Dealing with some slow connections right now. Back to your usual programming soon, I hope, including pictures. 
Meanwhile, school is rapidly approaching.
ARGHHH!!
Kathy
Category Archives: Daily Life
Seattle Mom’s Day Out
It’s not that I don’t want to blog. I love blogging. I’m just not sure how to fit blogging in to the mess that is my life. I mean the mess that is my kitchen and dining room. The older kids are off at a youth group retreat so I can’t blame them for the untidy piles of who knows what littering my house. The younger two are spending the night at a friend’s house. Again, no blame to lay there.
Rats. I guess it’s pretty much my mess. And here I thought I was really an amazing housekeeper underneath all the responsibilities of being a mom and homeschooling teacher.
A bunch of homeschooling moms hit Seattle for breakfast.
I’ve been spending this week frantically trying to gather all my homeschool materials. How is it possible that I placed a huge Sonlight order and somehow forgot to buy the instructor’s guide for Daniel and Rachel? Argh! This year is going to be incredibly intense as Joshua begins high school and Rachel middle school. I suppose the rest of the kids need to be educated as well.
I’m not panicking. No, I’m not. Ignore the slight twitch in my left eye.
Did I mention we’re also spending time with my family from Michigan next week? Yikes. Oh, and three days after the family visit our homeschool co-op starts. Three days. So I’m just a wee bit stressed as I run from laundry to homeschool books to the computer (what else did I forget to order?) to co-op meetings, and somewhere in the mix get ready to see my parents.
Now I’ve got a twitch going in both eyes.
Thankfully I’m an extreme optimist. I work great under pressure, ignore the need for sleep, and thrive on coffee and looming deadlines. You can see why I couldn’t cancel my Mom’s Day Out, planned months ago, even though it fell on probably one of the busiest weeks in the entire summer.
How could I resist the opportunity to spend an entire day in Seattle with five other homeschooling moms? Great food, shopping and encouraging conversation. And, of course, there isn’t anything like a sunny day at Pike’s Place with the mountain off in the distance and bargains to be found.
Our Moroccan dinner – the belly dancer just left the scene.
Maybe if I close my eyes all of this work will just go away. Are the rest of you homeschoolers ready? When do you start school? Are you excited for the fall and new beginnings or fighting the end of summer with everything in you?
Kathy – off to tackle one more pile of books before bed.
Related posts:
Gearing Up for Fall
NOT!! I’m still in the throes of summer.
Just because school supplies are calling my name and tempting me with their 17 cent boxes of crayons does not mean fall is here.
I still have a few pairs of flip flops that need breaking in, sun screen bottles to use up, and beach towels that want to see more sand and sea water before being tucked away on linen shelves.
David, are you ready for school?
Just because I’m teaching three (yes, THREE, I’m obviously an idiot) classes at our homeschooling co-op this year doesn’t mean I should panic. I can still remember the names of the courses so I figure I’m doing great.
Just because I have piles of curriculum (curricula? Which is correct?) to order, doesn’t mean I’m behind. This happens to me every year. I spend a good, solid portion of August living in denial. It’s a happy place full of sunshine, popsicles and, in our case, I hope tomatoes from the garden.
Birthday girl, Julia, puts make-up on Sarah. What?? Much too young for such ‘paint.’
I do, however, have a nice list of August To Do’s going. My prayer for the month is to spend my time purposefully. A Purposeful August. I can fully enjoy the play time with friends, just be sure to work at accomplishing a portion of my goals each day. Sunshine and the lake when there is time, but school and co-op prep as well.
“You can do it, Mom. Put the camera down and get to work.
It sounds so reasonable, I almost believe it’s possible. What do you think? Is August fun or frantic in your home? I know my sister in law who lives in Georgia has already sent her children back to school. No more summer for them. Does that make life easier or crazier when you’re not homeschooling? How do I possibly get everything done and still manage to feed and clothe everyone, have some fun and keep the house tidy?
Who can work when there’s a party to attend?
Am I asking too much out of life?
Kathy
Related posts:
Tomato Promises
My how those tomatoes are growing.
Well, at least the plants themselves are growing. So far we don’t have any actual red fruit. Oh, there are a smattering of green globes here and there all over our back yard garden, but so far no edible tomatoes.
Look at the size of those tomato plants! Aren’t they impressive. And to think that Tim and the children started out with a little bit of dirt and some seeds. God’s bounty is truly amazing. We’ll have some tomatoes soon. I Promise.
Kathy
Project 366 – Day 215
Related posts:
Hooray for Fred Meyer
A little more than a week ago, I bought a set of patio furniture for Kathy’s birthday, as discussed in Birthday Bash. I was feeling very virtuous because I had used my hoarded computer fund to purchase the furniture, but God was just looking for a chance to show us His love.
It has been a hard month for the budget — we’re over in kids’ clothes and Kathy’s haircut was more than we expected. All year long she cuts hair for the four males in the house — probably 30 haircuts or so — and we put aside a little money each month so she can have a salon cut and some highlights. Somehow she ended up with some higher costs and a third color, and went over by $46.00.
We also save a lot by never washing our cars …
We recorded some birthday expenses, because I wanted to know if I had any money left. Seeing that I still had a little cash in my Tim’s Miscellaneous, I offered to pay the difference for her haircut. “After all,” I suggested, “a man’s gotta have his wife look good.”
Actually, I’m just pathetically grateful that she’ll cut our hair. I’d be shelling out at least $300 for all those haircuts, and I’d still have to pay for her to get her hair cut.
“No,” Kathy demurred. “I’ll pay some, too. How ’bout you pay $26?”
I bargained her up to $36 (I’ve always been a sharp bargainer) and she rushed off to Target and Fred Meyer to spend some more. She called me from the store while I was out puttering with my tomatoes. It turns out that the patio set was on sale (even more than it was when I bought it). I encouraged her to ask if they would do a price adjustment (or whatever they call it) since we’d bought the furniture so recently. “Yep, they will,” she told me gleefully.
David was gleeful too …
I jumped in the car with the receipt as soon as she returned home, and rushed to the store, fearing that the clerk who agreed to give us the deeper discount would leave, quit or be fired before I could get there. But my fears were groundless; they cheerfully agreed to credit me the difference of $108.80!
There are several morals to the story:
- Don’t be afraid to spoil your wife if you can afford it
- Don’t be afraid to ask — they can always say “no”, but they might say “yes”
- If you try to be more generous than God, you’ve got your work cut out for you.
“Anyone want to take a turn washing? I’ve got to do my nails … “
A special thanks to Fred Meyer stores for giving me such a good deal on patio furniture. An even bigger thanks to God, for leaving me some money in Tim’s Miscellaneous so that I can balance the budget at the end of the month.
Tim
Project 366, Day 201