Catching Up...

Sometimes I think life passes at the speed of light.  Blink and you miss it.  I've been so busy lately, I find that I don't have any time to sit at the computer.  The kids and I sat down over the weekend and discussed how overwhelmed we're all feeling and decided on a few things we're going to try to alleviate the situation and make us feel more in charge of our lives.  Finger's crossed that we have a good week.

In the meantime, I thought I'd catch you up with a few things we've had going on:

A few weeks ago, I polled you all regarding the disposition of all my unused scrapbooking stuff.  You all gave me so much to think about and think about it I did.  After much consideration, I decided to decide in September.  My goal is to get some scrapbooking done this summer, but if I haven't gotten any scrapbooking done by September, all my unused paper, a bunch of unused punches, and various other stuff will be a) shipped to my sister if she still wants them or b) donated to Goodwill.  

I had the opportunity to take my kids to the Silver Mountain Resort indoor water park on the 4th of June.  It was an awesome deal worked for our homeschooling group.  At $10 per person, it was worth the drive.  They had a blast, especially because the cool, rainy weather hadn't abated in days and they were romping around in bathing suits. 


After weeks of rainy weather, leaky roofs (water was dripping off a light fixture - no, I am not joking!), and sprinkler issues, I think I've finally begun to get a handle on caring for the house and yard while homeschooling.  Sometimes it is just getting back to the basics, which for us means routine, that makes the difference between productivity and aimless wandering.  Lawns get mowed every Monday (weather permitting), weeding happens three times a week, the filter for the koi pond gets cleaned out once a week, and  plants get fertilized weekly (a Tootsie tip!).  Oh, and my dear old dad got my weed whacker working well (pretty good alliteration, wasn't it?), so that is one less arm cramp.

19-year old Charming is desperately looking for an apartment.  It's been a month since he graduated from Whitworth and he's very clear on the fact that he doesn't want to live at home to expedite paying off his student loans.  He does have a job and a plan, so he's just got to find a place to call "home".  He's very clearly an independent adult and is chafing at living at home, so while I think it may be short-sighted, I truly understand his decision. 

Superman's been away from home for five months now and none of it has been easy.  One of the casualties has been our schooling schedule.  It feels like we settle into a rhythm and something new and disruptive enters our lives (greenhouse disasters, leaky roofs, baby animals, returning family members, etc.), so we've decided to keep schooling through summer for math, writing, typing, grammar, and spelling.  We're also investigating science curriculum.  Does anyone use one they love?  We've looked at Thinkwell, CyberEd/Plato, Fascinating Biology, and Discovery Education Science.  I'm struggling to pick one and would love to know what you all have done.  (Buttercup is entering 6th grade and Valiant is entering 9th grade.)

All the animals are healthy, and all the cats/kittens are getting along fine.  We haven't had any "introducing a new pet" difficulties, thank goodness.  

So, there you have it...a few of the things we've been working on the past few weeks.  It doesn't sound like a lot, but I have to tell you, it keeps me busy!  This week, I'll be showing you some home-made English Muffins, a clever anti-dog gate, and other exciting projects I've been working on.   Thanks for hanging in there...I really appreciate it.