Friday Favorites: The Last Week of October

We had a pretty good week.  I have found that with this hybrid schooling there are always up and downs and little bumps in the road but for the most we just try to roll with them.  We got to eat out twice in one week which is pretty unheard of for us unless we're on vacation.  We also finished up just about all our evening activities so starting next week we should have more relaxing evenings at home together and I just can't wait!

 

I once again spent a restless night losing sleep over Alec's schoolwork and grades so I was really dragging Friday morning.  I keep trying to assure Alec he can only do his best and he (we!) have to let it go but I am so much better at preaching. 

Luckily he only had a half-day of school on Friday and  he was IN the building!  I offered to take all three boys out to lunch once schooling was over for the day. Alec came home in a great mood too; after talking with another classmate and finding out they have ALL the exact same grades for all the same reasons he feels better (and now wants to look into honors classes like she just moved into)!

We spent a quiet afternoon at home and for dinner I whipped up some homemade pizzas to go with our salad and we spent our evening watching a few new episodes of the Goldbergs. 

Ian headed off to work with his grandfather on Saturday morning and my husband was heading out to work too.  It was a beautiful day on the lake!

Alec, Evan, and I cleaned the whole upstairs while they were gone.  My husband has been doing a great job stepping up and taking over all my jobs while I was on the mend but cleaning had been sorely lacking and it felt great to have half the house sparkling clean.  

After lunch Alec, Evan and I also worked together to mix up some Chex mix and a new caramel/chocolate popcorn recipe.  Both were big hits with the family. 

I experimented with a new crock- pot recipe making beef stroganoff for dinner.  I set the stew beef in a crock pot with diced onions and mushrooms and enough beef broth to cover them then let it simmer on low all day.  Just before serving I stirred in a container of sour cream.  To thicken up the sauce I slowly added some of the hot broth to a measuring cup of flour until I had a creamy paste and then mixed it all back into the crock pot.  We cooked up some egg noodles to serve it over and we had meal that EVERYONE ate (without complaint)!  That so rarely happens.  

Ian was working again on Sunday and my husband went to work on fixing his Ranger (after getting it stuck in the mud a month or so ago we discovered quite a few problems with it).  The younger boys went out to breakfast with their grandmother so I had the house to myself for a bit.

Once they were home we worked together to clean the downstairs. After lunch my husband and I headed out on a short Ranger ride.  Neither one of us was all that certain I should be going but I felt fine when we returned.  In fact I sat with Alec for a bit and we went over some of his math.   

My husband got a fire going in the fireplace in the afternoon and I sat nearby reading finishing up my latest novel-- Troubles in Paradise and starting in on On Ocean Boulevard. 

For dinner we had grilled chicken, squash, roasted potatoes and salad. 

Alec was back to virtual schooling on Monday.  Before school started he quickly whipped up some banana bread while I put together our sausage/tortellini soup in the crock pot.  

I had pulled out work for the other two boys and we settled in to school as soon as breakfast was over.  Alec had a bit of trouble getting the sound to work on his computer and we had to shut down and restart his computer causing him to miss just a bit of his Language Arts class; thankfully his teacher understood and got him caught up on what they were doing.  

After the boys were all done school we all ended up going for a walk to the state park.  Once we got home we played a rousing game of Tellestrations. 

After dinner Ian and my husband went to work on Ian's four wheeler while Evan and I watched Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. 

Ian headed off to work on Tuesday and Alec settled in for another day of virtual lessons while Evan and I worked on a bit of schoolwork at the kitchen table.  The day went pretty good; Evan and I worked on a new science experiment and a haiku poem about fall.  We went for a short walk to get the mail. 

We ended up meeting my husband and Ian at the Pub 99 for dinner just before Ian's driver's ed. class.  We had a nice dinner out together. 

Alec was headed into school on Wednesday to take the PSAT's (is it normal for new Freshman to take them now?? I thought this was odd).  After I dropped him off I worked on schoolwork with Ian and Evan.  We got our work done rather quickly.  It rained all day so once the schoolwork was done we spent a quiet day at home puttering around. 

I ran a few errands before picking Alec up from school and then we swung by and visited with my mom for a bit.  

We got an e-mail from the school-- after our inquiry earlier this week Alec has been moved into ALL HONORS CLASSES!! He is so thrilled.  It won't go into effect until they officially close out this marking period in two weeks but then he'll get new classes and a new schedule.  I'm nervous about the change but can't help loving how much he is pushing himself to just do and be his absolute best even in these crazy times. 

After Alec's karate class we enjoyed a lovely pot roast, mashed potatoes, and steamed broccoli dinner.  I had put the pot roast in the crock pot early in the morning and made up mashed potatoes around lunch time then put them in a second crock pot to keep warm until we were ready to eat.  We watched a few episodes of the Mandalorian in preparation for the new season coming out this week. 

I tried watching the newest This is Us but ended up turning it off.  Anyone else a bit bummed that so much reality has made it's way into our shows?  I like to use my shows as a bit of an escape from real life and that is just not the case with shows coming out so far this fall. 

Thursday felt like a disaster as far as Alec's schooling went.  It was another virtual learning day but since teachers were proctoring exams for the 11th grade class there were no teachers to help.  He was marked absent and I had to call the school.  Several assignments were marked as being due yesterday even though he was in the building for testing and saw most of these teachers on Tuesday.  We were pretty confused most of the day on what to do for most of his classes and have absolutely no idea how he's going to be graded on these "missing" assignments.  

The one upside was he got to create his own art project for history class-- a personalized artifact that someone might stumble across years from now (like a cave painting) that would show a bit about his life. Of course he went with a baking theme! 

I rushed Evan through his work so I could help Alec; not that he needed much help with the actual assignments.  Evan is really loving his March books and keeps telling me that all schools should make them mandatory for middle school students to learn more about the civil rights movement. 

It was another rainy day and since we had already eaten all the snacks we made over the weekend I offered to whip up another batch of Chex Mix this time we made an Italian/parmesan cheese blend. 

Ian was gone to work all day and had his last driver's ed. class so it was just Evan, Alec, and I for dinner.  We heated up a chicken, broccoli, and rice casserole.  Then at 7 Alec and I logged onto the school's technology night to learn about using Google Classroom (a class that might have been more useful a few months ago but I'll take help wherever we can get it!).  We already know he'll only be in the building for two or maybe three days all next month. 

So all in all not a bad week at all!  How was your week?

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