R has been friends with a girl named Rachel for about 3 years now.  They met at dance school, and we have had her over to play, R has gone to play dates over her house and they have both attended birthday parties for each other. 

Rachel has always been a little hot and cold about the friendship, and R jumps right in and expects to be friends for life.  I noticed a change in Rachel's behavior toward R last year when she switched to the "in-between" school that houses the 4th and 5th graders.  She could act like R's best friend one minute, and completely blow her off the next.  She actually blew off R's birthday party this year because, by her own admission, she had something better to do.

This year, the 2 girls don't actually have a dance class together, but they see each other in  passing between their 2 back-to-back classes.  R has always made a point of saying hello to Rachel when she sees her, but it has become more and more apparent that Rachel wants nothing to do with her.  The last 2 weeks, R has come home from dance school in tears because she tried to talk to Rachel and her friend turned her back and ignored her.  R is so hurt and confused; she has no idea what she did to make Rachel treat her this way.  (My thought is that Rachel is just turning into another little mindless school-clique zombie, who can't decide to be friends with someone without fear of getting booted out of her own comfy little group, but what do I know?) 

I know that this behavior is typical of girls this age, but just because it's typical doesn't make it RIGHT.  It isn't any less hurtful for my little girl that is going to bed sad another night because this little brat thinks that she is better than everyone else. 

So, my dilemma is this, I know it is not my problem to fix, but I don't have any idea how to help R fix it herself.  Rachel's mother is the receptionist at dance school, and R has asked me to talk to her about the situation.  I personally don't think that is a great idea, because, although I like the mom well enough, and she has always been nice to me and my children, I think it may cause bigger problems for R.  What if I say something to the mom, she says something to Rachel, and Rachel takes her frustration out on R?

I don't know what to advise her to do.  I WANT to tell her to cut her losses and just realize that Rachel is not a real friend or she wouldn't be treating her this way to begin with, but I think she needs to discover that for herself.  She knew when she'd taken enough crap from her "friend" Cassidy after she made her cry at her birthday party by telling her it was the worst party she had ever been to.  She decided that she didn't want to be Cassidy's friend anymore, and I was happy to oblige that request.

I can totally sympathize with poor R, I was the kid in school that was picked on mercilessly.  I was little and sensitive and just wanted kids to like me.  R is such a sweet girl and a good friend.  She would never dream of hurting a friend's feelings to help raise herself in the food chain with other friends, so she just cannot fathom why someone else would treat her like this.

I know it is just a life lesson; not all people are nice and thoughtful and care about other people's feelings, but it hurts to watch her hurting so badly.  And people think that homeschoolers are immune to "real" social situations.  This is one that I would have preferred to skip out on...  With friends like these, who needs enemies?

I recieved this in an email from Hubby today and wanted to share it.  It was written by a student in Arizona, but I don't have a name to give credit to.  If anyone out there knows the source, please tell me so I can give credit where it is due.

I don't typically talk about politics on my blog, or in real life for that matter.  I purposely avoided writing a whole lot about the election because I feel like it is really no one else's business how I choose to vote, and I don't really care about who anyone else picked either.  I'm not one of those wild fanatics that'll try to convince you that my candidate is the best, and calls you a moron for disagreeing.  I may THINK you're a moron, but I don't usually resort to calling people that to their face.

Ahhh, I digress...  Since I only have about 4 faithful readers left, you will have to just bear with me and feel free to skip this entry if you rather not feel your blood boil....

I voted for John McCain.  Now, I TOTALLY don't agree with him on all of the issues, and I think Sarah Palin was a piss-poor choice as VP, but my vote was fueled by his stance on the issues that are most important to me.  I had to vote with where my morals lie and his views lined up the closest to the points that are close to my heart. 

Of major concern to me, and what made my decision a no-brainer, is that Obama's stance on education states that everyone should be entitled to equal opportunity in education.  He is against vouchers, and although his own children go to one of the most expensive and "best" private schools in the country, he wants regulations on education so that no one child has better opportunities than anyone else.  That severely effects homeschoolers!

So, on top of the fact that we have a Democrat heading to the White House, we also brilliantly elected a heavily Democratic Senate and Congress last night.  This can only spell trouble for us homeschoolers!  Democrats = No choice in education. 

How long will it be until our new government officials come up with more regulations for us homeschoolers, more laws?  Will they be able to come in to check up on us at anytime, they deem necessary and interfere in our lives in ways that threaten our status as parents?  Will we be forced to choose between going to jail or losing our children or complying with these new, stricter laws?  What if these law makers decide that since homeschoolers have too much of an unfair advantage over common public schoolers, that homeschooling should be illegal altogether?  We all watched in horror at what happened in California.  What if that threat becomes nation wide?

I am no political expert, but I can read between the lines with the best of them.  When Barak Obama says that he wants an equal education plan for all children, what he is saying is that no one will be able to be the best or receive the best.  It doesn't matter how poor our nation's education facilities become, as long as everyone is subjected to them.  Heaven help us!

As a friend of mine so aptly stated recently, if the Democratic party wants me to keep my nose out of my neighbor's uterus and bedroom, what gives them the right to interfere at the goings-on at my kitchen table?  I see scary times ahead for us homeschoolers in the next few years. 

For all of you out there that helped to vote this man in to his new position, I hope the "change" that he brings about in YOUR home is worth it!

My kids are some of the luckiest children that I know.  Not only do they have both sets of grandparents in their lives, but they also have 4 great-grandmothers and 2 great-grandfathers.  And until today, they had a great-great grandmother; not many kids can say that!

My great-grandmother was 93 years old and lived a long and full life.  I keep trying to remind myself of that when I start to feel melancholy. 

She holds a special place in my father's heart for numerous reasons.  I know he is hurting right now because he wasn't with her at the end.  We knew she was getting close, and he had planned to leave to see her this afternoon after a doctor's appointment, and she passed away early this morning.  I am glad that she just slipped away peacefully in her sleep and that she is now living it up with Jesus, but it is still sad nonetheless.

We made a special trip down to CT to see her shortly after C was born and I am so glad that we did.  It is sad to think that that visit was our last, but I take comfort in knowing that she got to see and hold all of my children in her lifetime.

I am having some problems figuring out how I am going to make to CT for the wake and funeral.  Hubby has to be away all next week for training, and although he can miss 8 hours, that means we can't go to both the wake and funeral.  Since that is unacceptable to me, I don't know what to do.  A 4ish hour drive, alone with 4 kids is not my idea of a fun trip.  And when I get down there I still need to find someone to watch the kids for the 2 events anyway.  *sigh*  Say a pray that it all works out for me to be there for my family.

Here is a picture of our last visit with Great-Grandma:

I am so glad that my kids and I had the pleasure of getting to know this wonderful woman!

That is what this blog has become! :(

I think I have sucessfully pushed away all of my readers due to my inability to keep up with this blog.  Life just seems to be happening to us these last few months and there is not much time at the end of each day.

So, on to the b*tching and complaining!

Hubby is out of town this whole week and next.  Well, more accurately, he will be gone from early Monday until late Friday on both weeks.  This weekend is my birthday and we will be taking an all day trip to Salem together, just the 2 of us!  We have never left all of the kids for so long before (14 hours!) so I hope things go well!  We also have Sunday school, church and a birthday party to attend on Sunday, so that pretty much kills Hubby's weekend at home!  Bleh!

I hate the infant and toddler class that I am teaching!  The parents seem to want nothing to do with interacting with their kids, which wouldn't bother me so much if they weren't BABIES and it wasn't a parent participation class.  I already told the director that I really don't want to teach the class again in January, and I proposed teaching a preschool "Young Explorers" class, which will focus on early math and science activities.  I am going to discuss it with her tomorrow, but I really hope it flies.  THAT is a class that I would enjoy!

Having Hubby gone totally sucks!  Not only do I hate being all alone at night, but the kids are all in a funk.  I am pretty tired of them and they are very tired of me.  It is hard to never get the break that comes when Daddy walks in the door.

My house looks as if pipe bombs were today's science lesson!  (They weren't.)  The kids seem to be under the impression that since Daddy isn't home, no one needs to listen to Mommy, pick up after themselves or keep up with their chores.  I am trying to cut them some slack, but everyone is pretty much tap dancing on my last nerve at this point!

I still don't know what everyone is going to be for Halloween and it is only 9 days (and counting) away.  R is having a few problems figuring out how she is going to make herself completely blue to be Smurfette, I have to blow up 72 balloons for A's costume, I need to make a headpiece for M's costume (and pray he doesn't change his mind again) and I have to convince C to wear ANY costume at all.  Just a couple more things to add to the to-do list.

And my final complaint for the evening is this:  Hubby and I had just gotten C to start off the night in his crib, which we moved into M's room.  C would be put to bed at 8:00 with everyone else, with minimal complaint.  Since Hubby always handles the bedtime routines, and he is away, things have not been pretty!  *sigh*

Well, to any of you out there that still stop by to check out our regular goings-on, I offer my sincere apologies.  I'd offer to try to be more consistent in my posting, but you and I both know it would be a lie.  I'll just have to see ya when I see ya!

Since I don't particularly like either candidate, I thought I'd make it easy on myself. 

Your Issue Profile: 56% Obama, 44% McCain

Truth be told, you're not really satisfied with either of the candidates. You could vote for either of them. You are the typical coveted swing voter. You may want to narrow yourself down to a particular set of issues in order to pick your president. Or start looking at third party candidates. One of them might suit you better.

I am not sure if these results accurately show how I really feel.  I think maybe I SHOULD get some more info on the third party candidates!

Check out this quiz to see how YOU should be voting!!  LOL!

It was a beautiful day in Maine today.  Sunny, clear and 72 degrees; nothing like the cold fall weather we have been having.  To take advantage of the nice day, we decided to meet some of our homeschool friends at a local playground.

The kids, despite their age differences all played really well together.  Since this playground is completely surrounded by trees, shrubs and other greenry, a favorite pastime is making fairy houses.  In the past, the girls have used some (what we assumed were) wild grapes.  M, since he has never shown much interest in fairy houses only noticed the grapes today.  Would you like to guess what happened?

Yes, M ate some of the grapes.

Now, we were at the playground with Larissa and her two girls, and she, unlike me, tends not to be a worrier.  Her opinion was that he was probably okay and since he seemed just fine, I pushed it to the back of my mind and tried not to worry so much.

I started to worry about it again when we got home from the playground.  After consultation with another worrywart friend, and googling "wild grapes in Maine" and coming up empty handed, I decided it was time to call poison control.  I was fairly confident that they would assure me that everything was fine.

I was NOT expecting the nice man at the poison control office to tell me that sometimes other seriously toxic plants can mimic the appearance of wild grapes!  Plants that can cause high blood pressure, rapid heart rates, and sometimes death!  O!  M!  G!  His advice to me was to get a piece of the plant and have it identified.  If we didn't know exactly what it was, there was no way to tell me what problems may arise.

I quickly dropped A off at TKD and headed back to the playground, dragged the other 3 kids back to the bush, and tugged off a couple of good-size pieces including the actual "grapes".   Then the problem was finding a place that could identify it at almost 5:30 in the evening.  The poison control guy had suggested a plant store.  Uhhhhh, okay!  I went to our local Agway in hopes that since they sell plant supplies, they could be of some help.

Unfortunately The folks at Agway couldn't identify the plant.  They could, however, give me the name and address of a man who could.  They called ahead so that Mr. Johnston would expect me, and I got directions to his house.  Mr. Johnston met me outside, took one look at the plant and assured me that it is just wild grapes, will not cause lasting damage to M, and probably tasted like crap when he ate it!  Whew!  That was a relief!

Okay, so that wild goose chase ended happily, but how many more times will I have to call poison control before this child makes it to adulthood?  What will he eat next time that may be potentially fatal?  It is not as if I don't watch him!  But I never would have anticipated that he would find grapes growing on vines at the playground and think they were fair game!

Ahhh!  It probably doesn't bode well that I have poison control on speed dial does it?  I wonder how many times you can call them before they report you to CPS?

And just in case you are wondering, here is a picture of what M ate:

Looks like grapes to me!

I started Christmas shopping back in July.  Anyone else out there like that?  With 4 kids, it is pretty impossible to do all of the shopping at the last minute, so I have to strike when the sales are hot.  I have purchased a wooden castle (and people) for M, Smurf figurines and a DVD set for the girls, and new Webkinz.  That is all I can remember off the top of my head, but the pile in my closet is growing expediently all the time.

I started giving some thought to what to get others for Christmas.  6 years ago I made a quilt for my MIL that she really liked.  I scanned color photos onto transferable paper, ironed it on to fabric and made a family portrait quilt.  It took FOREVER, especially because I did most of it by hand, but MIL really loved it.

This year I am thinking that it is time for a new family quilt.  We have had 3 new members join the family since the last quilt was made, and the other grand kids were all practically babies.  It will be a lot of work, but I think it is about time.

I started looking at fabric for the borders, I have been trying to figure out which pictures to use, and it is actually making me a little excited.  The end result will be so nice, I am looking forward to getting started.

So, yes, I am insane, and will be adding something new to my "TO DO" list.  I'll let you know how it is going.

I am not a happy camper this evening.  I just left my sister's house from our final weigh-in for our "Biggest Loser" competition and I lost to my sister by less than .2% of body weight lost!  Ooooh!  How frustrating!

There were 4 of us involved, and for the last 12 weeks we have been paying $3 per week to weigh-in.  The person with the biggest percentage of body weight lost at the end of the competition got to keep all of the money!  For any of you that are mathematically challenged out there, 12 weeks x $3 per week x 4 participants = $144 to the winner.  Which was almost me!

I didn't actually think I would stand a chance in the competition at all because, even though it is based on the percentage of body weight lost, I had less to lose.  Hubby says that I should be proud, almost 7 pounds lost in 12 weeks is a good thing, but all I can think is that it was by like .1 freakin' percent!  Ooooh!

If I couldn't win it, I am at least glad that my sister did.  I know that she has a new wardrobe in mind, and since she has lost the weight it will be exciting to get some new clothes that fit better.  I am happy for her... I guess!

Ahhhh!  I know I haven't been keeping up blogging here lately.  I don't really have a good excuse.  I've been really feeling the pressure this year to make sure that we get all of our school stuff accomplished.  Add in all of the kids' activities, the 2 classes that I am teaching, and friends that are giving me crap for not being around enough, and I have been really stressed! 

I kinda feel like I am drowning and I don't know how to get out of the pool.  If I give up any of our activities I feel like I have to give up ALL of our activities.  Otherwise, how can I choose which kid has to go without?

Winter is coming, which means higher heating bills again and being freezing cold even WITH  the heat on.  Christmas is just around the corner and I hate all of the politics involved.  Some family stuff is really irking me and I don't really know what to do about it.  Lots of complaints and no solutions and I am feeling like my plate is heaped to the ceiling.

:sigh:

Well, to any readers that I still have left out there:  Keep checking back for the sporadic/loser posts that I may or may not be able to crank out. 

Yes, I know it is still Sunday.  I have an incredibly busy day ahead tomorrow so I am sure I will not get this posted if I don't do it now.

Having the menu plan was a life saver last week.  Things were much more organized and we weren't tempted to eat out for dinner because I didn't have anything planned.  Also, the kids complained less because I could blame everything on the menu!

We did have to tweak our plan a little bit.  Papa D cam over on Saturday and bought us pizza for dinner.  So, on Sunday we had the mac and cheese for lunch and the Frittata that had been planned for Saturday for dinner.

Here is this week's plan:

Monday:

Chicken Tacos with rice and black beans

green salad

Tuesday:

Spicy tortilla soup with tortilla chips for dunking

cheese quesadillas

raw red and green peppers

Wednesday:

Cajun Chicken with Alfredo sauce over spaghetti

broccoli

Thursday:

Corn chowder

corn bread

raw carrots

Friday:

Leftovers

Saturday:

Pan-seared pork chops

green beans

potatoes

Sunday:

Dinner at Grammie and Papa D.'s house!!

I am a member of a Yahoo email loop about homeschooling.  This is the message I just found in my inbox.  I thought other homeschooers would like to see it, to help validate why you do what you do.  It may also benefit anyone else out there that doesn't homeschool and questions why we homeschool to begin with.

I was a substitute teacher today. On this amazingly brilliant crisp autumn
day, the little kids were stuck inside...they had to listen to the most
boring teacher drone on and on and on.... if the kids even turned their
heads in another direction, the teacher stopped talking and told them to
keep their eyes on him and their hands *on* their desks at all times... it
went on for hours..... They had 10 minutes to write, twenty minutes to
read... lots of worksheets.. ..in their seats for what seemed like an endless
eternity to me....One boy was momentarily excited about something he was
learning and tried to tell the teacher, but the teacher was not interested
and told him to *get back to work*. Another boy was excited about a hawk
that was soaring over the pines, but the teachers ignored him and told him
to hurry up and go inside... I saw that beautiful child's joy for learning
just fade away...
For recess, the kids had twenty minutes of fresh air....that was it, and one
particularly nasty teacher kept yelling at them every minute.... even their
play was programmed.. ... Most of the kids had already become
compliant robots......
 

Hope you all enjoyed your homeschool "school day"!

One of the blogs I frequent asked for haikus about parenting.  I came up with one for each kid... see if you can guess which is which!

Blonde and curly head
Thrown back in ear piercing scream
Thank God you are cute
**********************************
Baby sign for milk
Sigh, eyeroll, protest; you win
Lift my shirt again
**********************************
I said eat your food
Don’t care if it makes you gag
No dessert for you
**********************************
I said not right now
Have you finished all your work?
Because I said so

I'd love to read yours!

Since we are crazy individuals, Hubby and I decided to drive our 4 children 3 hours away to the Big E, the biggest county fair in New England.  We typically go to the Fryeburg Fair here in Maine, which is the biggest fair in the state.  So this year we thought it would be fun to try something even bigger.  What a let-down!

I guess the biggest problem for us was the 3 hour drive.  There are a lot of things that I think are worth driving 3 hours for, but this fair was just not it.  It had roughly the same amount of exhibits as the Fryeburg fair, and while they were more spread out, it wasn't enough to warrant a 3 hour drive.

We had packed lunches for our uber-picky children, so we only had to buy them a large "fresh cut french fry" to share.  I am sure that they were fresh cut at SOME point in their lives, but not anytime close to when they were eaten by us.  The steak sandwiches that Hubby and I ordered we just okay and the onion blossom was inedible.  The food is usually the best part of fairs, so it was really disappointing!

We did enjoy the "state" exhibits, but so did everyone else.  We were there on a Monday morning and the fair was nearly dead, except for the state houses, which a bulldozer would have had difficulty maneuvering.  It was frustrating that there were so many people all packed into one small area.

There were also not very many animals to be seen.  We encountered a sign that read: "some of our animals are leaving and new ones are coming in, please excuse our appearance."  At the Fryeburg fair you are guaranteed to see all different kinds of animals.  Unless we missed something BIG, we only saw sheep, cows and horses.

The one bright shining moment of the whole excursion was making arrangements to meet up with an elementary school friend that I haven't seen in at least 15 years.  We found each other on Facebook and coincidentally were both going to the Big E on the same day.  We met and got reacquainted for about a half an hour.  I got to meet her 2 adorable boys and show off my family as well.  It was so fun to see her again after all these years!  She looks EXACTLY like I remember her too!

So other than connecting with an old friend, the trip was kind of a bust.  The kids enjoyed themselves, and no one had a BAD time, but we could have just gone to the Fryeburg fair again and saved ourselves a 6 hour round trip.  Not to mention the $200 dollars we spent on meals, parking, admission, icecream, and the kids' $1 (each) souvenir finger puppets.  I guess we'll know for next time!

I have decided to jump on the bandwagon and give weekly menu planning a try.  With our crazy, hectic schedule I think it will help eliminate a lot of frustration on nights when we have been running around all day.

Since today is Monday, and we spent our day at the Big E, our menu for this week will start on Tuesday.  Oh, and I only started with planning dinners.  We'll see how that goes this week, maybe I'll branch out and plan all 3 meals next week.

Tuesday:

*Homemade Chicken soup with wheat egg noodles (on the side for those of us who don't want noodles)

*Baked sweet potatoes

*Corn bread

*Raw carrots

Wednesday:

*Shepard's pie

*leftover corn bread

*green beans

*cut-up red, green and yellow peppers

Thursday:

*Crockpot tomato and meat sauce over rotini pasta

*green salad

*garlic bread

Friday:

*leftovers

*baked potatoes with broccoli and cheddar cheese

Saturday:

*Fritatta with bacon, tomatoes, onion and asparagus

*cantalope

*sliced fresh-picked apples

* homemade muffins

Sunday:

*homemade baked macaroni and cheese

*peas and carrots

*apple slices

Well, I think that is it.  I may have to add some side dishes on a few of the days depending on how hungry everyone seems to be.  My girls are going to eat us out of house and home!  M, on the other hand will probably choose hunger over dinner on every night except Thursday!

When I was growing up in Connecticut you could walk out your front door, spit, and hit a Catholic church.  Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but you get my point.  There were at least 6 Catholic churches (and their respective schools) in our city alone.  These days, with the priest shortage, the consolidation of all of the parishes into clusters, and the closing of many of the buildings, Catholic churches are extremely hard to come by.

I have written before about the merging of our home church with its sister church in the next town.  (I have also complained about the distance I have to drive in order to attend this church, a church where my heart felt truly at home, making the inconvenience worth it.)  I am not sure if I mentioned that as of July, my church St. Michael's, has been sold, closed its doors and is being refurbished into the town library.  It is a sad and tragic end to a 200 year old church, but it is what it is and we have had to move on.

Since the closing of St. Mike's, the kids and I have been going to our sister church Our Lady of Peace (OLOP).  We have never felt truly a part of OLOP, there is some old tension between the 2 churches, but it is the closest to OUR church that we can get.  We intended to continue going to OLOP until THAT building is sold and our new church, Our Lady of the Angels, can be built.  Do you follow me so far?

The problem with OLOP is that it is a much smaller building, only holding 200-250 people.  That makes it virtually impossible to house the 11 classes of Sunday school that the parish would need.  This means that instead of a weekly Sunday school program being offered to the parishioners, they are resorting to a family catechises.  Meaning, in layman's terms, that we will now be expected to "homeschool" for Sunday school.

Now, most people may not have a problem with that.  I, however, since we already homeschool, like the idea of a weekly time when my kids get to spend time with other Catholic children learning about our faith and enjoying a learning situation in a non-secular environment.  R has also been vehemently opposed to the idea of no Sunday school, particularly because A, being a 2nd grader and due to make her first reconciliation, communion and confirmation this year, will be going every week.

To appease R, we started attending mass here in the town we live in, something that we all have mixed feelings about.  I figured that if going to Sunday school was that important to her, we should definitely explore every avenue.

Today was the first day of Sunday school classes for the parish in our town.  It was also, coincidentally, the day they were having a parent meeting to discuss the family catechises at OLOP.  A busy day ahead, to be sure!

Hubby and I decided that in the interest of exploring all of our options, we would give Sunday school here in town a try.  Things got off to a bad start considering that we went to the wrong church building to attend the classes. (think 3 churches in town-- one parish)  That made us about 5-10 minutes late for the start of class.  People were also not very helpful or welcoming, which made finding where we needed to be a little bit of a challenge.

We found R's class first.  Right from the get-go I knew there was going to be a problem.  The teacher was a no-nonsense, rigid, militant, who spoke to the children as if he were a drill instructor.  R, who has had some experience in a classroom setting, mostly through the LAST 4 years of Sunday school and the classes that she has taken other places, immediately crawled into a shell-- very unlike her.  After describing the syllabus for the year, telling them about the difficult tests they would be having, making them fill in a blank map of the United States and the world, (don't get me started on why that was even RELEVENT to Sunday school!) and then making them give a talk about it in front of the whole group, she was pale, shaking and ready to cry.  I thought she was going to pass out on me again!

Then the teacher asked R and me to stay after class for a discussion.  Apparently the 5 minutes that he spent grilling her on what she did when she visited RI gave him the impression that she was mentally sub-normal.  I told him about her struggles with reading, writing and spelling, and he asked if those were the only "learning issues" that he'd have to deal with.  I don't exactly know what he was implying, but R and I left there both with teary eyes and with her vowing never to go back.

A's class, with a sweet little 70 year old lady, was just fine.  My only complaint was that she was the only girl in the class.  We got there so late that the other second grade room was all filled up and we were one of the leftovers that couldn't fit into the other class.

So, with our trembling lips we drove over to OLOP to attend mass and the parents' meeting right after.

My problem with the parents' meeting at OLOP is that the situation just sucks.  The 2nd graders are going to go to Sunday school every week, with some extra parent retreats thrown in.  All of the other grades will do all of their work at home, and then meet once a month to discuss the lessons and their progress.  R hates this idea, and honestly, so do I.  On the weeks that R has her monthly meeting, we will have to leave the house at 7:30 a.m. so that A can get to HER SS class by 8.  I'll wait in the car and watch a movie with R, M, and C for the hour that A is in class. (since it is a half hour drive it wouldn't be prudent for me to go all the way back home.)  Then we will all go to 9:30 mass until about 10:30.  R's monthly meeting wouldn't take place until after the last mass was over at 12, meaning that we would have an hour and a half to kill before her class from 12-2.  Talk about killing my whole Sunday!  That means that the earliest that I would be getting home on those days would be 2:30 p.m.-- we would be gone for 7 hours!  Even if I could find something to do to entertain the kids from after mass is over at 10:30 until R's class at noon, we still have to eat at some point, and I have no where for the boys to go while I have to attend R's class with her.  This whole situation is just a great big mess!

I don't know what to do from here on out.  Do I force R to go back into a situation that made both of us very uncomfortable?  Is it one of those things that I just chalk up to "socialization"?  She'll have to learn to deal with difficult, controlling  people at some point, right? 

Or do I remember that one of the reasons that we choose to homeschool in the first place is to be able to pick and choose what are kids are exposed to?  Hubby's instinct was that she has the rest of her life to learn to deal with difficult people and she doesn't need to be bullied by a teacher in a (/n optional) Sunday school class.  I am inclined to agree.

However, the situation at OLOP is so convoluted that I can't even wrap my mind around it.  I am more than willing to make sacrifices to attend whichever church we decide is best for our family, but there is really only so much that one person can be expected to do.  7 hours at church once a month, in combination with A's class and retreats, homeschooling R for catechism, and having to deal with the grouchy boys who will have been cooped up in the car for ages, just seems like too much to ask.

As sad as it is, this situation is causing me to re-evaluate my faith.  I think it is EXTREMELY important to have God in the lives of my children and myself.  That is why we do Sunday school to begin with.  With all of these changes and uncertainties in my home church, I am beginning to feel like God is sending me a sign that this RELIGION in general is not where I am supposed to be.  That idea is so beyond scary for me that I don't even know where to begin.  How do I throw away all of the beliefs that I have had ingrained in me for the last 30+ years and start fresh somewhere else?  Will I even find what I am looking for elsewhere?  My heart is feeling really achy and sad right now...

I am thinking that we will end up homeschooling R and figuring out the rest as it plays out.  God and our beliefs are already a large part of our daily conversations here, so "religion" class will be just one more thing to be taught, I suppose.  It might actually be nice to have our own little private family bible study while R is working on her catechism.  Maybe.

I take comfort in the fact that God knows where I am supposed to be and where I will ultimately end up, be it parish-wise or something a little more eternal.  For now I am just waiting and praying for a sign of where He is trying to lead me during all of this confusion and hullabaloo...  I welcome your prayers as well.

you can't remember your password and have to try 3 times to access your account!  Pathetic!

So, what have I been up to you may ask?  Well, let's see...

Since Tuesday, Hubby has worked an extra 24 hours this week.  That means that the children all missing him and are miserable and their behavior shows it!  Extra fun for me!

Hubby recently decided to become trained as a dispatcher at work to increase his possibility for overtime, and BOY did it!  He will be at the police academy tomorrow for more training and then back to his regular schedule (and by regular schedule I mean like only 16 hours of overtime a week) soon.  Thank goodness!

I started my toddler class today.  It didn't go exactly as planned, but it was okay.  The parents seem to only want it to be a place for the kids to have free play on the gym equipment so that they can ignore them and talk amongst themselves.  All of the songs and fingerplays that I planned were not well received.  I have to do some re-vamping before next week.

What else have we been up to???

Oh, A broke 2 more boards at TKD.  Grammie and Papa D came to see her and she was so nervous that she took 4 tries to get through them.  That was a little disappointing since she did so much better last time.  I was really proud of her for TRYING to break 3 though!

Wow, it is pretty sad that I can't even think of anything else new or spectacular to write about.  I have mentioned before that I been having a hard time writing here for fear that I have to censor my feelings to suit my audience.  I have since found a wonderful outlet, where I can voice my opinions and have the healthy debates that I so love!

School is going fine.  R is almost finished with the 5th book in the Spiderwick series, in addition to the first Boxcar Children book.  I can't express what a relief it is that she is finally enjoying reading!

M has been experiencing some major behavior turnarounds.  I am thinking that age 4 might just be a great year for M!!!!

C, on the other hand is becoming quite the little terror!  He throws 20 minute tantrums, spits his food all over the house, and refuses to drink out of a sippy cup!  Ahhhh!  Will peace never reign in this household??

Okay, I know this is a pathetic excuse for a post and that I am slowly losing all of my long term readers, but this is all I got!  I'll try to be more interesting later this week...

that it has been so long since I posted an entry that some people think I died.  I am back to assure you all that, while I am tired and frazzled after a long week, I am alive and (mostly) well.

The last week has passed by in such a blur.  We have been firmly adhering to our new schedule, which includes me getting up and showering at 6:30 before Hubby leaves and the bulk of the children wake up.  Everyone has chores in the morning to get us "going" for the day and to keep our home running smoothly.  All of the chores are things that the kids have always been responsible for, but we let slide a little for the summer.  It is nothing too serious or painstaking and no one has died yet.  (Of course when they canceled Arthur at 7:30 in the morning, M almost did.)

In addition to our school/homemaking schedule, we have had a few other scheduled events.  We spent a fun-filled day last week at the beach with one of our homeschool friends.  The kids all had a fabulous time!  The highlight of that trip (besides being with wonderful friends) was finding a live star fish to examine.

Last night I went with my mother and sister out for a special girls night out.  We had a great Italian dinner and then went to see a production of My Fair Lady.  While not my favorite musical ever, (That'd be Les Mis) it was nice to get out and spend time with Mom and Sis.  The show would have been MUCH improved if it weren't for the ancient couple sitting behind us who, judging from their behavior, either had Tourette's syndrome or were just too old to care about being rude.

Tonight I have my first TEACH meeting of the new school year.  It is an exciting feeling to see many of these wonderful families again after the long summer break.  I also love joining with the group to welcome new homeschoolers and to remind each other (old and new alike)why we all sacrifice so much to do what we do.

WE are still having some church troubles.  I have mentally composed a blog entry about it several times and with many different outcomes.  My heart is really torn right now as to which direction we should be heading in church-wise, and Hubby and I have been prayerfully trying to consider all the options.  I'll write more and be more specific soon...

The classes that I am scheduled to teach all start next week.  I am (almost) thoroughly prepared for the American girl class, the toddler/preschooler class at the Y not-so-much!  I have vague ideas about how I want the class to go, but I am not entirely sure yet.  I have a week until the class starts and I always do work well under pressure, I suppose!

I am embarrassed to say that I have found a new vice.  I have been spending far too much of my free time on Facebook, reconnecting with old friends and playing on the 'I Can Quote Gilmore Girls In My Sleep' forum.  Not a very good use of my time, I know.

Well, that's all for now I suppose.  Off to bring A to TKD....

Michelle from JandRlearnathome is hosting a Day in the Life party and you are all invited! 

If you are a homeschooler (or just a reader of homeschool blogs) and you would like to participate, please leave Michelle a comment with your DITL blog entry.  Also, put a link in your own blog back to this entry so that your readers can see all of the DITLs, and maybe (hopefully!) post one of their own.

You can expect my slideshow one day next week.  I look forward to watching all of yours as well!