Like our friend in the photo, I spent the better part of last week flat on my back on the couch.  (Unlike her, however, my appearance would have scared off… well, anyone but my very loyal husband!)  Bronchial problems, sinus pain, aches, dizziness… I was a wreck.  To top it off, I had just started feeling better when a three-day migraine descended.  Amidst self-pity and sniffles, I realized that I still needed to make sure the kids were getting some schoolwork done.

As many of you already know, when we moved last fall, we got very behind in our schoolwork.  Not just a little behind, but weeks and weeks of missing checkmarks in my homeschool planner   I spent the dreary months of winter working hard to catch us up, so when I felt the viral beasties coming on, I decided that there was NO WAY I was going to let some little (ok, maybe not-so-little) germs negate all of our hard work.

As medicine-head descended, however, this was easier said than done.  I ended up having to triage.  By separating the boys work into "easy to catch up with" and "nightmare to catch up with" piles, I got some focus.  The "easy" pile included things like art lessons, read-alouds, science and memory work.  These are subjects/tasks that I can bunch up and get through many in one session if I need to. 

Math, Writing with Ease, and Grammar topped the "nightmare" pile.  I can't just hand the kiddos 10 backlogged math worksheets and expect them to do them in an hour or two.  (Frankly, I wouldn't want to to 10 math worksheets in one sitting:-)  I also have not yet taught the boys how to take dictation in fast-forward mode.

In my few moments of clarity, I glanced through their math to see whether I needed to teach any new skills.  I happened to get lucky because last week focused primarily on review.  So, I let them hit the school room while I collapsed on the couch for 30 minutes of recovery.

Possible snafu with this plan:  When I am in the school room with the kids, they stay on task and get the job done.  When I am otherwise engaged (i.e., hacking my lungs out on the couch), they are more easily distracted.  Solution: Put one at the school room table and one at the dining room table.  This avoids the whole, "Mooom, he's looking at me… whistling at me… breathing on me…!" scenario.

Throughout the day, I would alternate something out of the "nightmare" pile with something the kids could do on their own.  This way, the kids' brains did not turn to mush, and I didn't have to face down a huge backlog when I came out of germie-land. 

Triaging homeschool work when you are sick isn't a guaranteed way to eliminate sick-day backlog, but it will set you up for better things when you start to feel stonger again.  It also gives your kids some purposeful activity while you are down for the day.

Do you have a great tip on homeschooling when mom is sick?  Drop it in a comment!

Planning - Your capacity for activity has changed.  Now is the time to take inventory of what you can do, when you can do it, and how it can be done.  Figure out what your big rocks are everyday.  Big rocks are the activities that need to get done each day.  Examples may be homeschool activities, making meals, or paying the bills.  Once you have established your big rocks, you can slot them throughout the day.  Decide when you have enough energy for each of your big rocks.  You may decide to homeschool first thing in the morning, taking breaks in between each subject.  You may choose to make all of your meals for the day while you get lunch going because you know that your energy will be low at dinner-time.  Paying the bills can be handled on Sunday afternoon when your spouse is home.

Support - Research shows that those with chronic illness who find a good balance between accepting the reality of their illness and remaining as engaged in life as possible are happiest.  Talk with your spouse and decide which items you need the most help with and then… let him help!  For example, you know you can handle daily dishes, dusting and laundry.  Doing the bathrooms, though, puts you over the edge.  See if you can offload that chore to a child or spouse.  A spouse can take over one piece of homeschooling, as well.  Maybe Dad would love to do science or history with the kids.  The result – great bonding time for them and quiet time for you at the end of the day.

Expectations – Anyone who has lived with chronic illness for any length of time knows that some interests and activities may need to be postponed to a different season of life.  Expecting your body to behave as it did before you became ill can only result in frustration.  Lots of it.  Instead, realize that although you can't do what you used to do, you CAN do other things.  For example, reading to your children is a great activity that results in bonding and learning for them and rest for you.  Keep your expectations realistic and positive!

These are baby steps on the road to homeschooling with chronic illness.  Starting small gives you a sense of control over your life.  Taking on a goal that is important to you can be terrific medicine! 

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For some, morning means waking up to the dawn from a refreshing night's sleep.  Ready for the day, you bound out of bed, looking forward to whatever may come.  For others, morning goes hand-in-hand with feelings of dread and/or chaos.  Whichever side of the fence you are on, my friend, I think we can all agree that mornings are important for setting the tone of the rest of the day.

I was doing my Bible study this morning, and I was looking in my concordance for symbolism relating to the morning.  Three references guided me to lay out specific goals for the morning: 

Gratitude.  Psalms 65:8 tells us "They who dwell in the ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs; You make the dawn and the sunset shout for joy."  Goal:  I want to wake in gratitude for the day, my family, and the work God has given me.

Beginning the journey.  Israel began their journeys in the morning. (Genesis 22:3) Goal:  I want to rise prepared to embark on the day's journey, seeing it for the adventure it is. 

Forming of a covenant.  Genesis 26:31 speaks of oaths being exchanged after rising in the morning.  Goal:  I desire to be in covenant with God in order to seek Him first throughout the day. 

Morning is the time that comes after the period of rest.  It is a time to get ready and fulfill tasks that are relevant to productivity and life out in the wide world.  We get up, get dressed, eat breakfast, brush our teeth, and prepare for whatever tasks are ahead of us: schooling, grocery shopping, doctor visits, vacation planning, visiting with friends… you get the point.  How we begin our day often affects how the rest of the day plays out.  Let's take an inventory of how we begin our day:

Do you wake up:

With the sun, or some form of light source?  Or do you keep the room black?

Ready to get out of bed?  Or do you hit the snooze alarm 15 times?

Prepared?  Or do you spend half the night worrying about what you didn't get done?

Organized?  Or is your entire family in chaos because there are no clean dishes and no one knows where to find clothes for the day?

Even if you lean more toward night-owl than early bird, you can make changes that will make your morning more productive, your day more pleasant, and your relationships less strained.  Becoming a morning person is requires dealing with one part genetics and two parts habit.

First, it is important to acknowledge that some people really are night-owls.  Their genetics, primarily the pieces that are tied to circadian rhythms, are wired to make them more awake in the evening.  My husband is one of these people.  He 'turns on' at around 10pm.  It is like someone flips a switch.  He stays up and works into the wee hours and usually rises around 8am.  He runs his own business, so this schedule works for him.  Night owls aren't lazy, they are simply wired differently.

Unfortunately, from the perspective of a homeschooling mom, that schedule isn't always feasible.  Being up with young children, preparing for your school day, setting an example of cheerfulness in the morning, each of these means that living the night owl lifestyle isn't an option.  So, what can you do to go from night owl to morning person?

Well, you can focus on creating good habits.

Much of waking up well involves what you do the night before.  TV watching, stress before bed, your bedroom environment, how late you stay up, what you eat, and whether you exercise regularly are all variables that affect your sleep.

Here is a list of tips you can use to turn yourself into a morning person who exhibits gratitude for the day, begins the journey of the day well, and uses the morning to keep your covenants with God and family:

TV/Screen time.  Contrary to popular opinion, adults are not immune to the negative effects of the screen.  We may be ultra-diligent with our children, but when it comes to our own intake, we let it slide.  The particular light and flicker that is emitted from the television and the computer have been shown to keep our brains awake and affect sound sleep negatively.  Try to avoid both right before you hit the sack.  I use the time right before bed to read something heartening.  This plants beautiful thoughts to be used by my brain through the night.  One of my favorite books for pre-bed reading is Henri Nowen's "The Only Necessary Thing," which is a lovely treatise on prayer.  Fill your brain with peaceful thoughts before you close your eyes for the night.

Stress.  Stress is an energy sucker and a health stealer.  Keeping your stress levels manageable is a goal most of us strive for.  In order to minimize the impact of stress on your sleep quality, try to empty your mind.  I like to keep a small notebook or digital recorder on my nightstand.  When I start focusing in on my outstanding task list or my brain kicks out an article idea that I don't want to forget, I get it recorded immediately.  I also lay out whatever I need for the next day.  My mind can then rest, knowing that it hasn't lost anything critical.

Sleeping Environment.  When you get into bed and look around your room, do you sigh in comfort and peace or in frustration?  An ideal sleeping environment is dark, quiet, uncluttered, and comfortably heated or cooled.  Make sure that you have your thermostat set so that you are not waking up chilled or sweating through the night.  Keep the room neat and tidy, creating a haven rather than a cluttered mess.

Bedtime.  This is a habit that can be difficult to change, and one I still struggle with.  After being 'on' with the boys all day, I enjoy the peace and solitude of the house after they are in bed.  I can write without being interrupted, get housework done, have meaningful conversations with my husband, or catch up on my reading.  I often get caught up in these things and end up staying up way too late.  I have to discipline myself to enjoy that time, but to know when to stop as well.

Nutrition.  Are you drinking coffee in the late afternoon just to get through?  Have you caved in to the sugar cravings one too many times?  Have you skimped on vegetables in favor of more pasta or bread?  If so, you may be setting yourself up for more than just weight gain.  Coffee is an energy shark; it steals more than it gives.  Sugar not only messes with your energy levels, but it also is inflammatory and can give you heartburn at night.  Vegetables are crucial for developing a strong immune system and for helping with good digestion.  You keep an eye on your children's eating habits; keep yours in check as well, and you can reap the benefits in more restful sleep at night and more energy and drive for your day.

Exercise.  Who has time for it, right?  Finding a way though, will help you sleep better at night.  A short walk every day makes a huge impact on how you sleep at night.

By taking an inventory of where you stand with each of these elements, you will have greater clarity on how your sleep may be affected by your habits.  When your sleep is poor, it is harder to get up in the morning and harder to get through your day in a state of peace and productivity.  When you use what many experts call good 'sleep hygiene,' you wake up more refreshed and ready to start the day in a cheerful frame of mind.  Setting the stage for a pleasant wake-up also sets the stage for a fulfilling day with your family.

To that end, I am always trying new recipes that combine lots of good foods, especially vegetables.  The other day, my cupboards were bare (at least for me because I have to eat gluten-free – that's right – no wheat:-()  I was making acorn squash as the vegetable for dinner that night.  I decided to experiment with what I had on hand.  So, this is what I threw into the blender:

1 cooked acorn squash (minus the tough skin), a couple of handfuls of spinach and enough organic chicken broth (not the sodium-free kind… we all have to live a little sometimes) to let the blender do its job.  After blending it to a thick soup-like consistency, I poured it in a glass and heated it up for about 30 seconds. 

The result?  A nourishing and surprisingly satisfying dinner that was quick, easy and low-cal.  I know you are going to laugh, but it really tasted great!  In our frigid Wisconsin winters – one degree below zero at last check – a warm drink can really boost the spirits as well.  Happy blending!

No, it's mid-August and time to prepare for the start of another school year.  How is yours going to look?

Try this on for size…

Every morning, you wake up refreshed after a full night's rest.  You walk into your clean kitchen and make a cup of your favorite herbal tea.  The kids are still asleep so you head upstairs and savor a rare moment of watching them while they sleep.  It is amazing how beautiful and innocent they are while they are sleeping. 

A glance at the clock breaks you out of your reverie, and you start rousing them one by one.  They know what to do so while you go back downstairs to make breakfast, they start their morning routine (wash up, get dressed, make beds, etc.) 

After breakfast, you start your school day.  Your curriculum is organized and each child has their own station, holding their current work and reflecting their own unique personality.  You pause a moment to smile and wonder at the differing personalities that can come from one family. 

You move through the day as a guide.  Whether teaching math facts or listening to a read-aloud, you are patient and encouraging.  During teaching time, you remain present in each moment, instead of being sucked into thinking about the next 20 items on your to-do list. 

After you enjoy a healthy lunch, the kids stretch their legs and play while you tend to some chores and allow yourself to catch up on a little knitting.  Then, it's back to the books, and the rest of the school day progresses until it is time to switch gears for family time.

Next, it's a quick trip to the backyard to breath some fresh air and cut some lovely flowers.  You get dinner started (based on the menu plan you made earlier this week.)  The house is buzzing with after-school activity.  You let it energize you as you splash some cold water on your face, run a brush through your hair and apply a fresh coat of lipstick.  Your face holds the glow that comes from a day of challenging, meaningful work.  Throw in a load of laundry, have the kids set the table and you are ready for Dad to walk in the front door.

The football is flying around the backyard as Dad and the kids tackle each other in the fall leaves.  The sound of laughter and good-natured teasing is your background music as you make your list for tomorrow.  Looks like it's time for a trip to the farmer's market for some plump, red tomatoes.  You decide a lesson in making homemade pasta sauce will be on the agenda for tomorrow afternoon.

When the kids are safely tucked into their beds, you do a quick pick up around the house, wipe down the countertops (yes, the dishes are done… the kids did them right after dinner) and sink into your softest cotton pjs.  You and Dad talk over the day and share funny anecdotes about the office and the kids.

Instead of watching TV, you write in your journal or get lost in a new novel for a while.  You are suddenly quite sleepy.  Time to turn off the light, sink into the blankets and drift off to sleep, satisfied and thankful for the many blessings in your life.

OK, OK…I know what you are thinking.  "She must be mad!  Who lives like that?"

Don't write off the fantasy just yet.  Allow yourself to see the possibilities of what could be, instead of wallowing in what is.

We are capable of doing so much more than we think we can.  The secret is to work smarter and make choices that reflect your priorities. 

Here's the challenge… pick just one thing.  That's right, which piece of our fantasy scenario tugged the most at your heart-strings?  Was it waking up refreshed?  Or was getting the kids on a routine the most appealing thought?  My personal favorite (and the current bane of my existence) is getting a real dinner on the table each and every night. 

How do we turn these heartfelt desires into reality?  Here are some tips for aligning your reality with your vision:

The Power of Planning – A good day starts the night before.  In order to feel centered, you need to eliminate the fear that you may be forgetting something important.  No voyager ever reached his destination without first charting his course.  Look at your calendar, lay out your clothes, and create an action list each and every day.  If you need extra motivation to build this habit, hit a stationary store and buy some paper that makes your heart sing.  Get into this daily habit, and you will feel stress lifting from your life.

Rut or Rescue? – Routine, it's a word that has been given an unfair hand in the world of connotations.  Often cited as boring, stifling or uninspired, routine is anything but.  I prefer words like life-giving, freeing, and energizing to describe my chosen routines.  Imagine those words when you create routines for yourself and your family.  When you have structure for the day-to-day things you must do, your mind is free to dwell on higher-level thoughts and activities.   

Coping with Curriculum- You have chosen to educate your children at home.  Own that!  If that means switching to a curriculum that gives you a daily plan, like Sonlight, then do it.  If you are a lover of living books, then the Charlotte Mason method is the way to go.  Don't get married to your curriculum unless it truly fits both your education goals andyour lifestyle.  Remember, the more peaceful you are throughout the day, the more your children will learn and love to learn.  It's a proven fact!  (At least it is in our household:-)

Organizing your Home- Yes, there are libraries filled with books on how to do this.  Wasn't it Thoreau who said, "Simplify, simplify"?  Be merciless with clutter; get rid of what you don't love or need.  Be diligent with cleaning in small chunks regularly.  And, employ help.  Do I mean hire a house cleaner?  Only if you can afford it.  Otherwise, make sure that each family member is contributing to the well-being of the household.  Side benefit - your kids will also learn some excellent lessons in responsibility and service.

Meal Planning- I admit with chagrin that this piece is my downfall.  I struggle with this daily and have for years.  I dislike grocery shopping (although I really don't know why.)  I am not a stellar cook and have no real affinity for cooking.  I also eat weird food at weird times of the day (a long story for another time:-).  Getting three squares on the table for my husband and sons isn't my strong suit.  My best advice is to make a meal plan, shop ahead, and keep it simple!  Unless you are a closet culinary contessa (and I know some of you are), keep the prep to a minimum.  Shoot for healthy, simple, satisfying food combinations and you can't go wrong.  Note:  To you culinary contessas, email me with your favorite meal-planning sites, and I will put them in a future post.

Avoiding Brain Drain- What drains you?  My top 4 brain drains are television, most news (papers, radio, magazines), clutter, and too much time without adult conversation.  (I'll get into the whole introvert/extrovert thing at a later date.)  For now, identify your brain drains and minimize them as much as possible.  For example, Scott and I have been on a news fast for a few weeks.  Amazingly, we are not any less knowledgeable about important world events.  We are, however, noticeably less cranky and preoccupied because we are no longer wasting our energy on things outside of our circle of influence.

Renewing your Spirit – On the flip side, look at what energizes you and gives you peace.  For me, exercise, reading, prayer, and laughing with just about anyone are at the top of my list.  Also, realize that when you feed your body healthy food, feed your spirit noble thoughts, and feed your system with enough sleep, you are renewing yourself as well.

There you have it… a preview of the year to come, along with all of the tools you need to truly make it your own.  Cheers!

Too long… my baby blog does not like to be left alone, so here I am mulling what has happened.  Does anyone else out there ever find that sometimes backing away from life a bit helps them to prioritize a little better?  That has been the case for me over the last few weeks.  I have been teaching online courses and trying to create a standalone curriculum, all while homeschooling kids, keeping up with family and home, and trying to stay involved in our various communities.  Just typing all of that makes me realize that I need to start taking my own advice.

I need to refocus. 

I have realized that there are certain themes that pop up in my life… certain passions, if you will.  I have spent the last 6 weeks doing some soul-searching.  My journal is full, and I have moved on to scraps of paper lying around the house in order to capture the deluge of thoughts that have been trapped inside of my head.  Do you want to know what I have discovered?  Life is awesome!  When I say that, I don’t mean the "like, totally, dude" variety.  I mean, the meaningful and overwhelming kind of awesome that simultaneously incapacitates and inspires.  My world has so many options, so many opportunities.  I can log on to the computer and be anywhere in the world in about 3 seconds.  I can write posts about world hunger, organizing a kitchen, or corralling a cat and there will be someone, somewhere reading them.  I can order clothes from any store in the United States and most of Europe without leaving my living room.  I walk into a grocery store that stocks foods I have never even heard of.  News is available anytime, anywhere with a PDA.  What wonderful developments, what incredible technology! 

Believe me, I am grateful.  But, I have been getting the feeling that there is just a little too much.  Too much to think about… too much to care about… too many causes to get in, over, around and behind.  Does it ever make your brain hurt? 

That "brain pain" sparked my commitment to refocus.  I took a break mentally and stepped back.  We are all here for a purpose, and I have been reevaluating mine.  I looked for patterns in my activities, my reading, my "electronic interests" (TV, internet, blogs, eZines), my conversations, etc.  I found that most of what I value falls into primary categories – in no particular order: productivity, family life, and the importance of academic and character growth for today’s youth.  Do I have more interests than these?  Yes.  However, at least 85% of what I feel called toward falls into one of these categories.

Productivity – I have said this before, and I will say it again.  I love paper.  I love calendars.  I love notebooks and planners and office supply stores.  I love making lists and lists of lists.  Don’t ask me why, but it’s in my blood.  (You can ask my mother, who provided me – at the ripe old age of 5 – with stacks of old office paper.)  My bookshelves are stocked with books written by David Allen (Getting Things Done) and Julie Morgenstern.  Steven Covey is an old standby, as is Jack Canfield (The Power of Focus).  Organizing is therapuetic for me.  The more I absorb effective productivity techniques into my own life, the more I want to share that peace of mind and home with others.  Full disclosure:  I am not perfectly organized, I simply strive for what I can and enjoy the process:-)

Family Life – If you had asked me 15 years ago if I would leave a successful career to stay home with my kids, I would have politely looked at you as if you were one stick short of a matchbook.  Now, though, I am amazed that God has actually trusted me with these little people.  My husband and I both have found that we have put up some cushioning between our nuclear family and the rest of the world.  Our time together gets more precious each day, and we know that these times won’t last forever.  When our nest is empty, we’ll probably be more accessible.  For now, we have our hands full with the teaching and training and bike rides and boo-boos.

Education – Again, when I was in the corporate world, the value of education was not even on my radar.  Between my time teaching at the university, researching academic options and teaching my own kids, I now find little else that weighs so heavily on my mind and heart.  I feel as though I haven’t enough years left (and I am not exactly pushing up daisies yet) to make a positive impact on how we educate our children.  I want every parent in this country to recognize that character and academics are the true goals of education.  I want every adult to recognize that kids are capable of SO MUCH more than we expect of them in 2008.  They have huge brains and huge hearts, and it is up to US to train them how to use them best.

Doing this exercise – this breaking down of my life into main categories – I found something incredibly valuable… my focus.  When I looked at where my passions reside, I found my mission.  I am aligning my efforts to focus in on 1) Guarding our values as a family to train our little boys to become strong, true men of integrity… just like their daddy,  2) Helping other moms create their own life of peace and value, and 3) Using my experience and energy to inspire passion for knowledge and wisdom in every young person I meet.

I feel recharged and reenergized.  I know now how to guage what invitations to accept, which committees to serve on, and which commitments to add to my calendar.  I now have a yardstick.  By choosing activities that hone in on my mission, more of what I do will be effective.  Even my writing.  Although I missed you all while I was gone, I think you are going to find that this blog community will grow even tighter and more close-knit as we move forward.  I encourage you to think over where your heart is and what it is pointing you toward.  By using that as a starting point, you too can narrow your focus and widen your effectiveness.