It's just about that time of year again

I just realized last night that I am supposed to start homeschooling a week from tomorrow.
Yikes! Confirming once again, that I am the Bridget Jones homeschool mom...

Regarding the sound advice I gave my friend Jill about using the CM Organizer for homeschool records...to take a good 2 weeks before you start at least, and devote your spare time to inputing your books...um, yeah- I should have done that. I hope someone found that advice beneficial, because I for sure wasn't listening....

So, I think I will get started on that task. I will be organized and efficient this year...

I do believe in fairies, I do, I do...there's no place like home, there's no place like home...

-did anyone hear the thud of a dying fairy hitting the ground?!

Someone wish upon a star for me, or send me some good juu-juu. (how do you spell juu-juu?)

If you have a chance, go over and visit Johanna, she posted about doing memory work with younger students and had very detailed instructions and photos...she obviously has her act together...Her blog is Stop and Smell the flowers, it's a lovely place. Her "breakfast board" ideas could be easily adapted to use with older students, too-I think.

Well, I'm off for some cheesecake, because only a Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake is going to ease my homeschool planning ennui.

Hotel Happiness

Sky and I set out Wednesday to celebrate our 15 year Anniversary. We decided on a 2 night stay in near-by San Diego. Sky got a deal on the internet at a hotel. I had some serious misgivings because it was less than $99 a night...but he was so sweet to take charge and reserve something..

We ended up here:

We fled, and Sky's feelings of remorse bought me a stay at the Marriott instead, with a pool that looked like this;
We were right at the water, near the down-town gas-light district. We had a wonderful time, were able to walk from the hotel to shopping and dining. We had dinner at Morten's steakhouse- which was just awesome, visited the Ghirardelli chocolate store for chocolate of course, and a to-die-for shake. We had dinner one night at a place that made wood-fire pizza's- with 5 kinds of cheese, including goat cheese and artichokes and garlic chicken...very good.
We visited the San Diego Museum of art at Balboa park (I forgot my camera..) and the last day we visited Coronado Island. I love the Del, and every trip we make to San Diego, we have to visit it and walk around a bit. Friday (today) was our last day, but we were really missing our kids, so instead of staying the whole day on Coronado Island, having dinner and then coming home...we had lunch and then went and picked up our kids. We really are homebodies.

Construction-Man Yoga

Here is how Sky solved the dilemma of how to hang drywall on a ceiling by himself...I dubbed it "Construction-Man yoga". The top photo shows his technique most clearly: position drywall and hold in place with knees and feet and one or two hands...then quickly grab power- screw-driver to put the screws into place. Lose points every time a screw falls out of while screwdriver is en route to correct spot.
The second photo is my personal favorite, because we have some nice-muscular arm-action going on there. I think I could give Ree a run for her money in the photogenic-husband-arms dept.

Nice Asana there, Sky.
I have to pause here and fan myself...
It's the jeans, too- gets me every time.

today

I had a few requests for new photos on our sleeping loft progress.

Here is Meg seated in the loft, she is overlooking the rest of the bedroom. The pink stuff to the right is new insulation.

Our cat Oliver was very approving of the loft, he climbed right up the ladder. He did have difficulty coming down, his hindquarters kept running ahead of him...


Sky promised Oliver a new, tall, cat-tree to help him get down. We still don' t know if Oliver thinks he is a person, or if he thinks we are all cats. We do know he considers the kids as litter-mates and sleeps with them.

Here is something you don't see everyday...construction boots hanging from your ceiling!

Well, our three youngest are staying two nights at the grandparents. I had big plans for all I would accomplish.

So far, it is too hot in the house to do anything- Sky has the air shut off. And I went for a walk/run this morning and I ache too much to do anything but sit. And I have a headache. I've concluded that exercise is just bad for me.

I had the perfect kind of Jenny day yesterday, being that the littles were staying the night at the grandparents. I woke up around 8-ish, went for a walk/run (very little running..I was just test driving it, hence no achiness) then I came home and did some light yoga, took a shower and then headed down to the bagel shop with Meg for a bagel sandwich. (in honor of Starlene, of course) I puttered around the house, did some laundry, took Meg to Rubio's for a late lunch and then we hung out at Barnes & Nobles. Then- we went with Sky to Meg's favorite place for dinner, which happens to be one of my favorite places. Only shopping could have made the day any better, really.

I told Sky it was the perfect schedule for me...the wake-up after 8 and slowly ease into your day part. Homeschooling 5 kids kind of puts a crimp into my style. Sky always says I live on Hawaii time.

It was really nice to get all that exercising done...so I was thinking; I just need to re-set my body clock and wake up two hours earlier. Except...there is always an excuse...except that I am and have always been a night owl, it's kind of hard to re-set that.

Last night I made a valiant effort, I actually went to bed at 10 p.m. so I could get up by 6 a.m.

And I tossed and turned until after mid-night. Ugh. I will try again tonight. Maybe it will take a few weeks.

And you turn a page


This is a story about a dear friend. This is a story about how my dear friend is moving away, and I can't wrap my head around how much I am going to miss her. This is a story about how all my heart-friends up and move away and leave me lonely, desolate and crying into my bagel sandwich; ALONE

My friend Starlene is an exceptional friend- more like a sister to me, really. And she had to leave me in an exceptional way....move to another COUNTRY, no less.

She is known as Gracefulmom in other spots on my blog, and I first met her years and years ago when Meg was in kindergarten. (Can you believe it has been that long, Starlene?? Can you believe I have an 8th grader this year??) She was the educational specialist assigned to me when we signed up with the charter school we homeschool through.

She watched me through a 4th pregnancy, and I watched her through her 2nd. She watched me struggle with this thing called homeschooling, and then, when her oldest became school-aged, she joined me in this madness- becoming not only my educational mentor but fellow homeschool mom in the trenches as we treaded the textbook/unschooling/eclectic/classical to just surviving- home education waters.

She has laughed with me, encouraged me, prayed with me, studied with me, (became my neighbor and took a dance class with me...am I the Lucy to her Ethel, or is she Lucy??)...but mostly just hung out with me. Which is surprisingly very therapeutic in the midst of this busy/crazy life.

She is moving to Singapore. Can you believe it? I surely cannot. I think I am still in denial that it is actually happening. I saw her today, for the last time in probably a few years. I didn't cry. I almost cried, but I didn't. I like to do my crying at night. With my feather pillow. So there.

Sometime in the past two years or so.. we began the weekly institution of
BAGEL WEDNESDAY.

We would drop our perspective children off at the learning center on Wednesdays, and then meet at the bagel shop for really incredibly good egg/cheese/bacon -bagel sandwiches.

And for talk. And for friendship. And for Curricula lust.

Starlene has started a blog to chronicle her family's gigantic adventure. (finally, someone I know is blogging too! yeah!!)
It's called,
From California to Singapore - aptly enough.
My suggestion of "and with this, you get egg-rolls" was a close second, she assured me. or maybe not. Go on over and say hi for me.
And then tell her for me....

"It's bagel Wednesday! Where are you?!!"

unexcused absences

Hello, anybody home??

So- this is what I have been up to, and why I've been scarce around this little ol' blog...

Well, I recovered from our week-long-plus several days Bible conference: which involved the week before (okay, days before...) hectic cleaning and then the days- after of our house-guests slowly departing on different days.

Then our friends from Washington asked if their 3 kids could stay with us an extra week, because it would be fun..and we said yes, because it would be fun, and because they are our heart family....

Then our new 1 month guest- graduate Bible school friend moved in...

And we started our traditional post-semi-annual training (Bible conference) -Lord of the rings movie thon...we started Monday night and finished Thursday night.

Friends from Texas came over for our movie-thon- they were run off the road by a big-rig on their way out here for the Bible conference, and now they have to stay in town till their car is fixed...but not at our house. -Except when they are over for the movie-thon...

The Washington kids left early Saturday morning, and then I had to pack up Meg to take her to horse camp on Sunday. -and we served on children's ministry today... - and, I have to tell you...we had no music people today...we had to sing to a room full of K thru 2nd graders accapella...and we don't know the songs....or sing with them, I guess technically. It was really, really bad.

Should I add to my To-do list... "Learn to play the guitar???"

As for the To-do list, I completed 1 thru 6, then jumped to 8 & 9, then to 15,16, and 18.
Anything to do with homeschooling was skipped over, as was any mopping.

I am also frantically trying to finish up any ordering and registering for Meg's upcoming Irish feis- which will be her first...

I drove about 6 hours today total, taking Meg to horse camp and back...

I think I'm done for a while, kwim??

tomorrow will be a better day...nothing planned, and a bread pudding sitting in the fridge,
yum.

Today: To Do list

To Do List

  1. wash 5 sets of sheets that are left over from yesterday's washing
  2. wash towels...ditto
  3. make lunch for now 7 kids (extra 3 staying a week) or not...how about make lunch for the two 8 and younger and tell the others to make their own?
  4. go to library A and pay the $9.00 late fine, and return 4 books.
  5. go to library B and pay $4.00 late fine.
  6. convince cat that it is safe to come home now - there are less then 11 kids running around, and 20 adults talking too loud for his comfort.
  7. mop my sticky floor, even though wonderful Sky mopped it yesterday - see part about 7 kids
  8. push various extra mattresses around to make the rooms look cleaner before deciding nothing can be done till Sky gets home and puts them in the garage.
  9. Do laundry now that washer and dryer are free
  10. begin planning for new homeschool year, see Cindi's site for inspiration- here*
  11. start putting info into online CM Organizer so I can actually keep records this school year (like my friend Jill started industriously doing while she was here last week...)
  12. decide what I want to sell on the used curriculum boards and actually um- list them
  13. re-organize my home-school closet and bookshelves for up-coming homeschool year.
  14. 0r not
  15. bail out and go to Barnes & Nobles and read a Meg Cabot book instead
  16. fortify myself with chocolate and diet coke so I can start items listed above
  17. take nap because of sugar-crash
  18. make pop-corn for tonight's twice a year Lord of the Rings movie-thon - a tradition after every Bible Conference.