Time to Regroup.......

After my little "eh-hem" melt down a couple of weeks ago I got some good advice from my ES. She said,"Christy, you need to stop and remember why you home school." Sounds simple enough but when you feel like your drowning in chaos called life it's hard to remember why you chose to do something. She also told me to take a deep breath and spend the rest of the week doing "fun" learning.

I called my girlfriend and asked her if she wanted to "fun learn" along with us. So we headed to the Living Desert Zoo. It was a beautiful day. Nobody there, sunny and 80 degrees.

I think there is a great lesson to be learned on a carousal wouldn't you agree? I mean we learned that I cannot ride one anymore due to the going in circles part of the ride and that Ryanne looks super cute riding a goose. 

The animals seemed a little bored that afternoon but we still enjoyed them....

I took a few minutes to be thankful for evenings at home with my family. I am certain this was the 10 minutes right after dinner and right before we had to bolt out the door for dance. But I was thankful none the less. :)

We decided at the last minute that a cold rainy day was the perfect excuse to drop school and head to the pumpkin patch....

"See, lots to learn here mom!" Like how family and sanity are priceless.

Like how breathing in your kids scent and enjoying them before they are gone are more important than fighting over a math book.......

Personally, I think we make a very cute couple.....

Poor Dan had to basically lay on the ground to get into this one. Ha!

I love the intensity here. The great pumpkin debate has been known to take so long that I see a shiny light and wander off...

Sisters are the best......

I grabbed a few extra pumpkins and painted my moms address on them for her porch....

My mom and aunt live a few doors down from each other so I made them both some and then sneakily put them on their porches....

I woke up at 2am on Sunday morning with the worst chest cold....Dan and the girls went to church without me but they made sure the dog was at least comfortable before leaving. This is what I stumbled out of bed too....nice to be below the dog on the food chain. :)

 

Something we have come to terms with is that Ryanne really really struggles with OCD. I mean like really. So much so that we don't like to tell her stuff until right before we do it because she can't focus on anything besides that. I feel badly sometimes because she will say,"What? Nobody told me we were going to Disneyland!" She focuses in on one thing and it makes the rest of the day really hard. We have been trying to find ways to keep her body and mind focused but on something she loves.

Ryanne loves to run and ride. She loves to do triathlons. Funny because that takes focus. But it also takes lots of energy and drive both of which Ryanne has LOTS of. We signed her up to start riding with a kids riding club that rides twice a week after school and Dan went a bought her the smallest rode bike we have ever seen.

This weekend alone she rode 15 miles. Then when Dan was done riding she kept riding around our neighborhood "practicing" with her new gears, breaks etc. So we are hoping this is something she can put her energy into and helps her focus on the positive. She is also running another 5k in Loma Linda soon. We just want her to feel encouraged, supported and loved. Doing races is something she and Dan can do together which is another plus. I love how Ryannes rode bike is the smallest frame you can buy and Dan's is the largest. So cute together. :)