School Twice Today

Today. Was. Hard.

My friend lives by the motto, "Do it nice or do it twice."

Today we did school. Twice. All of it.
Well, minus the attitudes and arguing.
Almost minus the crazy mama shouting, "Silence!" over the din.

It started, this double day, early this morning.

Every once in a while I convince myself we can start our school day casually, thinking that if we just go along slowly and easily, it will be fun. Schooling in our pajamas on the couch is my idea of heaven on earth.

My kids see it as a chink in my armor, Mama lying down on the job, and they exploit the heck out of it.

They are the sweetest kids ever, but kids nonetheless.
Usurpers by nature.

So on the way out the door to visit their Grammy they erupted into the umpteenth argument of the day--ostensibly caused by a lack of formal instruction and structure--and I lost my mind.

I had my 12 year old call her Grammy and postpone until tomorrow. Which means tomorrow I have to wake up with a whip in hand, ready to smack the floor next to me to make them jump at the predesignated time.

How does a naturally unscheduled, laid back, herbal tea drinking, attachment parenting mama birth four kids who operate optimally within the confines of a routine and close supervision?

It's just gotta be God's way of refining us by fire. I don't say that sarcastically. Maybe I need to learn a bit of self discipline, they need to chill out a little, and the best way for us all to learn was to be stuck together in the same family, the same classroom/home every. single. day.

Gotta love refining.