What's in a Day?

If you're back for my second blog post, thanks for coming. If you're just joining us for the first time, you might like to see what this blog is all about and know a little more about me. If so, here is a link to my first blog post.

Whether you're here for the first time or you're an old friend, "Welcome!"

I am so glad you're here!

Over the past week, I've been filled with all kinds of ideas of things to share with you (but did I write them down? Nope, not a one! #newbiefail). Then, I sat down in front of a blank white screen and my mind could pass for it's identical twin.

Ugh! Lesson learned! Next week I will be keeping notes of my ideas!

So what are you in for today? Well, I realized to get to know me a little bit better you would probably like to see what my typical* day looks like.

My Day:

5-6a: Wake-up. I get up and slowly get moving until I've had my coffee. Some days I get started a bit faster than others, but it really depends on whether my wonderful husband has started the coffee for me, or I have to do it myself!

6-7 am: Quiet-ish time. I'm usually getting things ready to start classes, fixing breakfast, or reading my Bible. It really depends on what I have to do that day and whether or not my kids have a leisurely day of schoolwork ahead or not...and also, on whether or not my wonderful husband started the coffee for me and I've already drank it, or I'm still waiting for it to finish brewing. (Yes, we're old school. We have tried the Keurig-life but it just wasn't sustainable with how much coffee I drink.)

7-10 am: Teaching ESL online. (Did I mention how much I love teaching ESL? (By the way, ESL is English as a Second Language for those of you unfamiliar with the acronym.) The fact that I can be home and still doing what I love (and putting my hand to the plow) is an exceptional blessing. I couldn't ask for more, even on the hard days when the coffee isn't done before my classes begin!

10 am-2 pm: Homeschooling my children. This happens whether coffee has been drank or not, but some days look better than others. Some days I walk away feeling great and accomplished and others I think, "The public school is just down the road!" Only, since Bear is quickly closing in on 12, it wouldn't be down the road anymore and there isn't enough coffee in this world to convince me that getting that child out of bed to cart to another building during his best, most complacent hours, only to get him back when he is tired and cranky would work for our family! (I just read this out loud and he nodded in agreement! The kid has no desire to step foot in a traditional school and my daughter would only want to if she found out that the Magic School Bus was in fact real and Ms. Frizzle would be her teacher! She was convinced of these minor details for years and thought we were terrorists for keeping her home with us!)

2p-4p: Husband wakes up! My husband works nights so you can understand that these are precious hours in our family. They are guarded carefully. If you see us during these hours or we're doing something with you, you should know that you are precious to us and we love you dearly. My hubby has gold-status in this family and rarely does anything usurp our time with him. I need it, the kids need it, and my rock-solid, never-needs-anything-for-himself-Mr. needs it as well. So at this time just about every day (weekends are a different life entirely) you can find me in the kitchen with one or both kids getting dinner ready. We eat early, have Bible time, the kids get cuddles in with Daddy, and then they often go about their own business while Hubbster and I discuss all the fun parts of adulting.

4-6p: FREEDOM!! Okay, it's not really freedom, but it usually feels like it because it's the chance I have to slow down a little. I usually work on content for my TPT store, or take pictures of items for Etsy, or make lesson plans, and sometimes, these hours are used to get some much needed exercise in (I am, after all, on a weight loss journey.) I love to walk with my kids. We traipse all over town when the weather is nice. We ride our bikes too (only not at the moment because I aired my tire up with a tad bit too much enthusiasm! Heard ringing for three hours afterwards, so that was fun.)

7-9p: Teach ESL students online. Depending on the night, this time frame can last until 12a, but these are work hours for me. I have classes during these hours at least four or five nights a week. It's not bad, mostly because I love my job, but it definitely requires large amounts of...yes, you guessed it, coffee! (Anyone noticing a theme here?)

9p-12/1a: Later ESL teaching hours/Freelance work. When I don't have a class during these hours, I get my kids off to bed around 9 (they often come and give me hugs and kisses and say goodnight to my students when I am in class), and then I work some more. I am currently working freelance for a homeschool company organizing and creating ESL curriculum. Sometimes, I spend this time working on clipart artwork or activities for my Teachers Pay Teachers store. I also use this time to prepare lessons for my ESL students and my own kids, as well as lessons for the Co-op in which we take part and of which I teach 1-2 hours.

12a-1a: T.V. time. It's my down time before bed. A time for my brain to just shut off and relax before I crash and then get up to do it all again.

*Disclaimer: This is a relatively typical day in our "summer schedule". Things change in the fall/winter. I get more sleep because I must or I will not be able to function (coffee or not). My bedtime, when I am not teaching later classes, is 9p. I don't do well with a lack of sunlight (who does?). Spring and summer are my most productive times of the year. However, we're busier in the fall and winter. We begin our Co-op, BSF, and Awana, and those are just the big group activities. My son is a part of a Lego team that is active in the fall, and both of my children take music lessons. I am excited to share those activities with you as well in another posts. We do tons of fun stuff, especially in the fall, around Halloween/Thanksgiving and during the Christmas season which we'll talk more about too. I love all of these events but currently I am most excited about our trip to Florida, the Little Italy Festival party we hold at our house every year on Labor Day weekend, and the upcoming Science Camp I will be helping with in August. Stay tuned for updates on that (to be lead by a highly trained and gifted science teacher, not myself!) I might even have some science freebies and classroom materials to give away afterwards.

Thanks for joining me, Friends! Stay curious!