Such a good weekend

So, it was another busy week, but not because of too many things on the schedule; no, it was busy because we had too many things on the schedule for a couple of weeks prior (or were away from home cavorting around Disneyland) and so I am feeling like we need to buckle down and get some serious schooling under our belts before the holidays hit.  So we did--and it is so amazing to me that the more school I heap upon the children, the happier and better behaved they are.  No, really--this happened last Spring too, the last month before the STAR testing.  It's like they understand the challenge is just for a time, and know that meeting it is personal success.  And they seem to understand that all the schoolwork is not Mommy being mean, but Mommy having high expectations of them and believing they are capable of great, hard things.  I don't really understand it, because I expect the opposite--that the more I push them academically the more they will resist and become insolent.  But I am so glad it happens!  And this is just for a season, so hopefully all the good stuff will keep happening and we all won't get burned out.

So, that's school this past week.  But I should point out that this week was by no means all work and no play--Thurs evening the kids and I all gathered up sleeping bags and blankets and went like a little gypsy caravan to my dear Becky's house, to fulfill our long-promised backyard sleepover.  That is, the kids all slept in the tent out in the backyard--I snuggled down on the sofa, which was as cosy as I always imagined it would be.  But before that, Becky and I stayed up waaaaaaaaay too late catching up, as we had not had any girlfriend time for months.  And of course the kids woke up waaaaaaaaay too early, so I did not get to enjoy that cozy sofa bed nearly as long as I would have liked.  After a breakfast of buttermilk waffles and strawberries and maple syrup, we dragged the children apart--and I took the kids up to see my dear Colleen and her children.  Colleen and her husband are the proud inhabitors of a big old house up in the Santa Cruz mountains, and we got the full tour from canning closet to tree-filled bedroom views, and delighted in their company.

It's a shame the two girlfriend events were right on top of one another, though, and that late night (um, early morning) left me a somnambulist  the whole time at Colleen's.  By the time we left I was happy, but spent, so I picked up take-n-bake pizza on the way home, cooked it up and called it dinner, and the kids were contentedly reading in bed by 6:15.  I kid you not.  Which is good, since I went to sleep around 9.

But didn't sleep in this morning, because I had to get up with my Dear Husband to help him finish packing up for the next adventure--a whole day of wholesome outdoor learning at the annual Founder's Day event at Big Basin State Park, even farther up in the Santa Cruz mountains.  I had asked DH how he felt about going without me, and he was fine with it; so, hopefully they made it to the 10:30 hike and lecture on logging in the Santa Cruz mountains, and had a good time at whatever other guided history and nature hikes or old-fashioned games they participated in.  There was a bonfire tonight,  with storytelling and singing and marshmallows and sticks provided, so I am sure they went to that.  And then soon there is supposed to be an astronomy lecture at the nearby Little Basin campground--weather permitting.  And then they will crawl exhaustedly into their tent that DH would have set up sometime in the day--I made camping arrangements so they would not have an hour's drive back so late at night, and because DH loves camping.  So ironic that the kids are suddenly having two tent campouts in one long weekend, but I am sure they are enjoying it.

And me?  Well, I did not go because not only was I so tired, but I have cramps really bad this month, and just wanted to have a quiet day at home.  Which I have had. 

Oh, I forgot the delight of a day by myself at home!  It feel like has been a long time since I've had this, and I realized today that I should ask DH if we can actually plan "Day Away" adventures for my husband and kids once a month or so, so I can have such days more often.  I am truly refreshed from it.  In a still home I can hear God better.  I can rest, and let my mind wander free from distraction--and that is when I do my best problem-solving (like working out fitting bunks into that tiny bedroom attractively, or what kind of footwear I need for this winter, or thinking ahead to Christmas presents).  I can blog, or watch a movie, or listen to music and dance, or nap, or just lay quietly on my bed looking out the window and resting.  I mean, I did laundry too, three loads!  And I picked up.  And I answered emails, and I finished reading a school book, and did some online research.  But that was all--most of the day was just being alone.  And alone is refreshing.

The day went much too quickly.  Here it is evening and I'm not done with all my goofing off! ; )  But tomorrow I have to get up and bake something for a church brunch, so the good thing about that is I won't be tempted to miss church and be lazy longer.  But then when I get back from church the kids will be back. . . the house will be filled with noise and chaos once again.  And I am hoping by that point I am all rested up and all full of quiet, so I enjoy their coming fully. : )

I hope you have all had a good weekend!

Before I go rushing off for more relaxing fun, I want to leave you with some good tunes I found this morning while browsing youtube--ah, yes, youtube, the mother of all fun relaxing time wasters.  But my hour spent there this morning paid off all day--I listened to some great tunes while folding laundry.  Here are some of the best finds from today. It was a day of duets--Enjoy!