Last night was our homeschool support small groups "Mom's Only" night.  Many of us look forward to this night all month, mainly because it gives us a chance to be among our peers, share, pray with other women, complain, laugh (I had waaaay too many of those last night), think, listen, talk, eat, eat, eat, drink, and be merry!  Some months I just can't seem to make it to the meetings.  I'm so glad I made the effort last night, in spite of the rain. 

I woke up this morning with a feeling of urgency.  You see our meeting was about organization.  I like to think I am pretty organized, but when we took a quiz, I ended up being a clutterer.  So, I was thinking all night, this is a great time of year, being so cold out, to better organize my life.  I did a lot of that last year when I knew Hubby was coming home for good (he worked away from home for 7 years).  Having one child wasn't that hard, after the baby stage.  But, many times I find myself doing all the household chores, while hubby and son sit on their butts, not helping me.  I am a clean freak, without the clean.  Thinking "I can do a better job myself" or "Why have them help, I just have to re-do it all over again anyway?"  Well, A BIG WAKEUP CALL! Last night I realized that things don't have to be done LIKE I DO THEM, to be right.  As long as they're done, AND I don't have to do it all by myself.  I mean, what kind of example am I teaching my son.  Heaven help him if he marries a "Princess" to go along with his "Prince."  Sad life, piles of pizza boxes and microwave boxes.  Dirty clothes piled everywhere.  Fish tanks filled with dead floating fish.  Petrified cats, etc.,...... you get the picture.  Yuck!

Our big morning fights are the same, every school day, he hates getting up, then trying to get him to make his bed before starting school, horrible.  It never happens.  I gave up the fight of getting him dressed and out of PJ's before starting school our first year.  Cute when your 7 years old, bad when your 14 years old and 6 feet tall.  Really BIG pj's.  But, now that Dad is home every day, he is seeing all the "bad habits" my son exhibits for me.  Dad has had at least 3 of "those talks" with him, over the past week.  Hopefully, we are on the road to change.  Motivation being what it is (no TV or video games as punishment), he has been getting up earlier and the bed is made by noon.  Its a start, but stress is down, and I think that's great.

Well, it had to happen some day, although why today?  Actually, it all started last week with my son getting sick. You know the 1a.m. cry "Mom I think I have a fever", then everyone walking into walls trying not to put on too many lights, least they wake up or anything!  Followed by days and days of coughing and sleepless nights, while we argue about taking cough medicine or not, just because it tastes bad.  Well, good luck finding great tasting stuff!  Followed by a week of late sleeping every day, making up for lost sleep. (where does it all go???)

Then low and behold hubby comes home and announces "I don't feel so good". Then the nurse in you, once again, kicks into high gear, taking temps, bringing meds, trying to act concerned.  After the good patient takes all his medicines, he makes a quick recovery the next day.  Men, still a mystery after all these years. 

So, a week passes and now its my turn to be sick.  Wouldn't you know it.  Could have picked a week without a million classes, meetings, and other stuff to do.  Why couldn't I have been sick last week, when we stayed home to heal the kid.  Well, good thing hubby is feeling all better (almost), since he has been going to the store and buying medicine for me now.  I guess this sickness is sweeping the nation about right now.  So, for all of you out there that are feeling sick about now, I totally understand your pain!  But, I am thankful to God for the wisdom and blessings he has given me and my family over the years, and praise him, since this is the first time in a very long, long time, that I have been sick.  He has truely blessed me with Mother's Health, able to take care of everyone else but herself, when they are sick. 

So, I retire to rest for now.  I need it.  Rest, I didn't intend to get sick to get some!

Don't you just live to hear those words, especially at 1:30 a.m.  Harder still when you're in the middle of a deep sleep, you hear those words, must be a bad dream creeping into your good one.  Oh well, but isn't that why we became Mom's? Okay, I didn't plan on being awakened at 1:30 a.m. every day, but after say age 2, It would stop.  Well, here he is 14 years old, and it never stops. No, really I must say that since homeschooling we (meaning me also since I get to play nurse and occassionally I get the sickness bug too), haven't been (knock on wood) that sick.  The last BIG THING, was months before Casey came home, the dreaded strep throat.  Which proceeded to almost kill me, and never mind that Casey was the sickest I have ever seen him.  After we recovered from that hell on earth (think Job and God and the Devil), we vowed to stay well no matter what. 

Well, as if that wasn't enough, I was again awakened at 7 a.m. by my husband opening and closing his drawers, getting dressed for work.  Funny how they can make so much noise trying to be quiet as a mouse?  I told him about our son's fever, and he went right away to check on him before he left.  Of course my bladder woke up and I ended up getting up to face the day, without my 8 hours of sleep.  

Needless to say, Casey was feeling very bad by the time I got him up around 10 a.m.  School was definitely out, but was he that sick, sick enough to stay in bed.  Wow, this was going to be bad.  But, thanks to my small voice of reason it turned out okay.  His temperature was 101 at 10 a.m., but broke around noon, and hasn't come back so far.  But he has a really ugly cough.  My friend Michelle reminded me about some great medicine that is OTC, that works wonderfully for congestion.  Luckily I just happened to have some.  I gave him some and after a while he started to feel a lot better.  Eating and sitting up.  He even wanted to do his school work for the day.  Again, Wow! 

That is my entry for today, and now I am really getting tired and sleepy, hoping to make up for some lost sleep tonight.  Praying he will sleep through the night and get better before Friday night, our club high school teen night, that he's been looking forward too for weeks.  Goodnight and goodbye for now.

Happy Sunday!

Today is finally a beautiful clear blue South Carolina day.  I can't help feel happy, since we have had days of cold cloudy days.  My guys are both hanging out in favorite modes, Mark surfing the web and Casey UTube on his laptop while playing video games.  I'm content, because for the most part they are leaving me alone, and playing nice. 

Even the dog is outside on her own, or sleeping away this beautiful day.  I can't complain. 

Recently I was "hired" to head up The Old Schoolhouse Magazine's national blog called Homeschool Nation.  I am representing South Carolina, which means I get to keep the blog updated with loads of information and events, state wide.  Today was my first day blogging there.  I received an email from the managers (we all did), giving directions for some updates to the site.  I had already done mine, so I started other updates.  First thing was to delete all outdated posts.  There were some going back to 2006.  I don't think anyone would have benefited from those.  I am spending some time searching various support and 3rd Option groups websites for information to post.  I already emailed several to get on their mailing lists. 

I think the last person who had this job lived in the upstate area, because most of the post were in Greenville.  I am going to try to pick up on news from across the state, but this time more for the Columbia area.  Although I contacted one group in the Florence area, they always have so much good current information on their web site, they post for the whole state also.  I know from my first year, I just couldn't seem to get enough information.  I know I found myself on information overload from time to time, but I didn't mind.  Just my curious nature (busy body some would say). 

Well, better get back to "work".  This is so cool and fun.  Yes, its true, you CAN teach an old dog new tricks!  chow, chow, chow...

Here's my story - and I'm sticking to it -

I've been married to Mark for 27 years, last July.  During that time we tried to have children the "natural" way, didn't work.  We turned to Science Fiction Adventures and became a science experiment or lab rat (I was the rat - guys have it soo easy in the baby making department).  We tried in vitro fertilization and on our second cycle (science speak), got pregnant.  Casey was born 14 years ago, last August.  When he was 6 years old, we decided to move to South Carolina from Southern California.  Big culture shock!  But, luckily Mark's extended family had migrated here from all over the place.  One Sister from Illinois, his Mother from Michigan, another Sister from Alabama, and 2 Brothers from Illinois.  Slowly and over 10 years, they all ended up here in either Lugoff or Camden.  We visited here sometimes twice a year, over 10 years prior to moving here.  We loved the wide open spaces, forests, clear blue skys, clean air and wonderful people.  So, being the great and concerned parents that we were, we decided that Casey needed to grow up in a country environment, away from city life, traffic and congestion that plagued California.  During one Thanksgiving visit in 1999, we made up our mind, and found a little piece of heaven in Lugoff.  Three acres of land and forest, tucked away from view, waiting for us to claim it!  We signed the papers, hired a real estate agent to help us here, and flew back to California.  We put our house on the market that next January 2nd, and sold it the next day.  We packed up and moved here on April Fools Day 2000.  Moved in with one sister until our home was finished being built on June 1, 2000, and have loved each and every moment of living here since. 

A side to all this, many California family and friends (to this day - but not as much any more) always greet us with "So when are you going to move back to California?"  We always reply "Never, and we don't miss it!".

So, for today, this is where my story stops.  To be continued...

This is my very first go at blogging - so here goes.  Due to peer pressure and my own desire to be fully computer literate, I will try to keep you, my readers, transfixed and anxious to read what I have to say. With practice, as anything, I will hold you spellbound with every letter I type, every word I type, and every thought I type.