Way Overdue Vacation!

TTSIA!  :)

It's been that kind of a past few weeks:

EB has been making his way to my BIG POOP list: Stealing sugars (he's banned from them because he knows no self-control), using things that he knows he's not supposed to and then not even cleaning up, making dinner and then leaving everything a mess, saying he mowed the lawn when he didn't - just over the past 2 weeks, he's been insufferable. I think it's because MM & TSS have been gone working at one of the Boy Scout camps for the last 3 weeks - he's jealous that they get to be gone, he's irritated that he has to pick up the slack, he's bored because it's just him and TCC here - and he goes through cycles.  Pity that he's doing this - he's just been invited by our TKD school to be a junior leader, test for a rank in weapons, participate in elite classes and join a swordsman class (a la SCA). If he doesn't get his stuff together, he's going to be out of most of those things. :P

Finances have been tight - which is always a stressful thing.

Hubby has been seriously lacking in his yard duties - we went out and spent almost $100 on plants and such for our front yard - and they only reason any of them are planted was because I told him when we were working on it. We bought a new trimmer, spent almost a grand on repairing both lawn mowers and a chain saw (one mower was a riding mower) - and I'm the only one who's done anything in the yard. Grass & weeds that I can't mow are all over the place and the trimmer is way beyond my 10# limitation. He won't take the time to look it over and teach EB how to use it - and EB is eager to do so!

Vehicles - had $400 in repairs to my van and an estimated $1200+ on Hubby's car, which is almost as much as it's worth. (Fortunately, we had another mechanic take a look and, yes, it will need to be done, but he managed to fix part of it and the rest he said it'll be a while.)

Roof - $300 repair

Both TCC and I have been going to therapy - him, occupational and physical; me, physical. So that's going to be probably another $500 each. And of course I've been lazy getting the flex spending stuff in...I wish I could just get my crap together...

Anyway, back to the title - just wanted to show you where I am, physically, mentally and emotionally. Tomorrow TCC and I are flying out to see his birthmom & her family. We get back late Wednesday night - I'm SO looking forward to being able to get away from everyone and everything here. Top it off with Hubby, MM, TSS and EB are all going to scout camp - they'll be there Sunday to next Saturday - so I'll still have some time away. Looking forward to some swimming, meeting new family and seeing a new city!

Enough gritching for now!

Life is a journey - enjoy the trip

It's hard to stay Zen...

...when you have pushy, selfish people in your life.  :P

The family my last post talked about - the ones not liking change - are the only disgruntled people in the pack. Their son has been our highest seller for scout popcorn because his parents have pushed him hard every year to have that position. Last year, when he finally hit their goal for him, he asked if he had to sell anymore. To me, that speaks volumes - it should be fun, not a job.

Now that Hubby and I have taken some training on a new system of selling, we want every boy in our pack to have the opportunity to sell a lot. (We do some site sales - and they would take all sorts of times, leaving precious little to those who were new.) They're having a conniption fit because they don't want to try it and that it's being forced upon them.  While I agree that it's being forced upon the pack, it's because that's the only way this new technique would reasonably be allowed by the very vocal opposition.  (Very vocal opposition would be just be that family...)

Then I have EB who, because he had a consequence for not being ready to start our school day on time yesterday, threw out "I want to go to public school" again.  He says this about half the time he's required to do something for school or after he's been at a scout function.  I know he says it to try to get a reaction out of me. He kept saying it last night and I told him he needed to go away.  (I was trying to make dinner on an already short schedule.) He finally asked, in a hopeful voice, "Are you getting upset?" "No, I'm tired of you saying you want to go to school when you don't get what you want." Last night, after scouts, he started up again...and MM started making fun of him when we got home because that's almost all EB talked about the whole way home. Would it be easier on me to get him out of the house so I can teach the willing participants? You BET! Do I think he'd get suspended within the first month or two? Absolutely. And am I going to be beholden to the school's schedule?  No way.

Oh well...let the feelings wash over you, put them in a bubble and let them float away.  :)

Have a great day!

A Cure

The past few days have been  rather difficult for me to deal with. I don't enjoy stress - no, I take that back, I actually thrive on stress and work better under pressure. I don't enjoy being frustrated.  

We have had an issue with resistance to change with our scout pack - those the most resistant actually being people who have no children involved.

Also in the pack, I have been struggling with one parent's habit of deriding the decisions of other parents and families. I found it put me in a difficult place because I know the behaviors of this parent's children were one of the many reasons we decided to homeschool. With that knowledge, it's hard for me to accept their offhanded judgments. 

We've also had some annoyances with EB and TCC's grandmother. She has a history of being untruthful and unreliable. I've had some contact with her and was pulled in by, what I would call, her manipulative ways. I've struggled with how to make her respond - though I know I can't force anyone to do anything - especially if they don't really want to.

At any rate, between that and some medication I received, I have been having some problems sleeping and just being generally grumpy. However, last night I was able to sleep for almost a full 8 hours for the fist time in a really long time - and I took no sleep aids! How is that possible - because my "problems" are still around?

My hunch is these things had something to do with it:

Hubby spoke to a higher up in scouts. Just him voicing that concern is a big step.

I wrote a blog entry for the second one and then let it sit overnight.That evolved into today's post - which is much shorter and far more positive.

I sent a message to the grandmother, telling her in a polite (and not so direct) manner that our family, and the boys in particular, aren't going to sit around waiting for her to follow through. There needs to be some effort on her part, more than just words - or there won't be any more contact. (Ok, that last part was my own quiet mental fortitude peaking through. However, should I not hear from her by the end of the month, will be the end result.)

The boys know about the attempts to deal with her and, truth be told, have only once or twice asked about it. (This has been going on since July) They aren't counting on her. I need to let go too.

 The above I did last night before coming to bed - and I'm confident they resulted in a peaceful night's sleep. Letting go of the emotions that are attached to your problems, while challenging (and, obviously, I haven't quite done that with all of them) is refreshing and uplifting - takes the weight off of your shoulders.

As I find myself back in more normal and relaxed state, I bid you a peaceful day.

Rain!

We had rain last night! First time in a long time we've had any moisture. Unfortunately it didn't rain enough to lower the temps; merely enough to raise the humidity and offer a slight reprieve to the plants.

I was excited when I saw the temps were going to be in the low 90s over the next few days. then I looked at the projected forecast – over 100 again starting next week.

Not much to do about it though, just make the best of it.

Peace

Changes on the horizon

Well, the crappy economy has finally hit my work. Received a message from my boss saying our fall enrollment was the lowest it's been since our school opened 7 years ago and they're just trying to get by. Fortunately I always knew my position was a luxury - even though I was only there for about 3 hours a week.

For me, it was extra money - out to eat, special treats, extra classes, etc. For my boss - she's the primary breadwinner in her family. My heart goes out to her, her family and the other employees who might be affected more drastically than I. For several, it's their sole income.

This will affect our upcoming school year - I was contemplating subscribing to Discovery streamingPlus (or their science program), sending the kids to a couple of different classes at the zoo and/or the Homeschool Learning Center - but that, too, is a luxury.  I can handle the $5 classes at the art and history museum - and MM will still go to the art museum for his art classes and EB will continue to go to the medieval classes he takes at our taekwondo school.

So...time to be a little more frugal - thank goodness for libraries and free online educational tools.  I started investigating Khan Academy and think we'll be utilizing that this year. I also have started checking out Sophia.org, which is headed up by Bill Nye - yes, the Science Guy!

Scouts

MM is currently working as a Counselor In Training at the local Boy Scout camp. He had a great time the first week (he's only working 2 weeks - just became eligible) working with the equestrian program. He was hoping to work there again this past week. He comes home on Saturday. It's been strange not having him around, but his level of confidence soared in just the one week - I'm looking forward to seeing what he'll come back with after his second week. (Which had feels-like temps of over 100 every day!)

TCC went to his first overnight scout camp with Hubby last weekend and had a great time! This weekend, he's joining Hubby and EB for a weekend camping with the troop.  (EB is hoping for some swimming, fishing, canoing or kayaking, but given the level of the river, there might be nothing but sand...)

Personal Changes

I've been doing some personal growth lately. I've deactivated the dreaded FB account (complete with changing the password and deleting the apps...) - there were only a handful of people I actually wanted to see updates from. (Yes, my only follower, you're one of them!)  Eventually I'll go back, but I have no strong desire to do so right now.

I've been working on becoming more active again - kind of fell off the wagon for a while, but have gone back to taekwondo after a month off, started swimming and am walking most days while the boys are in their taekwondo classes. I'm eating much better than I had been (of course, vacation tends to blow any chance at quality diet - especially when your destination doesn't have much more than deep-fried foods...).

On a related note, TCC and I tested for our new taekwondo ranks before vacation. We thought we flubbed big-time - but he went back about 2 weeks later and I went back 4 weeks later - we both passed on the first go-round! He's hoping to make yellow belt before his birthday - which is definitely doable. My goal of getting my green belt before Christmas is well within sight, since it's my next rank!

I've been making foods ahead of time - breakfast foods and breads are in the freezer currently, along with a round of leftover spaghetti.  Next up I think will be some dinners - we've been going out too much because we've been unprepared and it's cutting into the budget!

I've been keeping up fairly well with the kitchen, which is astounding!  I've been working on getting the boys to get chores done too - I'd like to get us in to a routine on cleaning - if everyone pitches in on a room a day, the house should at least be decent and we should still have plenty of time for school when we start up again early next month.

Still working on calm parenting and calm living. Striving for a Zen-like approach - doesn't always happen, but it's surely a learning process. Living in the here and now - not in the past "what's done" and not in the future "what-ifs".

And, I cut my hair! It's been shoulder-length (give or take) for quite a while and I realized my swimming ability was suffering. (Crawl with hair in your mouth? Yuck!) Plus, it's so much easier to work with. My SIL, who is my normal stylist, wasn't available when I decided "it's got to go", so I went somewhere else. It's still a little too long, so I'm going to see my SIL tomorrow to get it fixed. But, I really, really like it!

Alright - time to think about bed.

Peace!

(P.S. I picked up an iPad 2 back a few months ago, mostly for schooling - I'll post about some apps later.)

Quick update

So, our last few weeks of school haven't been anything.  I haven't been wanting to do anything except vegetate... The house is still a disaster, but at least some of the yard work is getting done and the laundry was caught up for a while. 

Today I have a list of things that need to be done to clean up the house and the boys and I will work on them over the next 2 days. That'll put my mind at ease and I'm sure I'll be able to function better.  (Pigsty house=shut down brain & motivation for me) 

Time to run - been working on other things in the midst of the blogging and completely forgot what exactly I was going to be posting. But, children are up and about, showers are going, breakfast is being consumed and we'll be starting on housecleaning and laundry soon.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Sleep, it doth elude me

It's almost 3am - and here I am on the computer.  Really?

I have a lot of things rushing around in my brain, apparently:

I broke a tooth Friday, so I'm anxiously awaiting my dentist's call first thing in the morning to see if I can get in to get a crown. At least it shouldn't be a root canal! Had one of those last year - apparently on the wrong tooth. I don't blame the dentist - my "mystery tooth" has been bothering me off and on for over 10 years. We've fooled around trying to figure out which one is the right one and last summer I was positive that we had it - got a crown, then a root canal because the crown didn't solve it. Once that one was on, within a week, I knew it wasn't right - but the darn thing just wouldn't show itself. The dentist said from the get-go that he thought it was a hairline crack and that eventually it'd show up or break off. It did - and it's not even one of the teeth I thought it could have been! Darn mixed up wiring in the mouth...

I'm trying to get the kids on a school schedule again - but we have so much other stuff to accomplish, it's not working. The story of my life...  So, today they're working on math and typing, then we'll do some stuff on one of the older boys' merit badges, do some cleaning up (the house is a disaster), a bit of yard work, and then swimming. My goal is to finish up one merit badge this week, another next week, a third one the following week, then work on our current unit study and fit in swimming several times each week. EB needs to be a confident and capable swimmer before mid-June (Hubby is also taking him swimming about 6am most mornings.) and MM and TSS need to regain some comfort and stamina by then too.

As I said above, the house is a disaster; the yard is atrocious and a mess; laundry is backed up - just a lot of things that distract me and pretty much shut down my motivation centers.

While not a problem, it's something that's been in my head - Saturday TSS, EB, TCC and I all competed in a martial arts tournament. Our school had 8 of us representing - not too bad, considering we're not an enormous school. Even our master instructor was there and competing.  TSS did forms and won 3rd place for his age and rank; EB sparred and did ok - didn't move much at all; TCC was put in the wrong category, but gave it his all and will receive a medal from the school; I won 3rd place in forms for my age bracket (against men) and 1st place for women's sparring. (I was the only one in my age bracket and rank to spar so was guaranteed a first place win, but I fought two women at least half my age - and won - to earn it.) Next month I'm hoping to test for my next rank.

Also working on building up my stamina for bike riding. I'd like to build up so I can ride my bike to work - probably not much more than a mile, but at this point, I can't do that. I credit all of my increased fitness and activity to my chiropractor (and my final decision to go see her). With 6 weeks worth of treatment, I went from almost immobile to riding a bike, entering a TKD tourney, walking, stretching and swimming again. HUZZAH!

I'm working my normal work schedule over the summer. First time I've worked over the summer since my first year there. I'm actually looking forward to it.  :)

Last pick up of a friend's son from public school today - at least for this school year. They asked if I would pick him up next year as well, so I already know to include that in our schedule.  I expect next year will be my last year as his brother should be driving by the end of December.

Ok, time to see if dumping my brain will let me get back to sleep.

Busy, busy day!

I think today is going to be a double-shot of espresso day...a few times over...

Last night, MM came home from his Order of the Arrow ordeal, proud and carrying his OA sash. (Yea!) He was exhausted from a rainy Friday - he and his sleeping bag were soaked - and working all day. 

This morning, we'll be getting everyone up early and going to see the Avengers. (The boys and I saw it Friday morning sans Hubby. This morning we're taking Hubby and meeting some friends.)

From there, we drop the boys off at the in-laws and head downtown to see Bill Cosby with Hubby's brother and sister-in-law and an early dinner follows.

Then we'll have enough time to come home just long enough to head right back out for a scout meeting tonight.

I expect to be crawling back home around 9 or 9:30pm.

And I woke up with a migraine. (Thanks allergies! Is it bad that I'm already wishing for a hard freeze...?)

Inner strength - that's what I'm looking for today. To keep the good mood and to keep me awake...

In other news, made the plunge and bought an iPad, primarily for education purposes. We already have to schedule time for the kids' foreign language and typing lessons on their computer, the three older boys have multiple research projects they're working on (which TSS frequently utilizes the laptop for) and MM uses my system for a computer programming...program... ?  This just gives some more options - I love some of the educational apps that are available for the iPad exclusively already.  More on that later.

Have an enjoyable day!

For Scootch

I wrote this about 2 or 3 years ago - guess I didn't publish it. While I didn't write one when his sister died, this was extremely cathartic and felt I should post it.

Big basso rumbles and paws in my face,                                                                         Chasing your sister all over the place,                                                                                 A gentle head nudge and a grab at my hand,                                                                       Keeping you was not what we had planned.
Smiles to our lives you brought every day,                                                                          With love and affection we watched while you played.                                                         For the hearts you helped heal and the company you kept,                                                 I write a bad poem now that I've wept.
Not so good, but it's hard to condense over 14 years of one of the best and most intuitive pets I've ever had.  (Especially trying to do it in 10 minutes...)
Scootch, my wonderful gray long-haired tabby cat, was with us through a lot of different things.  Bandit, our first beagle, found him and Molly in our woodpile. The dog rarely made a noise yet on that cool day, he was out barking like crazy at the same spot.  When I finally decided to see what was going on that evening, I found two very young gray kittens.  One I could hear mewing and the other, when I reached down, hissed and batted at my hand.
There was a hard freeze coming that night and we couldn't in good conscience let them stay outside. (We figured a momma cat was moving them when the dogs showed up.) We brought them in for the night and then took them to the vet where we discovered they both had a serious case of ringworm and had to be quarantined for a month.  (Hubby was hoping to take them to Nuke-Con which was 2 weeks later to find them new homes. Like that worked...HA!) They were about 3 weeks old and I bottle-fed them, took them to my in-laws when I worked so I could easily feed them over lunch, taught them how to get into the litterbox - I hand-raised these cats.
He accepted all of the kids with good graces and much tolerance. (One time I recall Scootch was playing with MM when he {MM} was maybe 3 or 4. Scootch got tired of playing and MM didn't know it.  Scootch whacked him so hard on the cheek, I could hear it reverberate throughout the room. I was stunned, waiting for MM to cry. Instead, he looked at me, looked at the cat and laughed.)
The dogs in our lives he dealt with a little more severely. Routinely he would beat them, though they hardly realized it.  When we brought home Cletus (our coonhound), the only place he wouldn't go was MM's room, so the cats would take refuge there. One day Cletus chased them down the hall and started to come into the room. Scootch, who had had quite enough, turned around in the doorway and, for the first time, smacked him upside the head. Cletus was so startled he pulled his head back and crashed his face straight into the door jamb. He must have thought Scootch was some sort of ferocious beast because from then on, he never bothered the cats again.
He and Molly stayed with me the night before my mom died, when I sat alone in the darkness with my thoughts and feeling that she was going to die. Neither one pawed, meowed or head-butted - they just were there for a friend in a time of need.
When TSS and EB came to live with us, they'd only had a yappy, nippy dog who they incessantly teased.  We showed them how to care for and respect animals. TSS has healed a lot from the events of his previous life and had claimed Scootch as his. (After me, of course!) He started calling him "Scootch-a-Boo" and could easily spend an hour lying on the floor petting the cat.
I could go on and on about him and how positively he's affected our lives. I'll miss his deep purrs in my ears before bed and pawing at my face for me to talk to him or pet him. Hubby misses him coming up and grabbing at our hands because it's obvious that hand isn't doing anything, so it should be petting him.
Goodbye, my big gray cat.

I'm baa-aaack...

...on task (or off, considering what I'm supposed to be doing...).

Updating the blog, trying to post a little more frequently - though we've heard that before!

School
We've been revamping school schedules - again.  We had a series of months where we took off apart from life skills, standing classes and videos. The boys had become almost rebellious in doing their work, so we just stopped. I wanted to see what would happen. About a month or so ago, two came to me and asked if they could start schooling again - FINALLY! We revised a bit, and then ended up completely on a different schedule.

I now have planners for each boy and am trying to get their schedules and work into their planner. I'd done that in my own planner but that just didn't work out. There was so much to put in, plus I'd have to rewrite it all out for them anyway, that I started slacking. Now I'm planning out their week one at a time for the rest of the "official" school year, which ends in mid-June. Trying to balance schoolwork with housework and yardwork, plus field trips, scouts and other classes and activities...yikes!

EB keeps asking about going to public school - mostly after he's been hanging out with his scout buddies. I sat down with him and explained why, exactly, we'd pulled them out (he was only finishing up 3rd grade when we did that) and what cost it would have to him (no family vacations). I just don't think he's a public school kind of person. While he's extremely social, that's been a detriment in the past. He doesn't like other people telling him what to do (you know, like teachers...). I also told him he needs to put forth some effort here - he's never given it a chance as he doesn't do the work he's assigned without a fight. (Which is currently working in my favor - he can't test for his next tae kwon do rank until he gets it together...)

Me, I don't want to be beholden to the school's schedule. I already pick up other children a few days a week and it plays havoc with our scheduling sometimes. He thinks it's just going to be a time to sit and chit-chat with his friends. 

Other
I've been out of commission for a while - I have a pinched nerve in my back from a herniated disk last spring. It got so bad that I could hardly walk for an extended time. About 6 weeks ago I finally went to a chiropractor and have been extremely grateful for her services! I went back to TKD this past week and was able to do almost everything without penalty. So nice to be able to move with little or no pain and difficulty!
With that, I'm going to sign off - I have core strengthening and stretches to do before we start on the day.

Swimming, Cable TV and Wabi-Sabi!

Hubby has had this whole week off and has taken the older boys swimming every morning, trying to help the older 2 get their next ranks in scouts. I'm hoping we stay YMCA members for a month or two, so he can continue taking them before work every morning. :)

MM is getting there - needs to work on his stamina. TSS has the crawl stroke down, but has issues getting his face in the water for extended times. (That and he doesn't sink or float, but hangs in the water - "neutral buoyancy" Hubby says.) EB, he says, "sucks" at swimming. The child has no control over his limbs. It's like each limb has a mind of its own, and his brain doesn't control any of them. (He's kind of like that in taekwondo - his strikes and kicks are loose.) TCC has decided he'd like to go too, but I'm not about to get up at oh-dark-thirty to go swimming, no matter how much I love it. (Honestly, they're gone between 6 and 6:30 every morning.) We might do an afternoon thing, when Hubby takes the older ones during an afternoon session.

As far as cable goes...we got rid of it on February 7th. TCC, who was the most vocal about not getting rid of it, told us last night he doesn't ever want it back. (Mind you, he can watch the shows he wants online...) Hubby is undecided, but is investigating purchasing equipment to get the local channels. I, personally, don't miss it much at all. I'm getting much more stuff done at home and even my time online isn't as much as it used to be. I rather liked the first night or two, when we all gathered on the couch and watched a movie. Or reading to TCC, instead of having him hang out in the basement watching the boob tube until bedtime. I think it's going to be a good thing for us and I'm excited about the prospects.

Hubby and I recently read about wabi-sabi in Mother Earth News and I would love to see us do more (or less, as it were) with that. I'd love to pare down our things and leave the house simple, pleasing and have things with history and presence. I think the timing of the article was fortuitous, as I recently watched a show on Buddha and felt what I learned was profound and has an application for all of us - regardless of spiritual beliefs. Essentially it was this: No one knows for certain what happens when we die, except those who have died. So, stop worrying about your future, as well as your past, and live in the here and now, with those who are with you, in each moment, and live fully, within that moment with those people. Appreciate them and everything around you.

May you be filled with loving kindness.

May you be well.

May you be peaceful and at ease.

May you be happy.

Quiet Sunday Morning

Hey look - I'm updating again! In the same month even! Figured no one else is stirring, so why not. I couldn't sleep - mind is too active right now.

I cleaned up a little bit of the kitchen (more on why not the whole thing later), made myself a mint mocha (with homemade chocolate mint syrup) and came down to study for my taekwondo test on Tuesday. After almost a year of inconsistent attendance, I'm finally going to test for my next belt. Woo-hoo!

Ok, so the reason I can't clean up the whole kitchen is because I only have full use of one hand right now. (Ceej, I'm sure, would be laughing with me about that...)

We were starting back on our school schedule when, last week, we had 2 snow days. Normally these don't impact us, but EB and I decided to make something comfy for dinner for Hubby, who works out in the weather. Cutting up the veggies with the mandolin (yeah, you can see where this is going...) - had one last thing to cut and it got stuck. It shot through, with my index finger. Sliced my finger from just under the cuticle to the first knuckle, deep enough to probably do nerve damage. The rest of Monday was spent applying pressure and directing the kids on what to do to finish the meal. (EB, BTW, was exceptionally helpful! He and MM helped me take care of the wound; EB shoveled several times and he made my lunch!)

Decided against going to the hospital - couldn't drive during the snow (what, with one hand bleeding all over and the other trying to stop it?) and figured they wouldn't be able to stitch it well - just superglue it. And have you ever had to go get stitches and they take so long to get to you that the wound seals? And then they come and rip it open? Seriously, who needs that? Not to mention the last time I went in, I had 2 cuts - one needed stitches, the other didn't - they stitched the one that didn't and I said "we're done". Then it was such a lousy job - the cut wasn't even stitched completely closed - that I had to go get them taken out.

So anyway, Hubby was off the following day, which always is a day off of school. We had a packed day of appointments the next day; I worked the following and we had a performance to go to on Friday. (Which we couldn't find any parking for, so we left - thankfully it was only $20!)

Maybe this week will be better for school. :)

Tomorrow MM goes to his first official orthodontist appointment. They said they were taking a mold of his mouth, but they already did that last month during our consultation. I'm hoping that means they'll actually put things on - he's getting anxious for it to be done.

Alrighty, time to hit the "books" - need a refresher on my terminology before anyone else gets up.

Happy New Year!

So, I'll try to be a little more regular about updating this thing. :)

The past several months, life, in general, just feels right. Sounds a bit strange, but I'm a gut-instinct, feelings-based person. I might not be able to explain why something doesn't seem good or bad, but I'm almost always right. (Got that instead of a superbrain, I guess.)

Here are some thoughts:

• I'm looking forward to having the kids start up school again tomorrow and having that routine. Getting done with our Lewis and Clark study - finally.
• We're down to 2 pets and that also is good. The dog crate has been relegated to the garage for the time being. Our dog food consumption has been cut almost in half. No litterbox.
• I'm heading back to taekwondo tomorrow, three times a week, plus doing core strengthening and possibly some dance.
• Eating right more consistently. Ultimate goal is to be 30 pounds lighter by summer; 60 by this time next year. (Though I'll take 30 by fall!)
• We're making some changes - tightening the budget so other things aren't so restricted. My goal there is to get rid of cable at least, maybe even the landline.
• Going to decide if we're planning on staying here for the rest of our foreseeable lives. (That right there makes me cringe...LOL...so maybe a move is in the cards.)

I, personally, am in such an awesome place right now. I love my life, my family and the direction we're headed. (Though, I always expect something to come up when that happens - that's usually when we adopt a child and chaos reigns supreme!)

I'm truly thankful to have all of our friends and family - past and present - who have helped shape (and, yes, even motivate) me.

Life is GREAT!

7 Months?

Geez, has it been 7 months since I last posted?  Time flies, I suppose.  Though since no one reads this, I guess it doesn't matter.  :)

The last two weeks have been chaotic and weird.  

• Our dishwasher went out right before Thanksgiving - leaking water through the floor into the basement.  Check that - pouring would be a more accurate term.
• New dishwasher didn't work right within a few days - ended up having a hole in the bottom of it. Two weeks after the first install, the replacement came.
• I got bit by the neighbor's dog.  (A week and a half later, I still have puncture wounds and bruises.)
• Our Vizsla attacked and killed our remaining cat.  (We're down 3 pets since the beginning of the year.) What made it even worse was that I had already planned on getting 2 kittens for Hubby for Christmas - he's been asking for them for quite a while.
• Our furnace went out less than 2 weeks before Christmas. 

Seems to me there were a few more things, but can't recall them.  I suppose the above things kind of overshadow them.  :P

I believe we finally found our methodology for homeschool!  We started using the Charlotte Mason method, and I really love it!  The kids are generally cooperative with it as well - bonus!  We started using Math Mammoth for math, which seems to be a paper version of Montessori - but we can add the manipulatives if the boys need it.  And starting this week, we're going to give Time4Learning a shot. (They have a trial month for $5 per child - can't beat that!)  

I'm really excited about getting back to schooling!  Though we'll probably only do half days for a little while - I'm going to be paying for the YMCA for the next 2 months so we can go swimming 3 days a week and get the boys comfortable swimming.  Then I'm going to cancel it.  (Since they were supposed to cancel it last summer and they didn't - and Hubby hasn't taken them swimming once like he'd said he would. )

Ok, time to head out. Doing some Christmas shopping today and hopefully will be able to spend the afternoon wrapping before heading to an early dinner with the extended family.

Happy Holidays!

YAHOO - School's Out!

I know, strange title for a homeschooling family that schools year-round. :)

My cheering is for a few reasons:

1) TCC is out of preschool and will now join us on our homeschooling journey. He's excited as much as I am! Loved his preschool and the teachers and staff there, but we're thrilled to start another path.

2) I'm off work for the summer! I was only working one morning a week anyway, so it wasn't that bad - and I love my job. Starting in August, I'm slated to work two mornings a week.

3) I've been picking up two boys from school twice a week for three or four years. They're out of school in 2 days but my responsibilities are done! Don't know what the plan is for next year. The oldest is going into 7th grade and doesn't want to come over (can't blame him - he was MM's friend in school, but they were already growing apart there - and he mostly reads while he's here). The youngest both EB and TCC enjoy playing with as he's right between their ages. Either way is fine for us though.

4) Scouts is done for the summer! Now I can go to taekwondo twice a week!

I guess I'm just happy to have our own schedule for the most part. We'll still have taekwondo twice a week (maybe more - that's at least an option now!) and we're doing the farmer's market once a week though we still don't have a schedule for that.

Yes you heard that right: we're selling things at a farmer's market. Right now our portion is breads, muffins and cookies, but once the produce starts coming in we'll have other stuff to sell. The kids are enjoying it - it's held at a park once a week in the evening. MM is really enjoying getting into the selling aspect, earning money and being around people. Oh and bonus! It's school. The kids are learning that we have costs - had to pay for the spot, have to pay for ingredients, consumables and our time. Hubby's getting a little disillusioned as he's spent the last few weeks busting his buns making bread and he's not seeing much return for it. However, we're having repeat business, so that's a good thing.

Time to close out. The mowing needs to be done, bushes to be planted, garden beds need to be prepped and flowers need to be planted.

I LOVE IT!

A New Day

Finally, after about 2 weeks of feeling morose, my spirits are starting to lift and there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  (Though, truthfully, that could just be the sun...)

Had to put one of my cats down which, after over 14 years, was exceptionally hard.  It was the right thing to do, but still difficult.  He had an aggressive cancer that came on suddenly.  Now we're down to his sister and the 3 dogs.  (Ok, and the kids, which pretty much washes all other troubles away - or makes them pale in comparison, depending upon the day!)

Anyway, haven't updated in a while, so thought I'd make a short entry before running out on a couple of errands.

Homeschooling front, we're trying to get back in gear, which has been challenging.  The schedule I'd put together, while on paper works, doesn't IRL. With taekwondo twice a week and everyone having it at different times, plus scouts, plus family night, plus trying to teach the boys how to swim (so Hubby will open our pool), trying to get some exercising in, housework, mounds of laundry, trying to keep the kids away from each others throats about half the time and me being such a disorganized person, it's a wonder anything gets done!  Urgh.

Personally, as an ADDer, I need a schedule.  (Not to mention, the ADHD kids do too!)  I'm full of good ideas and intentions. But I'm so much more interested in spur of the moment things and activities.  Maybe we want to run to the museum, the zoo or the park.  I suppose I could put together a schedule and then drop it if we need to.  I'm inclined then, after things fall through too many times, to not schedule anything.  

I'll have to ponder while I'm waiting for kids to get done with TKD today and see what I can come up with.  

Listen to that - can you hear it?  Yes, that'd be TCC yelling and crying at someone else.  That's my cue... 

So bad...

So, I'm really lousy at updating this thing. Life happens.  :)

We've had some serious time off from homeschooling (glad I planned on "over" teaching!).  Hubby had a shoulder injury and was off work from just before Christmas until almost a week ago.  We didn't do a lot of teaching during that off time, but we did do some.

Now it's February - our theme for the month is Black History and health and fitness.  All four of the boys started taekwondo at Therese's Taekwondo twice a week.  I'll start next week (until summer I'll only be going once a week as scouts conflict with the other night) and I think Hubby will too.  They all really enjoy it and I think this was a great decision for us.  I'm also taking the older three to the YMCA a couple times a week to work on swimming, which they're enjoying. (Nice that we aren't competing with anyone else during that time!)

MM is doing really well.  He's my reluctant reader, probably because most everything he's read at school has been something he would never have chosen.  Everyone had to fight tooth and nail to get him to read and it took him an obscenely long time to read the books.  Saturday, when he was sick, he pulled out his never-opened copy of The Lightning Thief and read almost 7 chapters! I was so proud!  He's set himself a goal to finish the book before he can see the movie.

TSS went on his first campout with the Troop over the weekend.  He had a great time, but on the way home, the group (approximately 40 people) had to stop at the halfway point due to a 10-car pile up, whiteout conditions and a closed highway.  The leaders brought everyone back to their starting point about 5 1/2 hours after their expected arrival but everyone was safe and sound.

EB has been doing extremely well!  We took him off of his medication about 2 weeks ago and I'm pleased to say there has been very little behavior change!  He's our only Cub Scout left (through November, then he wants to move to the Troop as well since he'll have earned his Arrow of Light early, just like TSS did) and he wanted to do the Parent/Scout Dessert Contest with me.  Over the weekend we did a trial run on his dessert and he made almost the whole thing on his own - we both were really proud!

TCC has been coming into his own and is definitely a child with his own agenda.  He's been doing quite well in TKD and has been enjoying school.  He's working on math (addition!) and is learning techniques for reading.  Last night he deciphered "waiting" without any help or prompting - he was beaming!

Homeschooling has been pretty laid back, as mentioned above.  We've done some field trips, a couple of minor science experiments, but will be getting back on our regular schedule today - hooray!  Our final barriers have been broken - MM told me late last year that he doesn't want to go back to public school and with Hubby being home the last 6+ weeks, he's come to appreciate the boys being home and being able to teach them what we want at any time.  Yes, we even have school on Saturdays.  

Our schedule this month - and probably through May - will mostly be:

• Sunday - Day off
• Monday - Swimming and chores a.m.; afternoon school; evening Scouts (for MM & TSS)
• Tuesday - Chores and cleaning a.m.; afternoon TKD (lasts about 1.5 hours); evening Scouts (for EB and myself) and TKD for Hubby and TCC
• Wednesday - Swimming and chores a.m.; afternoon school
• Thursday - School at the in-law's a.m.; afternoon TKD and library; evening TKD for Hubby, TCC and myself
• Friday - Swimming and chores a.m.; cooking afternoon/evening
• Saturday - Chores and school

There are, of course, going to be schedule changes as field trips come up or other things come about.  That is, of course, one of the wonderful things about homeschooling!

Oh and one final thought before I close out - we're going to Walt Disney World for their Homeschooling Days in September!  We have just over 2 weeks of vacation time and will head down there, will make a stop coming or going to see TCC's birthmom and possibly stop and see my cousin if he's still in the southeast then.  We still have to plan everything out, but we're hoping to find some great teaching opportunities along the way.

Catching up

This post was originally started in late September.

It's been a while since I posted and I won't be online for at least a week.

Homeschooling is going pretty well.  We've been focusing on math pretty much exclusively as Hubby wants the older three boys to be caught up to where they should be.  That means pushing hard all of the basics - addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.  

In talking to other parents though, it seems that there are more and more children - not only in our district - who can't do the basics.  (Even in the traditional classrooms, not just the Montessori ones!)  My MIL was talking to a 4th grade teacher who said she's probably retiring next year because they're changing what and how the kids are learning in math.  Then the 6th grade teachers are becoming upset because the students are coming up unable to do math.  That's an issue.

Anyway, the kids are starting to realize the benefits of staying home.  We've gone to the Durham Museum when there are just a couple of people at the exhibits.  Last week we went and after an hour or so, a group from a nearby school came in (like a hurricane...).  The three oldest came to me, individually, within a few minutes and asked when we were leaving because it was too noisy. They've gotten spoiled!  

We all like being able to spend time as a family on Hubby's days off, since they rotate.  It's nice to spend more than one day a week together!  It also is giving us flexibility to take a day in the middle of the week and go out to do something.  

Still having issues with MM as he's not sure he wants to be homeschooled, but that's ok.  I expected this and we can deal with it.

Day 2

Well, it's "official" homeschooling day 2 and we're not off to a great start.  

Went to Mom's Night Out last night and left about 30 minutes after I meant to.  (Worth it for a socialization aspect for me, but the kids were already getting to bed late then.) Then I chatted with my MIL for about 30 minutes before heading home.  Got home and Hubby was finally home after a 12+ hour day.  Sat with him for about 45 minutes before he went to bed and then my mind was not ready to shut down so I stayed up for another hour and a half researching various topics.  Now I want nothing more than to crawl back into bed and get up after lunch!

It was almost 8am - the time I want the kids ready to start working - before I remembered they should have been up before I managed to pull myself out of bed.  I also forgot there was a curriculum swap today from 11 to 2, which will cut into our schedule.  Ah well, I guess that's one of the awesome parts about homeschooling - flexibility!

I suppose I should get in the shower and wolf down some breakfast so we can get something done before we head out.  

Coffee, here I come.  

Interesting

Hubby sent me a link to The Changing World - specifically about two young teenaged boys who grew up in the ghettos of Chicago and made an audio documentary about 10 days in their lives.  Then there was an interview - or rather, another audio documentary, from one of the men, 15 years later.

Listening to the first part, I wondered if that's what life was like for TSS and EB.  They walked past children with guns daily, had an alcoholic mother, a father who they'd visited once, and were fostered by their grandfather's girlfriend who told them they had to live somewhere else because she was moving and wouldn't be taking them with her because they were "so bad".  (What a way to grow up, being told constantly that you're not a good person!)  Last we knew, she was still in the area and the only contact she's ever made with the boys was to call and tell them that their 14yo sister had had her baby.  (That was over a year ago.) I don't know her situation, but I would like to think I would at least be curious about the welfare of children I took care of for years.

Because they were wards of the state, I was told they need to be evaluated yearly by a pschycologist. The same one visited with them in January 2008 and January 2009.  She couldn't believe they were the same children - they sat still, they responded to her questions intelligently, looked at her - their whole demeanor had changed.  I certainly don't say that to say Hubby and I were the primary influence; rather it's what the boys did for themselves, once we provided a stable environment, with rules and boundaries.  

Would they have turned out like their environment or would they have risen above it?  It's hard to guess - but I'm glad we don't have to.  We know there has been a difference in their lives - a positive one we like to believe - and the only choice they'll have to make is which of a thousand wonderful different paths to take.