Three things

This school year I've asked the boys to keep a journal as part of our lineup of lessons.  It's been a struggle for them at times.  I've come across many an entry that reads, "I got up, ate breakfast, did my lessons, ate dinner, and hit the hay."  This may be an OK exercise in handwriting, but it's not good for much else.  :-)  So we came up with the "three things" idea.  Each day in their journals they need to write about three things that made the day before good, bad, interesting, or unique.  Can I follow my own advice?  Well, I'll give it a try.
Three things for Monday, January 23.
1. I over-slept until 7:45!!  That put us back about an hour and a half behind schedule.  Which meant we were scrambling all day to finish lessons promptly (well, I was scrambling trying to get the boys to finish lessons promptly), and were frantically finishing practicing while Ben made dinner so we could have some semblance of FHE.  I don't like rushed days like today.  Should I have just blown off some of our lessons?  I don't know.  This is a classic case of my uncertainty regarding the proper balance of pushing the boys to finish their work, teaching them the value of working quickly, being committed to fulfilling their academic responsibilities, even though no one is "keeping track" of us, and the need sometimes to be flexible and to let things go for the sake of keeping our day happy and relaxed and the learning environment of my house upbeat and positive.  My instinct is always for the former, but at the end of the day I sometimes look back and feel like I ought to have leaned toward the latter.  Ugh.
2. I saved us $95 by finding the lost remote control for the Acer projector Ben got for Christmas.  It turns out you need the remote control to switch between various modes (that is a big pet peeve of mine-- when a remote control is necessary for some vital function).  Ben needs the projector for a church activity Wednesday night (video games at the church!), and it wouldn't work without the remote control.  He though he must have left it in the box and then thrown it away.  This is not an unprecedented event, and it would have cost us $95 to replace the remote control-- a significant percentage of the total cost of the projector, and the same amount that it would have cost us to upgrade to a nicer projector that can project Blue Ray.  Annoying to say the least.  Anyway, I found it this morning!!  It was still in a plastic bag along with the warranty cards and instruction DVD, tucked inside the projector's carrying case which was folded up and stuffed on top of a row of books in a little-used bookshelf.  Finding something you've looked high and low for, and thought you've lost forever is a very good feeling.
3. The boys worked on their pinewood derby cars for FHE tonight.  The race is on Thursday, so we're cutting it close.  Mosey's is going to be a speeding bullet, and Joseph and Brigham are both making different versions of an army tank.  The homeschool table is full of sand paper and paint and drill bits and scraps of cut wood and wheels and axles and who knows what else.  The pinewood derby is fun for the boys, but I admit I'm looking forward to having it done for another year.