Feb. 26, 2008 - Day to Day Stuff

So, we've been mustering through the school year, adjusting to hubby being home and embracing a new job....a job different than the one he had before he was deployed.  It's a commute, but it's a job.

Now, the oldest, a home school graduate from 2005 is heading off to Basic Training for the Army National Guard.  Eventually his schooling will lead to Warrant Officer school and helicopter pilot school.  The next two years are basically spoken for.  When that is all done, if he doesn't get deployed, he'll start college. 

The cool thing is that he has spent the last almost three years trying one vocation that he thought he'd like to do for his career.  He worked from home and gave it a try.  By the fall he had decided that web design best be left as a hobby, not a career.  So, on to the thing he has wanted to do since he was in 3rd grade....Fly!! 

This is exciting!  We couldn't give him college money, but we could give him a place to live and work to try to make the idea of a web design business work.  He was self taught and has a great grasp of the trade....just learned that being a business man isn't for him at this stage of his life!  I am so glad he had that opportunity to try a dream.  I'm so glad it failed now rather than later with a family and a house counting on him!

For more of an update on the latest in our lives, visit the place I post more often than here.

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Oct. 4, 2007 - Update Time

Time has flown by, and taking minutes here and there to blog just doesn't happen!!  However, it's only fair to provide, "The rest of the story."

Fran came home on the 22nd of July.  That day happened to be our oldest child's 20th birthday.  The welcome group joined us for lunch at Chilies where one of them told the waitress it was his birthday.  So, they sang to him and brought him a special dessert.  While they were at it they brought Fran one as well.  She'd figured out what was going on and was celebrating with us!

We kept busy for weeks after he came home.  Finally the week after Labor Day we started trying to figure out what normal would be like.  Since he is in the National Guard, it is not likely that he will get deployed again...or anytime soon, that is.  We never expected him to be in the first place since he is not technically on active duty status.  He only reports one weekend a month and 2 weeks out of the year.  So, at this point, we have no reason to believe he will do anything more than that for the next several years.  Before the deployment we'd never known the inconvenience to go any farther than not being able to coach  our town's Rec Sports since he was gone a quarter of the weekends in a season.  Deployment never occurred to us.  While he was in Kuwait, he reenlisted for 6 more years.  That will complete 21 years in and all the retirement benefits.  

So, things are settling down as we anticipate the possibility of our oldest going off to Warrant Officer and Flight School possibly sometime in January......

.......Here we go again!

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Oct. 1, 2007 - Seasons

Yes, that means fall is here, but it also means I'm on the mend regarding homeschooling.  It has been quite a season of rethinking and dare I say reconsidering.  Well, it was all beneficial, and I think I've landed in a better place. 

Two of my friends and are are keeping each other accountable.  We email each other sometime around Friday of each week with progress or not progress reports.  We share curriculum reports as well as attitude reports.  Our own attitudes as well as our children. 

Blogs might serve that purpose, but I find with these two friends I can be the most real, and the most brief if I need to.  I don't have to fill in the back story since they already know it all.  We were all in my old homeschool group from years ago, so we've been there.

Practically even, without the support we have going, I've figured out a few things regarding the actual school books, and the record keeping.  I've given in and stopped demanding that my non-reader type 11th grader get through this massive historical literature list in order to "pass" US History.  Forget it.  I bought American History on the Screen, and also Movies as Literature.  Yay!

I also designed yet another logging sheet in January of last year.  Tried it out on them and it seemed to work.  So, this year I actually got around to making their log books up during the first week of school instead of mid-year.  It wasn't before the year began, but it is progress. 

So, things are looking up here!

I also love the cozy feeling of fall!

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Jul. 19, 2007 - Service and Friendship

The other day a long time friend came over to visit and to help me in the kitchen.  We got a lot done, but we also felt like we had uncovered something new and interesting about homeschooling and/or at-home women and the potential we don't always tap into.

My husband is coming home this Sunday after being gone for 15 months.  I decided it would be helpful to our budget if I get meals in the freezer ahead of time so that we don't get too busy and lazy and end up eating out too much!  Jacki came over and we just started cooking.  Today my daughter and I will do the other half of the meals and it already feels so good!

The thing is, while we were cooking, we caught up on each other's news and lives. 

We also shared recipes, and encouragement for the year ahead.

You should try it!!

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Jul. 13, 2007 - Coming To Grips

Months ago I posted a post of desperation.  Over the months I posted little bits of musing of progress and not so much progress.  Then yesterday Letitia dropped in and mentioned reading that post and being able to identify totally.  It made me realize that I need to post again any more progress, or not so much progress, I'm experiencing now.

So, have things improved?  Speaking directly to Letitia...my third child is 14 almost 15.  When he was 10, like her third child, he was a bear to work with.  He is the "lion" personality.  When something doesn't seem quite fair, he's stubborn as a mule.  Fidgety.  Active.  Hands on learner. This character trait, however, when they grow up a little gives them drive and determination to complete and achieve.  Listen to me...trying to sound like an expert or something.  Really, I've just observed mine to be applying himself.  I just have to make my expectations clear, and be sure the work is not overwhelming.  The gem of an algebra curriculum that was the 4th in a long line of them that finally worked for my first born, was a very bad match for this 3rd born.  I happened to have not sold off one of the others so I grabbed it off the shelf and about threw it at him.  Ok, not really!  He loves it.  Ok, maybe love is a strong word.  He just keeps saying to me....It's so easy to understand with this curriculum.  Too bad we didn't have the conversation in the winter.  Or in December.  Water under the bridge.........

How did we get to this point.  When summer drew near I knew something had to change.  This summer had to be different than all the others......"You will not have summer off until all of the work that I assigned is done.  You will go on planned family trips, but any other day you are home it's a school day.  If it isn't done, you will not advance to the next grade level."

I had never spoken like that before.  I'd be so "done in" at the end of the year that I'd just call whatever they had accomplished "good." Shelve all the books.  Then start over in the fall fulling intending to do better next time.

So, I don't have all my answers.  I've read up on apprenticeships pondering that for my second born.  This 3rd born wants to go into the Marines.  My mind considers for fleeting seconds here and there that he'd do better entering the Marines with college courses under his belt.  Yet, my brain can't stay on that complex concept for long.  "I'll think about that tomorrow."

All for now...this post is already long!

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