And the Bell Tolled 11....

So you think that teaching for 10 hours yesterday would have been enough. I certainly thought I had earned a good nights rest, so I tucked all three kids in, had a glass of wine, brushed my teeth and went to bed. I snuggled down into my sheets and was out. That was about 10:50. At eleven Tristan is standing right next to me urging me to wake up. I bolt out of bed. Is he hot? Did he throw up? Is his back ok (he has strained a back muscle in soccer)? Did he hear a noise? No. He grabs my hand, "Come on mom, I'll just show you." I'm slightly worried. First, why is he still awake, and what is going on? He grabs his phone, taps on it and up pops this picture of a puppy. A pit bull terrier mix puppy named Zeus. Yes I'm aware of his name and that he currently resides in Miami, FL in a shelter. Tristan begins to tell me that this puppy only has 24 hours left to live and we need to save him. Mind you, this is all done not in a quiet library voice. But a sobbing, choked up, slightly screaming voice. At this point Jack comes out of his room to find out what the heck is going on. I look at Jack and all I'm thinking is what are you wearing????? He has three blankets tied together in some sort of poncho and a stuffed snake is tied into it as well so he's dangling. But, back to Tristan. For 10 minutes I have to defend why we aren't driving to Miami today to save a dog, or foster a dog or pay them money to take extra time and not put Zeus down. There is sobbing, monumental tears, Tristan blaming himself for the death of a dog who I don't even think is on the euthanasia list for today (yes I'm that sad that I woke up today and actually pulled up whether Miami-Dade was a no-kill shelter! Don't judge). Finally, I got Jack tucked into bed where he hit his knees and folded his hands and recited prayers (I know because when I finally got back to my bed I could still hear him talking to God, begging for Zeus' life) and got Bug tucked back in. I had tried reason, logic, logistics, and finally got him to bed with the line of "Well call them in the morning and find out if this story is even true!" When it comes to animals my kids will fall for anything and everything. All is quiet here this morning, I'm on my 3rd cup of coffee which is going to be necessary today, and I'm debating the sanity of waking them all up. But rats, I think the school bell just rang!

Homeschool madness....

My first degree in this world was in education. So you'd think that I would be an excellent candidate to homeschool my own children. And maybe I am, but today sure did not feel that way. Week 2 of The Yerger Academy started off innocently enough. After all, I had dug through closets and found an old laptop that I had hoped we could use as a second computer to help free up the load off the main computer. Found it stuck with all the winter gear, definitely on the low use scale here in Florida! I booted it up and got it moving and was so very excited. Monday morning arrives and I get two kids working at a time on lessons, I'm a hero! And then Tristan moves into Honors Algebra. It was crying, shouting, mumbling under his breath, screaming at the computer. The boy cannot figure out the rules for subtracting negative integers. Mind you he has a sheet that gives him all the rules, but we are still not grasping the concept. So I leave Jack upstairs doing physical and chemical changes, to attend to Bug. While I help him, Jack abysmally fails his science lesson. So literally I am running up and down stairs as emergencies ensue between the two boys. Meanwhile, lovely Savannah, she is completing spelling, Spanish, reading and writing. So our rules are if you fail you have to redo the lesson and quiz until you get it and can prove it with a passing grade. It's 8 o'clock now, we've been doing school for basically 12 hours today, I am fried. Worse than an egg. And I have to do this again tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after. These are the days where I look in the mirror and say to myself, "Really, you are doing what? You think that you all can survive homeschooling?" But then after 12 hours of lessons, when my Jack finally understands and passes a science lesson, after feeling stupid for hours on end, and screams with joy, then it's worth it. And the hug he gives me as he runs out of the room with the whispered, "I love you Mom," is worth the kinked neck, frazzled nerves and the bruise I have on my forehead from the constant banging on the table today. So today I'll wake up and do it all over again.