My life changed this week as my schedule went from a relatively relaxed pace, to a non-stop schedule.  Although I was a bit anxious for Monday morning to roll around, I knew my kids were at that point at the end of summer where they are walking around seeking some sort of direction and discipline.  They were tired of having too much freedom….although they may not have been able to pinpoint this as their frustration and boredom. Does that make sense? Well, it did to me.  ;) 

We’ve been gearing up for a new year of home schooling, and for me, a new year of added dedication now that my kids are getting older, and the work is getting harder.  Home schooling is a LOT of work, and requires more patience than I ever dreamed I could possibly possess. But on the flip side….I get to be with my kids, I get to be challenged, and I get to be a critical part of their growth. But with all the effort, I have to say, I get to have one of the most gratifying jobs possible! 

I’ve had people who have written me about the constant struggle with BALANCE in their lives, and since this is a topic on my mind for literally hours of my day every day, I have decided to make it a more prominent topic on my personal posts.  One question I am asked often is what a normal home school/work/family life day is like.  Below is a look at a “normal” weekday for us.  (Weekends are full of photo shoots, editing, sports, and breathing.) 

Of course, it hasn’t gone exactly like this, but close! Obviously, on certain nights we have shoots where we have to change it up a bit.  On occassion, we actually DO leave our house (ha!), but this is the general idea.  I am still working on the bedtime thing for me…but I have improved this week, so I have hope! 

7:00 – Up and making breakfast 

7:30 – Eat, clean up, kids do chores 

8:45 – School books out ready to go/ get a drink, use bathroom (excuses they always have to stop working) 

Practice memory work, then Math, Writing, Grammar, Science or History depending on day 

11:30 – If time we read together aloud 

12:00 – Lunch with Brett 

1:00 – Quiet time for everyone (I use this time to grade work, figure out lesson plans, catch up on emails, make phone calls) 

3:00 – Spelling and Vocab, then daily journaling 

4:00 – Review or catch up on something that needs to be completed 

4:30 – Begin thinking about dinner (I am really bad at this part!).  Kids put things away and have free time. 

5:00 – Brett reviews work and does math with kids

6:00 – Dinner 

6:45 – Family bible reading time 

7:00 – Gabe goes to bed 

7:45 – The rest of the kids go to room to read, and then sleep! 

7:45 – I GO TO WORK   :) 

10:15 – I go up for the night to read and preview the books the kids will be reading, and then SLEEP 

Weekends – Brett does school with kids (math, reading, language arts)

I had hoped to take some fun photos to show you some of the things we have done this week so far, but I guess grabbing and loading a camera in between teaching 3 kiddos, and distracting a 3 year old just wasn’t the easiest.  Maybe next week I’ll be more prepared.  :)  So here are a few shots we took playing around as a family: 

As of last week Priya is obsessed with making duct tape purses.  Here she is teaching her brother Adin, and her friend Josie. 

Brett is reading a little “Beowulf” to the boys. 

Adin doing some pipe jumping tricks.  Dad if you are seeing this, I will put a helmet on him next time!!  (My dad is a dentist, and my boys scare him to death.) 

Gabe’s version of the “pipe trick.” 

Riah decided to POGO it up! 

We took a family bike ride the other night up to a local elementary school to play…. 

Again, my boys are half daredevil monkey. 

Priya was with her Grandma, so I just had my crazy boys (including Brett)!! 

I love this picture, minus the fact I look like I’m 12.  ;) 

So now we are three days into on our school year and it has been going well for the most part!  A couple of nights ago at dinner Priya said, “I was really nervous that school was going to be really tough this year and I was not going to like it, but it hasn’t been that bad.  I actually had fun.”  I literally jumped to my feet from the dinner table screaming, “STOP THE PRESS!! STOP THE PRESS!!!!  Priya, could you please repeat that for the family to hear?”  It made this hard working Mama a teeny bit happy.  “She’s not hating it…I must be doing OK,” I thought. 

I can’t believe the sun is already setting earlier, and my kids have their school supplies all lined up and ready.  We begin our official schooling Monday morning.  I think I am finally coming to grips with reality, and bidding a fond farewell to the 2010 summer.

Back in March I wrote a blog entry that really solidified feelings I had been having and wanting to share.  The response was amazing!  From comments, to emails, and just people talking with me, I felt so much better because so many said they understood where I was coming from.  Since that point, I am happy to say that this year has been going quite smoothly.  We stuck to a plan that we made and things have been much more balanced around here….one major accomplishment being, I didn’t feel like I was going to have an anxiety attack once this summer!  Instead, we just enjoyed it together.  In fact, we enjoyed it so much that when I went to look over photos for this post, I realized we didn’t take many!!  Oh well. Living in the moment, and just simply living was my goal.  Goal accomplished.

Here are some highlights of the past few months.  These things may have been on my “to-do” list on my desk, or the one in my heart:

– had many dear friends over for dinner and laughs (this was put off too long)

– celebrated my three boys birthdays

– celebrated my two sisters’ birthdays

– celebrated another year of life for me

– got new garage doors put on

– had our red house repainted, red of course

– went to LA for a shoot and hang time w/Jason

– went to a fantastic photography workshop, and met amazing new friends

-saw Ashley graduate from Nursing School

– as guests, witnessed two dear friends get married

-took a spring wildflower trip with just my Dad

– ate lots of yummy summer veggies

– had a great 4th of July party with some of my dearest friends

– took my kids swimming much more than last year

– did a complete redo of Priya’s room

– helped my daughter start her own art and food blog

– went on dates with my sweetie, just for fun

– watched lots of movies

– booked our family vacation!

– Brett took Adin on his first father/son camping trip

– went to a couple concerts

– got the car I’ve been dreaming of  :)

MOST IMPORTANTLY….did all of this guilt free.  If you own a home based business, you know what I mean!

I have to say, I am a bit nervous for the rest of the year.  I have been soooo relaxed the past couple months that I am going to have to really step it up here beginning Monday.  I plan to share a bit of my/our schedule in the next couple weeks, since I have had so many people curious about the homeschooling/business owning/family raising balance.  I am going to start a new segment on here called BALANCE to hopefully help others, help myself, and just vent through this journey of life.

I would love to hear some fun/great/thrilling things you did or accomplished this summer in the comments below!