and a few books.  Well, I am not quite ready to start this next week LOL but at least I have given it some thought.  

 Valentine's happened.

I threw together a few fun things for the children last minute.  Normally, I like to give a little thought and planning to make "holidays" special and memorable.  I had no brain power for that this year.  I even tried, I attempted to put together activities and I couldn't do it.  Weird for me since I am usually pretty good at coming up with fun and creative ideas.

I did manage to at least do a few things Valentinesy.

Poor Vienna was gone all day on Valentines going under anesthesia and getting half her teeth pulled.  I think this was in lieu of a romantic night out LOL.  It certainly was the cost of an expensive expensive night out (or a vacation...).  She was so extremely pathetic coming home, coming off of anesthesia and morphine, and drooling blood.  I felt so bad for her.  She perked up over the next 48 hours and has now become a crazy canned dog food lover. 

Phil really wanted to bless me with a nice foot rub on Valentines...as you can see, he too has had too many late nights and too much on his plate.

And then there was the traumatic heart incident...

My mom got sick with pneumonia (possibly), which sent her into afib (or was it the other way around) 3 weeks prior and she was so sick that she ended up having a several day stay in the hospital in Silverton.  Because her heart wouldn't go back to regular rhythm, her cardiologist was able to schedule and ablation procedure the following week.  She went in for this "routine" procedure (which involves being completely under anesthesia for several hours while they thread a "something" through her leg vein and shock different parts of the heart to put it back into rhythm).  The procedure seemed to have been a success until 6-8 hours later when her blood pressure dropped and she couldn't breathe and it was discovered that the sack around her heart had been punctured causing complications that required a second procedure and an extended hospital stay.  It was super scary for all of us, especially my parents who experienced/watched it happen.  My Dad had been carrying for my mom through the sickness and afib and had been at the hospital since 5:30ish and was traumatized so I went in to stay overnight with my mom so she wouldn't be alone.  The next morning, my Dad woke up sick.  Well, there is no way he could come to the cardiac ward or that my mom could be discharged home with him sick so I stayed with her for 3 nights at the hospital and then she came home with us for the remainder of the week (Sunday-Friday morning).  I was so glad that she could "ease" back into the business of real life and do things that she was excited about (order Spring chicks, get plant starts) and have the distraction of the Kelly household to take her mind off of the scary weekend.

Hospital bedtime!

My mom didn't have much of an appetite but she did manage to choke down this makeshift charcuterie board LOL.  

Recovery room at the Kellys.  She had to sleep on the couch so she could be more upright since she is still is coughing from the pneumonia.

It is no cat, but Vienna was pet therapy.

And ridiculous with half her teeth.  Her muzzle is wrinkly and lips get curled up at the gum lines.  Really, it is rather cute!

Back to work Kelly kids!  We did as much school as we could but it was pieced together week and we were flexible with routines and outings.

Silly putty in the hair.

Chocolate chip, carrot, and fresh squeezed lime juice?  Yum?

When you homeschool, you homeschool where you can even when life is "different".  The Citrus greenhouse was warm and toasty and I planted some seeds while Mom touched base with Dad and her garden helper.

One thing that happened in the middle of all this is that I happily "suggested" that I do the flowers for Gabrielle's wedding in July.  Gabrielle (Emily) is my dear dear dear friend Michelle's daughter and I am just so ecstatic to be a part of her wedding.  I planted flower seeds and I have lots of plans to help make her day memorable and magical.  What a welcome distraction in an otherwise chaotic time.  I pinterested flowers and dreamed and discussed things with my mom.  I really can't wait to watch flowers grow and put together beautiful arrangments!

I was so excited that I went out to my dead garden and foraged for some "dead" stuff to make a Winter bouquet. 

Seeds!  I have no idea if they will be blooming by mid July but even if they aren't, I will so enjoy them myself LOL.  

3 flats, 12 cell packs of 6 in each...means lots of BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS!

 Mrs. Tracie, our wonderful piano teacher, hosted a Leap Year Party (we went 4 years ago).  I am so thankful for her time and investment in my children.  We did a little bit of everything - Bible, songs, read alouds, Beatrix Potter, math, plays, PE....and I am sure I am forgetting so much! It was so nice to attend something that was just Glorielle's style.  I am so very thankful that my children are homeschooled via "group" homeschool.  It gives everyone a change to help one another, be tolerant and patient, learn something no matter how it is presented...I think one room school houses were on to something!  I also love being at Tracie's.  I feel like I step back in time to the most optimal and best of ways to learn - literature, simplicity, beauty, group learning, music, poetry.  So grateful!

Why?

This is the earliest, I have ever started a garden even in Silverton!!!  I bought starts at Wilco and planed spinach, peas, broccoli, kale, and cauliflower.  I planted seeds of peas, radish, and beets.  I have a cell pack of onions that I am waiting for a few more days of maturity.  I can almost taste fresh veggies and it felt so good to be outside with my hands in the dirt!

Gabrielle's garden, freshly planted with cut flower seed mix.

Sweet peas.  Crossing my fingers that I will still have some flowers in July.