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My kids are going to be begging to do school before long. I have projects galore to finish this summer. Painting. Replacing broken door trim. Cleaning that didn't get done during the spring. Organizing. If it's going to get done, I have to do it during the summer. There are several projects they help on, like cleaning, and several that they must find something constructive and out of the way to do while I work. As for vacation, we can't afford one this summer, other than the trip to Mississippi to see my family. I'm sure we'll have a good time, but let's face it, it's not Disney World. Though, Disney isn't my first choice if I could take a dream trip. That's for another post. I wish I could pick up a little more (paying) work for the summer. My medical bills are still hanging on like a bad odor, and two of the girls need lots of dental work in preparation for othodontia. Boy is there a price tag on that. I certainly didn't appreciate what my parents went through to straighten my teeth, but I will (and then some) by the time my kids are done. I also have a bad feeling about our air conditioner. It's not keeping up with the heat, but what can? I'm afraid it won't make it through the whole summer, and we probably need to start saving our pennies (because that's all we have) to replace it soon. I just trust that God knows our needs and will provide. I can't deny that I'm enjoying the slowdown. Isn't that just like God, too? I was plenty busy and billing like crazy when we weren't having all these financial crises. We saved a lot of it, but it was saved for other purposes than medical and dental bills. We'd hoped to build a barn and even start doing the prep work to build a house. At the rate we're going, all that money will be spent before the end of the year, though. It's all needs, but it's just as gone. Enough of the whining. We are blessed in so many ways. I'm blessed to be alive and have four beautifully brilliant daughters to raise. I'm blessed to be able to homeschool and enjoy the support of my husband. I'm beyond blessed to serve the Lord Jesus who will someday show me how little all my worries were worth. Hope all of you have a blessed summer, G |
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So, we finished out the school year. All survived, but thrived may not be my first description of how we did. We dealt with a lot of curve balls this school year in the form of broken bones, new baby, heart failure, family problems, and job slow down (though no losses). We have settled into a new routine that could possibly become a schedule, but don’t hold your breath.
I tried a nine week semester with a two week break between each break, not counting the six or seven weeks we took off mid-year for the baby. It was a bit long. Last year I did a six week semester with a one week break. It was too short. So, what’s the happy medium? I liked the two week break. It was just enough for some down time without losing too much momentum. Due to the demands of my job, we usually move along at a pretty good clip when work is slow to make up for the interruptions when work is busy. So, I think I’ll try 4 eight week semesters with two week breaks. I was pleased with most of our curriculum choices. I tried Considering God’s Creation for science but couldn’t pull it together. Don’t take that as a bad review. It just didn’t fit my teaching style. I lean toward more textbook. I know. I know. Too schoolish. BUT it’s what works for us. As much as I would like to do unit studies, I have to be able to pick it up and do it with little preparation. You can’t do that with unit studies. So, now I’m on my quest to purchase next year’s curriculum. I’ve hit all the used book fairs in the area and only got one thing on my list. I’m going to use Learning Language Arts Through Literature for my 5th grader. Picked that up for $10. The workbooks will have to be purchased new, but Mardel is having a 25% off sale next week. Not a huge sale, but it’s better than paying shipping. I also picked up Aplogia Exploring Creation with Astronomy ($15) and Answers in Genesis God’s Design Our Planet Earth ($10). Here’s hoping we get a little science in next year. One thing my husband suggested to make our life a little smoother around the house is to schedule chores. I’ve always had a chore time, but not much follow through as to when and how well they were done. Usually what happens is that I reach the breaking point of clutter and grime, start shouting orders that would make an drill sergeant look like a whimp, get it all cleaned up, then leave it until the next time I can’t stand it anymore. I love Steve and Terry Maxwell’s Managers of Their Homes. While I don’t follow it to the letter, it is a huge help and very practical. So, I want to try their Managers of Their Chores. I hope to order it this summer and get it going before school starts. I’m not sure when I’ll start school this year. We started in July last year because of the baby. But I’d like to not start that early. Probably August because, let’s face it, it’s just too stinking hot in My husband asked me last week if I would do homeschooling over again or if I was tired of it. No way! I love homeschooling. While my patience isn’t always as patient as it should be, I love the time I spend with my kids. I don’t mind some alone time, like maybe a couple of hours every week and an afternoon once a month or two, but send them away all day every day? Absolutely not. They’re mine, mine, mine. And I LOVE them!! I want to be with them, whether they like it or not! |
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My life is nothing if not scheduled. The thing about schedules, though, is that they always tend to be broken. I know people who schedule down to the minute. Life with a large family and numerous responsibilities requires intensive scheduling, but it just as certainly requires a lot of flexibility. So, for me, I have a little bit different schedule for every day of the week. And, of course, that changes with each school year because extracurricular activities change, as well as my work responsibilities. Here is my very flexible schedule as it stands now: Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday is a general housecleaning day. The weekday chores are for maintenance, then the real cleaning is done on Saturday. That's subject to change this summer as we expect to spend more weekends camping and working at our property an hour away. By the way, the baby gets fed more than just at 6 a.m. In fact, she tends to graze all day. That's just the time she wakes up for her first feeding. Lots of things wreck our schedule. Like today I'm home with a sick child (strep) and waiting for the ax to fall on the other three, as well as myself. We need to get the car in the shop tomorrow for several days, so I have to do grocery shopping tonight instead of Thursday. We didn't accomplish much school, and it's the first week back after our two week spring break. So, next week, we'll double time a couple of days. I find the important thing about a schedule is that it helps prioritize needs, layout a general flow of activities, and keep everyone on track since our general tendency is to loll about, fritter away the day, then complain that we can never get anything done. It's true I cannot get it all done every day, but I can get a lot done when I have a schedule and avoid time wasters like playing on the computer. Like I'm doing now. What time is it? What should I be doing? EEK! Alyssa needs to get ready for dance!! Gotta go... G |
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Something about even numbered children throws my life for a loop. Believe it or not, my first baby was easy, but then my second brought my life to a screeching halt. Number 3 was easy, but quatro leaves me hanging by a thread by the end of the day. Gradually, we are climbing out of survival mode, though. The house is beginning to look less like a tornado hit it. We have a flexible schedule as the baby is finally sleeping through the night and beginning to nap with a little more regularity. We even finished our 9 weeks of school, though we practically dragged across the finish line. I just continue to pray for God's grace every day. I sure do need it. In other good news, I have been given a clean bill of health from the cardiologist. My heart function has returned to normal with no permanent damage. And in record time, too! They had prepared us for at least six months to a year, but everything looked normal at my two month checkup. Whoopee! I started cardio rehab last week and was unpleasantly surprised with how little I can do after a year of pregnancy and resulting heart failure. I have been assured that it will take a few months to build back up and to be faithful with working out. Patient, I'm not. So, I've returned to work. My clients have been so understanding and supportive. I've done a lot from home and started out with short days in the office. I hope to continue to do more from home because it keeps my overhead down and my life more sane. I'm also looking at ways to diversify my clients. I currently have two law firms and two more interested in working with me to expand their networks and overhaul their work processes. I hope to move into a management role with clients, sort of like a freelance CIO (chief information officer) for small businesses. It would be more project oriented/managment oversight and less maintenance/emergency response. I think that will result in a less stressful schedule. As usual, God re-works my business and my schedule. He is faithful to open another door when one is shut. I pray that I stay sensitive to his leading. G |
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I can only count two highlights of 2008. One, my husband and I had a superb 11th anniversary weekend in Other than that, 2008 was quite the challenging year. I may have mentioned that my 6yod broke her arm, not once, but twice. Sigh. I lost two clients. Double sigh. One went bankrupt and left three unpaid invoices. Another was sold and my job eliminated. I didn't try to replace the clients, though it amounted to about half my average monthly income. I felt I needed the break, since I was pregnant. My pregnancy was most difficult. From severe swelling, to low thyroid, with anemia, migraines, low back pain, and a transverse baby one week before delivery thrown in for good measure. It was a new complaint every day. It exhausts me to think about it even now. My Turns out, while my whining was for naught, it was not without justification. I was right that something was terribly wrong with the pregnancy. Looking back my We agreed to induce on November 25, to put an end to the drama. But no, it wouldn't end. She stayed slightly transverse, and the nurse had to hold her head while my water was broken. I laid on one side to let gravity help move her back into place. The epidural didn't work since I couldn't sit all the way up. Finally, she arrived, and we thought our problems were over. But I hemorrhaged. Then, my blood pressure started shooting up. Why now after the pregnancy is over?? It came down some by the time I was released, so we just assumed it would continue to drop back to normal. After all, it had been a pretty rough few days. I expected to take some extra time to recuperate, but after two weeks I felt worse than I had at the hospital. I started having more and more trouble sleeping, regardless of how truly exhausted I was. I couldn't lay down without coughing, and finally I couldn't even sit straight up in a chair. Then, one night I started hyperventilating. No matter what I did, I couldn't catch my breath. I could breathe just a little by slumping forward. So, my husband took me to the ER. I thought if they could just give me something to stop the cough I'd be okay. They, on the other hand, thought I was passing a blood clot. They took a chest x-ray and found a veritable swimming pool in my lungs. After giving me lasix to start draining the fluid, they did a CAT scan and discovered I was in congestive heart failure. What? I’ve never had heart problems. I ended up losing more than 20 pounds in fluid. I was admitted to the hospital and finally diagnosed with peripartum cardiomyopathy, a very rare pregnancy complication (1 in 4,000 deliveries). When caught, it’s quite treatable. When not caught, it’s deadly. I could have collapsed at any time during the few weeks before or after the delivery. The cardiologist said if I had not come to the ER that night, I would definitely have died before morning. I had really gotten to the end of what my heart could take. Scary. I am now expected to make a full recovery, albeit with a daily load of cardiac medications for the foreseeable future. While 2008 was probably the most challenging (i.e. extraordinary hard) year on record, I can say without a doubt that God upheld us. While I could have died, and maybe taken Emma with me, I didn’t. Instead I have a beautiful and sweet little girl. I also feel better than I’ve felt in months, regardless of the fact that my heart is only working at half strength. I’m glad I lost two clients, or the extra strain may have caused more problems. I’m not glad that Alyssa broke her arm twice, but she and I learned valuable lessons in patience, cooperation, and blind faith. I am especially grateful for my wonderful husband and four children. Every day is a gift. I never miss an opportunity to hug and kiss any of them. Thank you, God, for showing yourself mighty and faithful. And please make 2009 easier!! |
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Everybody has something to say about the elections, so why shouldn't I, right? Some people will assume because I'm from the South, and I mean the deep South, that I would not support Obama on the principle that he is black. Those people would be wrong. If this election has been good for anything, it has made a lot of people do a lot of soul searching about why they believe what they believe and how that defines their actions. And by a lot of people, I mean me, in particular. I have never considered myself a racist, but in the interest of making sure my heart was right, and I mean really right, before God I analyzed every point I had against Obama by my values, beliefs, and personal prejudices. I can say without a doubt that the color of his skin had absolutely nothing to do with the outcome of those analyses. Instead, I'd have to say that there is very little that the Democratic party as a whole stands for that comes even close to the values I hold dear and for which I vote. That said, John McCain ranked pretty low on that value worksheet, as well. So, what voting values did I come up with? Well, here are the highlights in no particular order:
These are my three highlighted values. There are more. But these are the three which wouldn’t go away during all of Obama’s campaign promises. As you can see, they are all race neutral and Democratic party specific. I used to feel a little more aligned with the Democrats on environmental issues because I thought they were moving to more energy independent and alternative energy policies. But I don’t see where they have made significant strides in this area, either. Quite bluntly, I’d rather do without oil than buy it from In fact, I think the upper echelon of politics requires a “sell your soul” mentality for everyone. It’s a power trip, plain and simple. No one is immune. So, honestly whoever gets in, even with the best of intentions and humility, will eventually self destruct. Only the American people will be left to pick up the pieces and try again with another candidate. I’m not buying the end of the world mentality, but neither am I naïve enough to think that one man and four years is going to fix much. I do, however, firmly believe that a dominant Democratic leadership will take actions to constrict the conservative voice in g |
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I see the light at the end of the tunnel on this pregnancy. I have 6 more weeks, but she may come sooner. A sonogram Monday shows she weighs 5 lbs. That puts her at about 8.5 lbs by due date, and that makes her my biggest baby. I can't say I won't be sorry for this pregnancy to be over...mostly because we can't wait to see her, but also because it's been a real long and real hard pregnancy. I think my baby girl is going to be a real threat to the enemy because he has certainly made our life miserable the last few months. First, I had problems with regulating my thryroid, and it took two adjustments to get it in the right range. If you don't know what that means, your thyroid controls just about all your body functions in one way or another. An imbalance can cause fuzzy brain (like I need any help), extreme lethargy, muscle spasms, irregular heartbeats, etc. I was experiencing all that and more. Just after we got that straightened out, a sonogram showed an echogenic spot in the baby's heart. We were referred to a neonatalogist (sp?) with the thought that she might have Downs. The spot was definitely there, but all the other measurements which might indicate Downs did not show up. So, our risk of having a Downs baby increased from about 7% (due to my age) to about 9% with the echogenic spot. As the specialist said, if we weren't concerned before, there was no significant change to cause concern. We have a 91% chance of having a non-Downs baby. That's not bad. Next, I became anemic. That's not so unusual near the end of a pregnancy. But I can't find an iron supplement that doesn't make me seriously sick. The first full strength one my doctor prescribed almost sent me to the emergency room with heart attack level indigestion. I finally had to cut the dosage in half to be able to take it. That puts me at risk during delivery for needing a transfusion. We're just praying that my counts will stay up and that I don't hemmorhage like I did during my last delivery. The hospital isn't my favorite place to spend too much time. But we're near the end. God has been faithful, and I know he won't fail us. Emma Grace will be here in God's time, and it will be so much sweeter to hold her knowing that we endured. g |
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My friend suggested I start saying that in response to the numerous rude comments I get, either about being pregnant at 43 or about expecting my fourth girl. The "better luck next time" was the real topping on the cake...as if the little girl I am carrying isn't good enough for our family or is a disappointment to us. I've had three miscarriages in 11 years. I don't take any pregnancy for granted or automatically assume that any baby I conceive will make it to full term. I will be the first to say that pregnancy is not my favorite part of having a baby, but I want to be obedient to the Lord and submit my will to His. If that means being pregnant in my 40s, then that's no one else's business. Good natured teasing from close friends (and I do mean close) is one thing. One friend suggested we get Brad a male dog for a companion. Well, we have two male dogs, so we have that covered. Others tell Brad to start cleaning his shot gun. We'd have to buy a shot gun to do that, but it's something that Brad has already considered. He can't bear the thought of his baby girls growing up and having a bunch of hairy boys hanging around. What I'm talking about are the people who call us crazy for having more children, ask when we're going to stop trying for a boy, and suggest I'm being stupid for giving up my education and risking my health to raise a large family, as if 4 children qualifies for a large family in the homeschool community. The other day, my oldest daughter was telling a couple of neighbor kids that her 3 year old sister was starting dance classes this year. One of the friends, who is only 4, told Isabel in her most superior tone that Olivia didn't have any business taking dance because she was just too young. Isabel came to me quite concerned that there was a problem. I laughed, even though I would have liked to tell the child in a far superior tone to mind her own beeswax. I told Isabel that she might as well get used to the fact that everyone has an opinion about how you should live your life, and none of them know what they're talking about. Yeah, I know. Most people, myself included, don't think about how something sounds before they say it, hence the not-so-subtle, but still somewhat polite, way of telling them their comment was rude and unacceptable. I just have to recover from my own blind rage fast enough to say it while they're still standing there. Okay, here's another one that really got me a few months ago. I had all three girls with me at Goodwill. I was pregnant, but probably would still pass for very pudgy to the brain-dead woman who said this to me. "Oh, what pretty granddaughters." What?!?!? I'm 43! No way can I have a 9 year old granddaughter! So, I managed to stutter, "Uh no, these are my daughters." To which she responded, "Oh I just started when I was young." All I could do was walk away because the rest of my thoughts were unprintable and unrepeatable in front of children. So, all I have to say is someone who makes a comment about my age, my pregnancy, or the gender of my unborn child obviously has not considered that I am hormonal and apt to do them serious harm with little provocation. G |
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I'm halfway through my pregnancy. I passed the morning sickness phase, but that second trimester energy burst fizzled out. I just stay so tired. The endless heat doesn't help, either. Add to that the summer colds we've all battled for two weeks, and it's not been pleasant around our house. But things are looking up. The coughs and body aches are mostly gone, leaving behind just a few sniffles. I've actually gotten two nights sleep in a row, which has greatly improved my mood and the mood of those around me. We started school July 1, which was the first week of the virus attack. Isabel was the only one sick then, but she muddled through the morning subjects. We didn't do our afternoon school because there wasn't much point doing science and history without the oldest student. Then, the second week Alyssa and I were sick. We did just a little afternoon school. Since we started with creation, we didn't pour a lot of energy into it. We touch creation at least once a year, so just reviewing it seemed like enough at this point. This week we've hit a little more of a groove, though Alyssa is still sleeping late and took an afternoon nap Wednesday. She takes a lot longer to recover from anything that messes with her sleep. So, now we're three weeks into school and only one week behind. Not a great start, but we can still catch up. Our morning school starts around 9:00. That's my goal, but I don't exactly ring the school bell. We read two chapters from the Bible (1 OT, 1 NT). One child plays with Olivia (or Olivia colors with us) while the other does her school. They take turns to avoid the "she's always first" syndrome. Isabel has language arts, math, handwriting, grammar, spelling and vocabulary (which relates to our history and science subjects). Alyssa has handwriting, language arts, phonics, reading, spelling and math. In the afternoon, while Olivia is hopefully asleep, we work together on history, Bible memorization, history (Mon), geography (Wed), science (TH). Morning school takes about 45 minutes for each of them, and afternoon school takes about an hour to an hour and a half, depending on projects. Today, for example, we spent less than 30 minutes reading and doing book work on science (the human body), but then we spent about 45 minutes making clay sculptures. Let's just say God did a whole lot better job creating the first animals than anything we came up with. It feels like we're doing school all day, and it sometimes does go on much longer than the paper schedule shows, but we really are only doing school for 2-3 hours total. The public schools probably don't even get that much real school done, considering how large their classes are. I cannot imagine how many interruptions they must handle. I know we'll iron out more wrinkles as the weeks go on. Then, when we just about have it down to a fine science, the school year will be done, and we'll have to start over again. G |
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I thought I would share some of the chores my girls do around the house. I don't think we qualify for large family status, but I certainly cannot keep up with all the things that need to be done around the house on my own. I also think that parents who do not teach their children responsibility and diligence by doing chores do them a great disservice . I see sooo many teens who try to take jobs and have no clue how to do anything. Not only can they not perform basic tasks, they have no qualms about being late for work or just plain don't show up, as the mood strikes them. This doesn't bode well for their earning potential in their years after high school. I'd love to keep my kids home forever, but I'm certainly not supporting them into my golden years. They are going to have to kick in for their own keep at some point. Their training now by doing chores will make that transition to "real" work a lot easier. SO, here we go. Isabel is 9.
Alyssa is 6.
Olivia is 3.
All children must bus the table when they are done eating. Plates and cups on the counter. I'm a little too controlling to let them load the dishwasher yet. I have my own system, thank you very much. Maybe after you see this list you wonder what I do. Believe me. There is still a lot to do. Loading the dishwasher and putting up the dishes. Cleaning the kitchen about 10 times a day. Vacuuming all the tile and wood floors, which is about 75% of our house. Dusting. Cleaning the sinks, bathtubs, and inside of the toilets. Keeping up with the laundry (about 8-10 loads a week). There is a lot more I'm not thinking of right now, but we have a fairly tidy home. Not superbly clean or uncluttered, but liveable most of the time. G |
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Lots of news to share. You'll see why I named the post "abrupt turns". Nothing describes my life more aptly than a series of turns in the last few months. In personal news, my current expansion plans include a new baby. I'm 12 weeks pregnant, which explains the almost two month absence from the blog. I have had a mostly smooth first trimester, but definitly was not immune to morning sickness or the crushing fatigue that accompanies an over-40 pregnancy with three quite active children. I am due December 1 and due to my "advanced maternal age" we will probably get very acquainted with the sonogram machine. We elected not to do the various fetal testing. One test, in particular, ranks the likelihood of being a high risk pregnancy. Well, it doesn't take a mathematical genius to decide a 40+ woman with three miscarriages is going to scooch me up the scale a bit. My OB has delivered all my children and attended two of my miscarriages, so he is very supportive of our decisions and understands our views. What a blessing he is. In business news, one of my clients filed bankruptcy and defaulted on my last three invoices with virtually no warning. One invoice was for software purchased, which the person authorizing the purchase had to know wouldn't be paid. I've struggled with the overwhelming desire to track her down and ask for the payment out of her pocket. After all, she left with her severance, which is a whole lot more than what the company owes me. I just pray the other employees all get better, more secure jobs. I know they left a slew of unpaid contractors, most with much larger balances than mine, so I'm just thanking God for protecting me and giving me some rest from the work overload I was experiencing. Lastly, for now, I just finished writing an entry for a new e-book that TOS is publishing about work-at-home homeschool parents. It was a great opportunity. It's been several years since my name has been in print under a legitimate story, and I enjoyed the experience. So, buy the book and I'll sign it for you. That won't make it any more valuable, and you'll have to print it out to have something for me to sign. Oh well, never mind. I won't sign it, but you can still buy it! I'm learning that abrupt turns aren't so bad. You just have to hang on real tight while your feet go flying to the side. G |
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My girls are almost finished with school. Yippee! My 3rd grader has a week of spelling left, and my K has a couple of phonics books left to read. I can draw a big sigh of relief, at least for a little while, but I've already started planning for the next school year. It helps to buy a little at a time to avoid the big sucking sound of an empty checking account. I'm changing our curriculum a little. We'll stick with MathUSee and Abeka Phonics, but I'm going to start the Mystery of History and wrap Language Arts, Bible study, vocabulary/spelling, and some science in with it. So, I'm taking each lesson and finding supporting material to round it out some. I've just started, so I don't know how well it will go, yet. I'll probably do a trial run on some of the lessons just to get a feel for how long it will take and how it flows. But enough about school. What else will I do for the next few months? I want to take some short trips with the girls, or even a family vacation (gasp!). I'm going to try to work a little extra to build up our savings. I haven't been to a curriculum fair in a few years, so I'd like to go to one. But they all seem to be on inconvenient weekends for me. I'll have to see if one works out. I also want to take the girls swimming a lot this summer. We only went once or twice last year because of the unusually cool and wet weather we had all the way through July. So, I want to make it up to them this year. Of course, that means I have to squeeze my you know what into a swimsuit. Everything comes with a price, right? G |
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I've been very blessed by having a young man working for me for a few months. He is finishing his last semester in college and has appreciated (I think) the opportunity for some real world experience. I've used him for the little things that eat up my time, like reloading software, sitting on hold with tech support, etc. It's not full-time work, or even part-time. He works a few days a month. Enough to help me, but not enough to pay his bills when he finishes school. So, alas he is looking for a full time job to support himself and his soon to be wife. I had no idea when I offered him the work that I would really have enough to keep doing it for long. Now, I'm piled up with work and no one to help me. What do I do? First of all, I can only support me. No benefits. No set hours. That narrows down my field to students or someone like me who just needs to supplement an income. I'd like to have someone that I can send to a job on their own. For instance, I have a job on Friday where the only think I need to do is install a wireless card. It will probably take me as long to get there as it will to do the job. I also have four other projects lined up for the day at four other offices. It would be nice to divide up the work. So, that means it needs to be someone who has some experience and who can think on their feet. No hand holding here. I have to make a decision. Turn down work or hire someone. I've never wanted to have employees. I have a friend who started a business, and I've heard all his horror stories. That just doesn't sound like fun. I have a few prospective clients which might justify another person, but there are no guarantees for ongoing work. I hate to turn down work, particularly since most of it is existing clients. If I can't meet needs in a timely fashion, I won't have a business at all. I figure that if God has more work for me, he will provide the means to do it. If not, then this is a short term spurt of work which will level off. I pray for the latter but will accept God's plans if it's the former. G |
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My 5yod broke her arm Sunday. This is the most cautious child, but all it took was a 2 foot jump to concrete where she lost her balance and fell on her left arm. My dh wasn't home, but God was gracious and my neighbor was there. He helped me load her up and stayed with the other two until my fil came over. I took her to the new hospital down the street, and they rushed us right in. My only complaint is that they didn't give her any pain medicine right away. By the time they started splinting the arm, she was in tremendous pain, screaming and begging us to stop. Thankfully, my dh got to the hospital before all that started. So, off we go to the orthopedic surgeon tomorrow. I hope the cast goes better than the splint did. I wrote about vacations last time, and I took my own advice. My dh and I celebrated our 11 year anniversary Friday and Saturday with a stay at a bed and breakfast in Salado. It was so wonderful to just be together. We missed our kids, but God knew just what we needed, especially now that we're taking turns sleeping with Miss Broken Arm. I did get a couple of emails, which I answered. Nothing tremendously urgent, so I wasn't stressed about it. I did let several people know I'd be gone, but since we weren't leaving until after noon Friday I didn't arrange for a backup. Rearranging my work schedule this week to accommodate our emergency wasn't too bad, either. I didn't have any projects. I contacted the person who had emailed on Friday, because I had told him I would be in Tuesday to help him. He was very understanding, and again it wasn't a national emergency. My dh came home on Tuesday for about 4 hours so I could take care of one client that thought they needed a couple of things done right away. I didn't mind running in to do those things, though if the president had been even a teensy bit nice about insisting I get them done it would have been a welcome change. Other employees more than made up for her lack of concern, though, so it's okay. I just hope this isn't the first of the three bad things to happen again. We did the house last month. I hope the kids haven't caught the bug, now. G |
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So, when you're self employed, who do you ask for time off? Yourself? Ha! I don't know about anyone else, but I don't work for myself. I work for about 70 people who can (and will) call me at any hour of the day or night with a problem that needs an immediate fix. If I am unavailable for more than a day, I have to let at least two people at each office know and arrange for a backup to be on call. When the girls and I went to Mississippi in November, my backup got more calls in four days than I'd gotten in a month. While I'm glad the emergencies were handled, I felt bad that I wasn't there taking care of business responsibilities. Of course, the family responsibility I was facing was ultimately more important, and my clients were very understanding. My cell phone is always on, but I don't take every call that comes in immediately. I try not to answer the phone when I'm driving...okay well that's a lie. I won't answer the phone if I can't reach it or am in heavy traffic. At home, it seems the phone is always going to be on the other side of the house when it rings, and it will go to voice mail just as I pick it up. Err. Of course, sometimes that's a good thing. I can listen to the message first to have an idea of what's happening before I'm blindsided with some odd ball request. But everyone needs a vacation, right? And as homeschool moms, we have to remember that our family and school time come first. I've learned to juggle numerous tasks. Sometimes all aren't handled expertly, but usually all get done. And a vacation is important for our own mental health and our family's good. So, look your boss in the mirror and say, "I need Friday off." Then, make the necessary arrangements to get a day or two of freedom from work. G |
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So, we got the carpet replaced, and boy does it look nice. I've threatened my children if they so much as stomp on it. In the midst of putting everything back in place, we decided to rearrange sleeping assignments. There is a bunk bed in one room with a trundle, and a twin bed in the other room, with a trundle. Both trundles are missing mattresses, since we can't afford (nor need) 5 mattresses. The trundle for the bunks was originally intended for my 3yod, and she did sleep there for a while. But when my parents were staying with us a few months ago, we moved the mattress to the twin bed in the other room for my dad to sleep on. It didn't seem right to ask a 70-something year old man to haul himself in and out of a trundle. Well, after they left the mattress never quite got put back in place. So, she's been sleeping in there. My 9yod has been a mostly stellar big sister lately, so I thought, "why not give her a shot at her own room?" I was afraid we might insult the 5yod, but she was quite happy to move to the top bunk and give the bottom bunk to the 3yod. So, that's where we are now. We'll see how it pans out. I told my oldest if she started locking her sisters out or having any uppity attitude issues, she'd find herself on that trundle in a heartbeat. Boy, you just don't realize how much stuff you have until you have to move it. We got rid of at least two bags of trash and four bags of giveaways, and there is still more stuff than we need. My 5yod is a certified pack rat. She wails and moans if I even mention giving anything away. Last toy cleanup we did, she hoarded all the stuffed animals on her bed and slept with them for a week to prove she needed them. There was only about 6 inches of space left for her, but she didn't roll off. Now that she's on the top bunk, there is no telling what she'll tote up there. G |
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It's flu season, and thankfully we have avoided the bug, so far. Instead we are in the bullseye of natural disasters. Last week, my 3yod stopped up the toilet and flooded the bathroom, which in turn streamed under our laminate floor in the hall and into the girls' bedroom. We have mucho experience in wet laminate floor thanks to a water heater leak five years ago, so my husband pulled up the part that was wet before it started buckling. He broke a board. Need I say it did not make him happy? Putting the floor back after it dried did not improve his mood. The girls and I vacated the house for an entire afternoon and came home with fear and trembling. We'll have to replace the carpet, which needed to be replaced anyway. Yucky toilet water + 12 year old icky carpet = really gross stuff not staying in my house. To pull up the floor, he also had to take the trim off three doors, of which three pieces broke. So, after the carpet comes in, guess who is going to be staining and finishing new door trim. Next, my 9yod knocked over a lamp and broke a CFL light bulb. Not normally a reactionist, I still exerted extra caution in cleaning it up. If it had fallen on the carpet we were about to replace because of the great flood, I would have had almost no concern. Instead it had to fall and break on a brand new rug and on a pile of clothes my 9yod had just taken out of her drawer. I'm inclined to take the rug outside and beat it real good to get the mercury dust out, but the clothes are a quandry. Our third semi-disaster was the wind storm which knocked off a few rows of shingles. No big deal. My husband went to HD, every man's dream, and bought new shingles. Only after he had opened the box and climbed up on the roof did he realize they weren't the same color. We wouldn't care except we hope to sell the house next year, and new buyers might not be so forgiving. So, disasters always come in threes, right? Aren't we done?? G |
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Another way to keep sane when you work part time is to do as much planning ahead for meals as possible. There is something about dinner, in particular, which makes or breaks my day. In order to stick to my grocery budget, I usually plan five meals per week. I make my grocery list off ingredients needed for those dishes. I know there are seven days in a week, but we only seem to need five real dinners. One night usually ends up being leftover night to clean out the fridge, and another night might be "fend for yourself" or breakfast. We love breakfast for supper. But, in fairness to my family, we need real meals the other five nights of the week. For the nights where even my best laid plans are wrecked, I keep ingredients on hand for simple meals that everyone likes. Tacos. Macaroni and cheese. Spaghetti. Soup. I also freeze extra meals to pull out. I know people who cook in bulk, and I have tried that. It doesn't work well for me, and I rarely have a whole day a month to devote to just cooking. I do, however, cook an extra portion or two of a meal every few weeks and freeze it for another harried night. I try not to get too far ahead of myself with freezer meals because I forget I have them. It doesn't do us much good if we never eat them. I think I have mentioned that we cook mostly from scratch. That's not to say I never buy a frozen pizza, but I know our health is more important than everyday convenience. I buy whole chickens to cook and debone for chicken dishes. My newest trick is to cook a chicken all day n the crockpot with garlic, onions, salt & pepper, and rosemary. It is very moist and easy to debone. I started doing this because I don't save the broth when I boil a chicken. My experience is that the broth from most store bought chickens turns out very fatty. I've tried the organic, free range chickens, and the broth is excellent. But since we eat chicken almost every week, that becomes quite costly. A crockpot is my best friend in the kitchen. I almost always have a crockpot meal planned for the days I work and sometimes even on dance day. My 9yod's dance class is from 5-6 p.m., so it helps to have dinner ready when we get home. In fact, I have collected crockpot recipes for a while. So many that I had not even tried them all. So, the last month or two I've been making all my saved recipes. A crockpot meal, or any everyday meal for that matter, must meet two criteria to stay in my recipe file. It must be relatively easy to make, and it must be good. There is a bit of a duh factor there, but I know I have had recipes I made that I didn't really like. They were easy or I just was in the habit of making them. I don't mind putting extra effort into a meal, but for most weeknights it needs to be something that I can make in the middle of chaos and expect to turn out in spite of repeated interruptions. I can honestly say that we eat a home cooked meal at home 90% of the time. It can be done. I confess that I can get sidetracked with too many nights out of the house or other interruptions to my schedule. We end up eating out too much or picking up something on the way home. But when that happens I just stop and make myself pull out an old favorite which will refocus our attention on home. G |
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I originally setup my blog to discuss homeschool and work topics. I have since wondered off on a number of rabbit trails. So, today I'm actually going to discuss some things I do to help balance work and homeschool. I lump plain old home in with homeschool because the two aren't very distinct around our house. My daughters have daily chores. I call that home economics. We play games like Trouble, and my kindergartener has to add the numbers on the dice. Math in everyday life. My third grader has to write thank you notes for her birthday gifts. We have a lot of things wrapped up in that one - writing, language arts, handwriting. We drive 500 miles to visit family. Geography and history are knocked out because we often stop at a Civil War Memorial park for a break along the way. When my work schedule is crazy busy, and I don't have the time to sit down with them to "do the school books", then I look at the other things we do. We school pretty much year round. We officially start a grade level in July because it is so stinking hot here that you can actually melt walking from the house to the car. If we can't be outside, let's make the most of being inside. My ultimate schedule is to school 6 weeks on and 1 week off. That didn't quite happen this past fall with many family emergencies throwing a few wrenches in our plans. But for all our interruptions, we still will finish our grade levels by the middle of April. That will give us a couple of months off. We still school during that time, but in more of an unschooling way. No workbooks, but more activities that we don't get to do during our school schedule because of work. Lots of reading. A few trips. Some extra activities. This year I'm going to put my 9yod and 5yod in horseback riding lessons for the summer. We did a few lessons last summer, but once dance and piano started with the regular school sessions we didn't have the extra money or time to do anything else. So, we'll look at doing that again this summer as our special summer activity. So, that's our homeschool. Most days we get something done, but I really try to not stress if we don't do it every day. We work lots of breaks in to change the pace some and to keep everyone sane. We're a family first, and I keep telling my kids that's what is most important. G |
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Boy, I didn't realize it had been so long since I had blogged. The last six months have been quite crazy, to say the least. My husband's grandfather had open heart surgery in August and died in September. Then, my aunt was hospitalized for heart problems in Mississippi. The girls and I took a whirlwind trip in October to see her and the rest of my family. My parents drove back with us. It took us 12 hours to drive there, with many short stops along the way. But with my parents pulling a trailor, it took us 15 hours to drive back. I was one tired traveler when we got home, but oh so glad to be here. While my parents were with us, I set up several doctor appointments for my mother who has been experiencing serious dementia issues. After lots of tests, the prognosis isn't good. She not only has the beginning stages of Alzheimer's, but she also has hyperthyroidism. We couldn't get an appointment with an endocrinologist while she was here, so she found one when she got home. She opted to take medicine to try to correct the problem with her thyroid, but the side effects have been bad. They missed their annual visits for Christmas and my oldest daughter's birthday, which they have never done before. My daughters were heartbroken. The doctor my mother saw here gave her a prescription for Aricept, which seems to be helping a lot. She has started cooking more, and she can actually hold a conversation for a while on the phone. Right before my mother's diagnosis, my parents decided to buy the 12 acres right next to us. We were very excited to have them as neighbors someday and to know we wouldn't have bad neighbors on at least one side of us. But now that they might not be making so many trips to visit, we have just that more land to take care of. We're not compaining. It's still our desire to have my parents move here, and if we have to take care of their land to help out, we will. Brad cleared the fence line between us and our other neighbor. He rented a bulldozer to cut through a dense area, but it was a little off because the surveyor took three months to come stake the property line. The joys of country living! As soon as we get the fence up, probably by May, we'll put some cows out. At least we don't have to fence between us and our fantastic neighbor (my parents)! We also have a deposit on an Old World Jersey calf. We probably won't bring her in until the fall. She's only a few months old, and she won't be ready to be on her own until she's almost a year old. She's very pretty, and we can't wait to see her. I'm already planning our next project after the fence...the barn. The sooner we can get all the out buildings done, the sooner we can move out there! I hope by next spring we can be ready to make serious plans. Nothing up to this point has gone as planned, though, so I'm not holding my breath. All in God's time. G |