We live in a rainbow of chaos. Paul Cezanne
My week was a rainbow of chaos. I am not sure if it was because it was the first full we had in about 6 weeks (ok maybe 4 weeks, but it feels like 6) or if it was just because a lot of little things happened creating a beautiful rainbow of chaos.
Glimmers
(Glimmers are micro-moments of joy that make us feel happy, hopeful, and safe.)
- David and I went on a mini staycation for our wedding anniversary and checked into our local hotel – it was so much fun. We went to the casino for a bit, had a delicious dinner and indulged in a hotel breakfast buffet.
- We had a family games afternoon on Sunday.
- I have been having so much fun with my Cricut and all the supplies I got from Hobby-X.
- We started a new routine on Monday and part of that involved Emma and I not falling asleep with our phones and not checking them first thing in the morning. The result for me has been I get up in the morning and get started on the day instead of lying in bed scrolling before I eventually get up. Emma is thankfully sleeping better as well.
- I had such a great walk on Tuesday. It was a beautiful morning and I felt good afterwards – I am definitely getting stronger.
- Emma’s new tutor started on Wednesday and she offered us the perfect solution to our schooling with Emma. She tutors a little girl full time 3 days a week, she is Emma’s age and the tutor feels the girls would be great for each other so from Monday, Emma will go to her house and do school from 8-2 . It will just be two days a week for Emma which is perfect for us for now. She gets the structure she needs, a friend and her and I get a break from the stress that school was becoming.
- We managed to get tickets on the FlySafair R11 sale thanks to Eve!! It was another karmic event – she managed to get in at 15h30 AND got tickets for us on the 24 August which is when we want to be in Cape Town as it is the anniversary of Cameron’s passing on the 26th.
- I had my monthly sports massage – it was painful but soooo good.
- We bought a chest freezer – I am so excited about this. Yes, sounds boring, but I can now do some proper batch cooking and stock up properly on a few things that our existing freezer is too small for.
My Weekly Wisdom..
Emma’s therapist called me out last week. She said we need to get a routine in place, stick to it and “force” Emma to stick to it. I started trying to defend myself and then quickly realised she is right. Everything she was saying was right – we needed to get strict. When I say strict, I don’t mean Miss Trunchbull kinda strict, but we need to stop bending the rules and the schedule.
When all 4 kids where in the house, routine was the only way we kept all the balls in the air. It felt like a game of tetris most days which is why maintaining our routine was so important. It helped us all feel secure, safe and calm. (Sort of). But we have sort of relaxed things a lot over the years as we have gone from 4 kids in the house to 2.
I know the power of a structured day, especially for a home schooled child like Emma. Life is actually easier when there are boundaries and everyone knows what’s happening when. But somewhere along the way we veered a little of course and we trying to bring order to the house without the boundaries and structure. It was obviously not going to work.
But we are bring routine back and now that Emma is in “school” two days a week it does make it easier for us to get a rhythm going. David and I worked out our exercise routine. Jack and I readjusted the day we go to Culture. We now have a solid structure in place and I am excited to see how it all comes together.
Picture of the Week
I have decided to change this section up and add in my favourite photo of the week. This is an old photo taken at our wedding, 12 years ago. It was the most perfect day in every way – the people, the venue, the food, the photos – everything was just perfect.
Wise Words of the Week
Words of the Week
I am joining up with the Word of the Week link party this week so my word for the week would have to be ALIGN. I am not sure if this is actually the right word but everything seemed to align this week. Emma’s school all fell into place. Our routine aligned as a result. I had a great therapy session which aligned a few things I have been struggling with and afterwards I felt a lot of peace.
Until next week!
I love the throwback photo! It sounds like the new “school” could be the perfect solution for all of you. Enjoy your new chest freezer; I was THRILLED to get ours and while it’s pretty empty right now I have big plans to get it stocked up this summer with lots of garden fresh recipes/casseroles we can enjoy in fall and winter.
Aligned seems like the perfect word for this week; it’s good to have times in life when everything seems to fall into place.
A chest freezer is so useful, we have a small one and it makes such a difference.
Have a lovely weekend.
I completely understand the excitement of a chest freezer. I have two and you are right about it being great for batch cooking. Guarantees me a few easy meals each week, plus I can freeze garden produce. Your mini break sounds like it did you a world of good, along with your therapy and massage sessions. I’m glad you’ve found a good solution for Emma’s schooling. Hope you have a lovely weekend.
Loved the read! I can get lost in my #Cricut some days!
How lovely to have a mini staycation. It is nice to have a little break away even if it is local.
It sounds like the new routine is working well. I have stopped switching my laptop on until I get my jobs done on a morning and it makes such a difference to my productivity!
Well done to the tutor for coming up with the perfect solution with Emma’s schooling.
Align is a great word and I know exactly what you mean about boundaries. I still have all five of my children at home but only one is a child so the others do as they please. But, I did get slack with the youngest and things started going awry. But now I have set him some boundaries, and some goals too. When my daughter was home educated because she was in between hospital operations she had a tutor at home. One day her sister was on an inset day and she joined in the lessons, it made a lot of difference and the learning went much better, so I hope Emma does well with her ‘study buddy’ too.
I operate so much better with routine even if it’s just for myself. Hope the new home schooling solution works well for you and Emma #wotw
I love that phrase – ‘rainbow of chaos’ – what a beautifully descriptive phrase it is. Lots of lovely glimmers in your rainbow of chaos. I’m glad you and David had a lovely mini staycation and the family games night sounded fun. That’s great news about Emma’s new tutor. Glad having a more structured routine and avoiding phones first thing in the morning and last thing at night is working well for you too. Getting a chest freezer is exciting – how nice to have lots of space for batch cooking. I like your wise words this week – they’re so very true. Align is a great word for the week – I’m glad you’ve had a week of things falling into place. #WotW