Simple Woman's Daybook Entry

Outside my window... A cooler day!  It was supposed to reach 80 degrees today, but luckily clouds and a breeze prevail.  I have had to water outside a couple of times now.  My rhubarb and chives are coming up, and there has been little or no moisture now for about three weeks.

I am thinking... Schedule, schedule, schedule.  I say it like it is a bad thing.  It's not.  It is the bane of my existence, but staying busy keeps me sane and keeps the blues at bay.  There is just a lot going on... Summer is already mapped out and I am stressing about how to fit it all in.

I am thankful... For the new set of headphones sitting over my ears right now.  Last night was our annual scout troop spaghetti dinner, which was accompanied by a silent and live auction.  Jordan did diddly-squat as far as setting up any donations or items to put in the auction.  Dean and I scrounged around to get some stuff in.  I think we may have netted close to $250 in bids to put towards Jordan's scout account.  But.  We also spent $300 on auction items ourselves.  We bought a couple of Waterpiks (so far I have refused to use Dean's Waterpik.  I'm weird like that.  Just like I don't like sharing drinks, cutlery and so forth....).  So I finally got my own, and the kids have their own.  yay!  But the big ticket item we were after was a pair of Beats headphones, by Dr. Dre.  We bid in the live auction to get them, and the price went all the way up to $205.  The bad news is that we did not open the box to look at them before we bid on them.  They are in (mostly) excellent shape, but are obviously used.  There is a little crack in the plastic.  There is also a question, upon closer inspection of the packaging, as to their authenticity.  There are some glaring discrepancies - the most obvious of which is that we are unable to register the serial number with Monster.  So all of this sounds like I am complaining, but really I'm not.  Because I slap these puppies on and I am IN A ZONE, BABY!  I put the little ones down this afternoon, (so I can be in blissful unawareness of what is going on around me), and I have hashed out a slew of emails that required thoughtful responses, and now I can write with abandon!!!  Well, for the next 20 minutes at least...

From the Learning Rooms... We actually did our first FULL week of school last week since I can't remember when.  It felt sooo good.  The week before I combed through all of the different components of everything that we use, and made about 30 different online requests for a variety of books at the library, and then just waited for them all to come in.  We even did math everyday - which is the hardest subject for me to get through because it requires one-on-one with both Jordan and Rylan - but at separate times.  Oftentimes I feel like I am managing a three-ring circus to keep it all going.   But last week, even though it felt crazy, it felt good.  I even found a couple of excellent blogs from moms who use FIAR exclusively, and I got tons of ideas for the two books that we are currently rowing: The Ragcoat for Rylan, and My Blue Boat for Owen.  We are going to make lapbooks for each - Rylan will do both books, Owen will just do BFIAR.    Both books are taking us in fascinating directions.  I will post about them when we are done. We will continue this next week, where we stopped off, but sadly schooling will not be as productive this week.  The upcoming weekend will be absolutely crazy, and I will need to take a couple of days to prepare.

In the kitchen... If I get my lazy butt off of the computer in the next few minutes, we will be having roasted vegetable minestrone, courtesy of Ree (aka Pioneer Woman).  It is oh, so good.  It also means that I have reached the unfortunate end of the groceries in the fridge, and if we are to eat at all this coming week, I have to go to the store.  Tonight.  uugh.

I am wearing... comfy cotton tee and skirt, and Crocs sandals.  I'm taking a break from the tennis shoes and the orthotics today - and I am already feeling it and it is only mid-afternoon.


I am creating... Well, before I was sick I was in the midst of a incredible bout of productivity as far as decluttering goes. I am working on reclaiming the rest of the floorspace in our bedroom, and getting rid of three bookcases. I managed to empty an entire bookcase's worth of stuff by either reallocating it to our classroom or the donation box. I sold a few to a local bookstore that does trades, so I have a credit I can use there in the future. I now have every last bit of educational 'stuff' in the office/classroom. I have whittled down an entire public school classroom's worth of teacher materials/books into just the four bookcases that are in our home classroom. This is monumental for me.  I will post about it soon. I just have a little bit more purging to do... but I am not feeling 100% yet, so it will have to wait. This is my decluttering project that I am working on for Simple Mom. The master bedroom, and our little hall-closet-of horrors by the garage door. Wouldn't you know, that Dean took it upon himself to tackle the bathroom closet? He informed me that we have enough different packages of cold/cough/flu medicine in our closet to stock a small pharmacy. And that I have enough deodorant and toothpaste to last me at least a year. oops.

I am going... CrAzY?  oh... wait, that's my natural state.  I am taking Rylan, Owen and Colin on a Girl Scout campout this weekend.  We are staying at a lodge.  I have twice refused to do this campout (because I knew that I would not have Dean along with to help out with the boys), but somehow I got roped into it.  I'm not kicking and screaming yet, but I am very close.  I am really, really trying to keep positive about this trip, but I am having a hard, hard time.  It became my job to organize the food portion, but I am having difficulty in getting people to understand that we have about 20+ adults and children to feed.  Hardly anyone is really signing up for adequate amounts of food.  I am in a little state of panic right now, but that will grow as the week goes on.  I am tempted to just bring a private stash of food and say the hell with it.  I will be glad when this is over.  And that is a very, very loaded statement.


I am wondering...  How homeschooling families with lots of kids manage to school their kids with even minimal success. It felt good last week, but we didn't hit every mark either.  How on Earth do they do it??

I am reading... Oh geez.  I've got three in the works right now...
1.  Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, by Susan Cain.  I am LOVING this book. This is soooo me!  She even addresses how the evolution of blogs has helped the introverted share their lives, when they otherwise would not take the initiative too.  It is easier for me to write about the most personal aspects of my life to the countless (and faceless) people reading it (okay - the ten or so who are faithful readers - ha!), then to get in front of a group and have them look at me weirdly as I pass around my take on what an organized school day looks like.  I also like that I have another voice validating what I have always known about me: I would much rather stay home with a good book than go out.  Period.  A small group (3-4) is much better for me than a large group. There is exception to this though: if I know everyone, I am completely comfortable - otherwise, I hole up along the wall somewhere and try to disappear.

2. Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins.  This is book two of the Hunger Games series.  I started this morning, and I am (according to my Kindle) 58% the way through it.  Very hard to put down.  I actually had to force myself - because of the pathetic, hungry looks my dear children were giving me.  Bless my husband, though, for making breakfast this morning (and even bringing me pancakes in bed!) so that I could stay in bed and read for a couple of hours.  He is desperate to discuss the book - so I really need to catch up.  We just saw the Hunger Games movie yesterday.  Wow.  I am very impressed - I have to say it is the best book adaptation I have ever seen.  Just about every aspect of the movie is exactly what I had pictured in my head.

3.  The Brightest Star in the Sky, by Marian Keyes.  This was my bookclub's pick several months ago, and I never finished it.  I'm waiting for this month's current pick (mine) to come in at the library where I reserved a copy, so while I am waiting I am reading this.  I got about 25% the way through it before, so I hope I don't have too much trouble picking up where I left off.


I am hoping... That this coming weekend turns out much better than I am thinking.  I am filled with dread.  A lot of it has to do with the introvert thing.  I would rather be in a quiet cabin alone with my kids than with a bunch of people - especially loud and gabby little girls.  I have to honor Rylan's needs to be with friends and have new experiences, but I am having a hard time not projecting any negative feelings here.


I am looking forward to... We are expecting a trampoline to arrive (in cartons) on our doorstep sometime this week.  This is a joint birthday present to all of the kids.  We held a family meeting and all agreed that this would be their birthday gift (and only gift from us) this year.  We, of course, agreed to this before we actually knew what a decent trampoline costs.  So this is now birthday, Easter, Christmas, Valentine's and next birthday.  And whatever other money event we can get out of. 

I am learning... Obviously I haven't learned to say 'no' yet.  Still working on that one.


I am hearing... Despite the marvels of noise-cancelling headphones, I can still hear the kids over Green Day.


Around the house... A boat load of laundry because I ignored that duty all last week.  It's either school or housework.  Never both.  H  O  W?

I am pondering... What other household duties I can ignore this evening so I can get back to my book.


One of my favorite things... The excitement of an auction.  Despite my preference for peace and quiet, an auction is exciting stuff.  Then again, you make silly financial decisions based on emotion, not the actual bank balance.  Still fun tho'.

A few plans for the rest of the week... Owen has his 4 yr old Dr appt tomorrow.  We will no doubt be discussing his need for an inhaler - asthma is now a given at this point.  The usual karate lessons and then Jordan begins archery on Thursday.  He loves this class, and is looking forward to picking it up again.  Now that he has seen Hunger Games, he doubly excited.

Here is a picture for thought I am sharing...

Thoughts...

1.  I don't ever let the cat out.  Yet she seems to escape on a daily basis, because kids hold the door open...

2.  The house really, really, needs to be painted.

3.  A little caulk might be nice too...

4.  Does the cat look fat to you?  I did just read that the extra skin folds around the tops of their legs can act as a parachute and save them when they drop 19 stories out of a high-rise building, like a cat did in Boston earlier this week.

5.  We live in a 2-story house, so the extra folds of skin on the cat are useless.

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