So ready for the weekend!

I realize it's been like forever since I've written here.  There are ton of excuses and some are actually pretty good.  However, I'd rather focus on what's been going on that's worth blogging about!

This Saturday me, Ken and kids are taking a drive to Savannah!  I love Savannah and I love weddings.  Yes weddings.  Ken's mom is getting married.  I'm happy for her and can't wait to meet the new hubby.  The best part about the wedding is that my hubby is giving his mom away.  So sweet.

The kids are continuing to do well with all of their subjects.  We've started Rosetta Stone for Spanish and Japanese, both at level one.  I love their homeschooling edition because it makes the program easier to track and the kids like the amount of control they have along with the short, but effective lessons.  I would recommend it to anyone wanting to study a foreign language.

Ari passed her driver's exam and now has her permit!  She has been practicing and I've been fretting.  I am excited but terrified to let her loose on the road.  She's still my little girl, although she's taller than I am and looks very much like a teenager.

My sweetie pie son has developed into a really good soccer player.  The last game he played he tried out a new move and we were all impressed.  I love that he loves playing.  I also love to see how my sweetie pie husband lights up when our son is playing his little heart out!

I have been following Oprah's Life Class and must say I've been feeling very introspective because of it.  I appreciate Oprah doing this show.  She's always been a mentor to me, even from afar. 

I am looking forward to Halloween.  Unfortunately I have not begun decorating for the season yet, but I figure better late than never.  I'll have the house ready for the season by next weekend. 

This past weekend the family went to our first Renaissance Festival.  It was truly magical and we plan to go back very soon.  There were so many things to look at that it could become overwhelming, hence the second trip we plan to take there again.

All in all things have been going well for me and mine.  I continue to be grateful and happy.

Back to Homeschool Update

We are in week 2 and all things considered, it's been going well.  I have successfully implemented the classical approach to our homeschool curriculum and I'm quite proud of myself.  I invested months in researching the best approach to learning for each of my two sweeties.  I was nervous and concerned at first that I may have made a mistake or something equally cataclysmic, but the kids have actually expressed to me that they love how we do things now.  My heart swelled at that.

Some changes did occur however.  Rodney isn't going to work on Latin, at least in our current format.  We'll come back to it next month.  Arianna is excelling in our current Latin program.  Neither of the kids have started using Rosetta Stone for Japanese (Ari) and Spanish (Rodney) yet.  Mostly because 300 dollars wasn't an option for foreign language software.  I had some pressing issues (aka bills) that topped the list.  I can happily report that the kids will still use Rosetta Stone, just not until next month.  I am sort of grateful we didn't start it yet.  I think they needed time to get the flow of handling their core courses first.  They're doing a lot more reading than they did last year.  So far no complaints from them, which I'm also grateful for. 

I just have one final thought I wanted to express, and that is my utter gratefulness to be in the position to homeschool my children.  My husband was and sometimes still is worried that the kids education will somehow be short changed because of our decision to opt of public school.  I have found that giving him updates and reminding the kids to keep him in the loop on what they're learning helps a lot with calming his worries.  As time moves on, he has seen the changes we were hoping to make within our children by homeschooling.  They actually want to learn new things and will study on their own to get answers.  Again, I'm grateful and I truly feel this is what is best for our family.

Guess who's a soccer mom now?!

It is official.  My lovely and talented children are both playing soccer.  My sweet Ari's first game was tonight.  The coach yelled out "Good job Arianna!" twice.  This made my heart swell.  Proud mommy moment.  I know she really isn't all that interested in soccer, she prefers volleyball.  However she gave it her all tonight and I'm just so proud of her.

Tomorrow I get to witness my boy have a go of it in his first game.  I'll be just as excited to watch him.  I think I'll finally get around to adding pictures to this blog, starting with tomorrow's game!

I'll take that soccer mom title for now.  Well, until next spring when Ari plays volleyball and Rodney goes out for football.  Then I'll just be plain old mom.

Old Haunts and New Developments

Today I heard from a good friend Ken and I met while living in Georgia (the last stint).  It was good catching up and I immediately realized I don't have a good reason why I have not been calling this wonderful person all along. 

Since we're still fairly new to North Carolina, I'm still trying to forge friendships out of loosely formed patches of conversation with people I see maybe once a month.  I definitely don't want to be pushy and force myself on people, and I assume others are thinking the same thing.  However at some point someone has to step up and push casual talks to some semblance of a friendship.  I know that someone can be me, but I think I'm just plain old lazy.  I have my best girlfriends spread out over the eastern seaboard and I feel that's enough.  I get lonely for girl talk (in person), however it's not enough to fuel me to really make a real connection with some of the women I've met here.

I'm thinking I need to work on this.  There's another side (maybe the lazy one) that says I don't have anything to work on because I'm content with things. 

On another note, it is hard to believe Fall is approaching.  My most favorite season.  It's a time for new beginnings, at least that's how I've always experienced this time of year. 

My hubby and I have put out the intent that we may want to purchase the home we are leasing or another one in the community.  In typical fashion, we got back what we put out.  Our landlords asked if we would be interested in buying or some other arrangement.  I'm quite excited.  We still need to fully discuss things of course.  One main point is whether we see ourselves actually buying this particular home.  We sort of rushed into leasing it and I feel like we would enjoy something larger.

I haven't started the kids with any review this week.  I decided we would stick with my original plan and start everything the day after labor day.  Below are the kid's classes and the main spine they'll use for each subject:

10th Grade:

Logic/Rhetoric	A Rulebook for Arguments and  The
Mathematics	Saxon Algebra 2
History	The History of the Ancient World From the Earliest Accounts to the Fall of Rome, Great Books list
Language	Analytical Grammar and Classical Roots Vocabulary D
Science	Apologia Chemistry and Lab
Latin	LearnLatinOnline.com
Japanese	Rosetta Stone
Art	The Annotated Mona Lisa
Music	The Classical Music Experience:  Discover the Music of the World's Greatest Composers

 6th Grade:

Logic	Critical Thinking, Book 1 and 2
Mathematics	Saxon Math 7/6
History	The Story of World
Language	Spectrum Spelling Workbook, Analytical Grammar, Writing Strands Level 3
Science	Earth Science and Astronomy using Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia and other resources/media with plenty of labs
Latin	LearnLatinOnline.com
Spanish	Rosetta Stone
Art	Ancient Egyptian Art, 2d ed. (Art in History)
Music	The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra

Obsessive Planner can't read the calendar properly & other fun stuff

I was under absolute certainty that Labor Day was this coming Monday.  While riding with my husband and his work colleague I realized, after they corrected me of course, that I was both so excited and terrified about starting our official full home school year that I got my weeks mixed up.  I have been on a tear prepping and shopping for school supplies/curricula.  Well, now I feel a little relieved, but bummed because all of my lessons start on Tuesday, the day after Labor Day.  Oh well, we get another week to chill.  I'll have to find a way to make it extra special.  I also toyed with idea of doing review the entire week so both of my lovelies are totally up to date.  I'm still thinking on that one.  I would need to throw some last minute lesson plans together...

In my haste mentioned earlier I did find our necessary library books.  I was fortunate to score the first few weeks of books for Ari and the first week for Rodney.  I think Amazon loves me by now.  My local home school consignment store probably has me down as a regular.  I'm part of several home school groups, and even found secular home school forums and blogs to lurk (not all homeschoolers are ultra Conservative Bible pushers or run of mill Christians either).  I'm feeling so official!

Now on to domestic issues!  I purchased a Swiffer Wet Vac.  I want to say how it's the best thing ever, or at least better than a mop.  However, I have determined your floor should be thoroughly swept before using the Swiffer Wet Vac.  Otherwise it sort of pushes the dirt/dust bunny around.  I made the decision to buy one after having both a manufacture and Target coupon.  Oh yes, love my Target. :-)

I am getting more into fall decorating mode.  Last year it wasn't an option to decorate because we were not in our own home yet.  However this year, I think I'll splurge more than ever.  I already have my eye on a few things I saw at Pottery Barn.  I get my ideas there and then shop elsewhere for a much cheaper price.  Frugality is my middle name!

Oh gosh, almost forgot to mention the kids had their very first soccer practice.  Rodney did well and Ari tried.  Ari trying is a big deal.  She isn't exactly in love with playing soccer.  She told me she can get over it and just play, just give her time.

Loving Laundry Detergent, maybe a little too much

I know I said I'd be much more consistent with this blog, but honestly, I don't know how other bloggers do it.  I sometimes feel I don't really have anything particularly interesting to blog about.  I also do not post status updates on Facebook religiously either.  I'm working through my issues, what can I tell ya'.

The one thing I consistently do is laundry.  I have two laundry days a week, sometimes even three.  I know others dread the chore of laundry, but I love it.  I mean really, really love the scent of clean clothes, towels, sheets, etc.  I also can't get enough of Gain's Lavender scented detergent, especially the powder.  One might ask, what's the big deal?  Well, apparently after watching yet another reality show, this time about strange addictions, loving the smell of the detergent can lead to EATING the detergent.  Granted, I am pretty sure I can control myself, I had a moment of weirdness.  I always take a sniff of the detergent before I pour it in the washing machine compartment.  Well, I hadn't realized how close I had the powder detergent to my nose and actually snorted the stuff!  Boy did that burn and boy did I feel ridiculous.  I was able to deduce, once the burning finally stopped, that I can just love the smell and most likely not develop some weird addiction to eating the stuff. 

Now, on to other matters.  I look forward to "back to school" next week.  I realize, much more than my kids.  What can I say, I get excited!  Along with starting our homeschooling schedule again, I do feel some apprehension.  I sometimes feel doubtful and worried about doing too much or too little for my kids.  I think most parents do.  However, homeschooling can add a new set of worries and self doubt.  Especially when you feel defensive to certain family members.  I realize I don't have to prove anything, but that part of me that wants acceptance sometimes feels the need to over explain, which isn't helpful when someone has their mind made up that you're making a huge mistake.  Again, what are you gonna do, right?

I worried a little about getting all the books and supplies we'll need this school year.  Funny, when I just put the doubt, worry and overall negative thinking away, I realized I purchased almost all of the items on each of the kid's list and even got them signed up for soccer.  This will be the first time my kids were signed up to play a team sport not associated with any public school.  I'm grateful I could accomplish this (makes earning PE credits just that much easier).

I think I'll keep making an effort to blog consistently, smelling my laundry detergent and homeschooling my kids.  I realize each of the aforementioned items are not for everyone, but they work for me.

It feels like summer is winding down and fall is quickly approaching.  I think it's because I got back-to-school shopping to do.  Since we homeschool, my back-to-school shopping lists looks a little more like a college student's list more so than a public/private education student list.  I am taking the economical route and purchasing mostly used books through Amazon.com.  However, those $25 and $100 book sets are starting to really add up. 

This will be our first full year of homeschooling.  I started the kids in January of this year (one of my better decisions I must add).  I'm getting a first hand look at just how expensive things can get.  Especially when you're not following a "boxed" curriculum.  We plan to use the classical approach with heavy emphasis on history.  I have been organizing for the upcoming "school" year by making list, using One Note to keep all of our documents together in one application.  I also took the time (finally) and went through Donna Young's homeschool forms on her website.  That site is a lifesaver!  I now have Excel documents to keep grades and attendance.  The best part is this is all free. 

I think I'm more excited about starting school again now more so when I was actually a student.  I'm looking forward to reading along with both of the kids and discussing Great Books.  I especially look forward to science this year.  Ari will study Chemistry, complete with lab work and all; and Rodney will focus first on Earth Science, then Astronomy.  I can't wait to start planning museum trips!  Fingers-crossed we can make it to the Smithsonian this fall.

I am so grateful for this wonderful opportunity I have to take this approach to parenting.  I am one of the many folks out there who believe that public education is not for every child.  I was brought up through the public school system, as most people I know, and for the most part I've turned out better than average ;-)  However, I found my children on a path to "just good enough".  It started in the middle school years.  I knew I didn't want that for my children.  I also knew that we were in a unique situation due to all of the job related moves, so homeschooling wasn't such a bad idea.

No good deed goes unpunished.

I pride myself on being a good person (wife, mom, friend, family member etc.).  I thought I should start there before I go straight to ranting... smile. 

I thought I would help out my sweetie pie hubby and drop off lunch at work to him, per his request.  After my darling got back to his desk he called me to let me know he wasn't please with his lunch selection.  I was asked to stop at a particular store, not get a particular item.  This is really a blip on the timeline of my life, but it obviously bothers me enough to blog about, which further got me to thinking about truly letting go of the little frustrations that occur through our day. 

It's obvious I'm not a master of the technique of not sweating the small stuff.  I am admittedly an ongoing student.  I wonder how many opportunities or chances we miss when we're giving a lot of emotion and thought to life's little annoyances.  I know I have labored over the most trivial things and realized how much time I wasted instead of reading a good book, really listening in a conversation with a friend over the phone or paying better attention while driving.

Guess I won't be graduating from student to master today.  That old saying comes to mind though..."when you know, you do better". 

I'm scared of Michele Bachmann!

I have been having a roller coaster of a ride this past week.  Within one week we discovered our car's motor is irreparable and would require a costly replacement job, over 2600 dollars!!!  The hubby and I were left with no choice but to purchase a new car.  We had no idea that we'd be purchasing a NEW 2011 car.  We both want to be much more conservative with our money and thought it would be best to purchase a used car.  Funny thing is the banks we were shopped around to felt differently.  You see, we were able to qualify for financing on a brand new car, not a used car.  Yes, that's what we were told.  We had to do some serious number crunching, but we drove off the lot with a spanking new mid-size sedan with cool features, like Onstar and XM Satellite radio.  I'd also like to point out that we purchased an American manufactured car.  I feel really good about this too.  This is the 3rd American made vehicle I've purchased, but the first new one.  It feels like we're doing our patriotic part of supporting American made products!

I've been on new car smell high for the last few days, which was cut short by some disturbing news I came across this morning.  The mental health clinic run by Michele Bachmann and her husband has been reported to use a method of therapy to counsel gay patients.  Basically, it's the "pray the gay away" philosophy. 

This country's preoccupation with other people's sexual preference is just ridiculous.  There has ALWAYS been lesbian and gay people.  The moral fabric of our society is not tearing because of gays being allowed to marry.  If a gay couple adopt a child, the child doesn't automatically become confused and turned gay.  Most importantly, who people feel sexual attracted to or fall in love with is none of anyone else's business. 

I understand that folk's religion is a driving force behind their contempt toward homosexuality.  I understand because I was taught the same belief that God says homosexuality is a sin.  I was a child and like most children believed what I was told.  Unlike Bachmann and her husband, I grew up and began to wonder.  Wonder about religion, sex, relationships and how they all met in the middle.  I definitely don't have all the answers, but I know that I'm not gay, I don't care who is, and if you love someone, same sex or not, you should be able to safely and legally declare so just as heterosexual couples do. 

I don't fear moral eruption due to homosexuals within our society.  I fear Michele Bachmann, or to be exact, I fear her ignorance. 

Happy 4th of July!

It's the July 4th weekend and we've been grilling out, at minimum, two meals a day!  Love it!

I'm ecstactic about last week's season premiere of True Blood.  It did not dissappoint, as promised. 

Lately, I've been feeling so settled and happy.  I don't know for sure what it is, maybe something about the summer months, but I feel wonderful. 

One thing I was able to check off my to-do list was processing the kid's final grades.  It's super important for Ari for her high school transcript.  However, I like to know where Rodney stands too.  I'm happy to say they're both Honor Roll students and they worked their butt off doing so!  I'm a proud mommy!  Another, dangling task for me was to finally narrow down a curriculm for Ari.  I'm pretty much decided on how we will approach her core subjects.  Now I have to get going on the electives.  She wants to learn to play the guitar.  So of course she's asking for electric guitar!  We shall see how this little request plays out.

Thank goodness I figured out a great online curriculum for Rodney, Time4learning.com.  I'll just supplement with more challenging assignments.  Afterall, wouldn't want him to get bored!

We're going to the local park to see the fireworks on Monday.  We'll end our holiday weekend continuing to enjoy just plain old relaxing family time.  This is shaping up to be one of my most relaxed summers ever!

Waiting truly does suck!

I am a bonafide Truebie.  I'm also team Eric.  With that being said, I am so excited True Blood season 4 kicks off tomorrow. 

I was somewhat dissappointed in the last installment in the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris.  I felt the book was just blah. 

I'll definitely post my review of episode one.

Is it just me?

I tend to ask myself "Is it just me", quite often.  However, this time, I know it's not just me!  I don't mind the occassional friend or family member who may just pop in to see you at your home unannounced.  Sometimes it can be a nice surprise.  When it's not your friend or family member, but a landlord, well... 

The husband and I had 2 weeks to settle on a place to live when we first came to NC.  He was starting a new job and an offer on a previous house fell through.  Leasing a house for a year with an attractive rental price became very desirable.  We just didn't realize that entering into a lease would mean unannounced visits from the owners. 

I understand they've never rented their home out before, but they are now renters themselves.  The "reason" for the visit was to provide information that could have been emailed or even a phone call would have been fine.  I realize it's possible the owners were feeling nostalgic and wanted a glimpse of their old place.  I just wished a phone call was made saying "hey I'm around the corner, is it okay to drop by". 

Of course, the house was fine, I don't call myself a domestic goddess for nothing! 

Lately, the husband and I have been thinking of moving further out into the country.  Maybe something with several acres or so and getting into farming.  We'll see.  I'm always down for an adventure.

I find that the older I'm getting, the more I can do without a lot of people around me.  I like settling into my own way of doing things without a lot of input.  I've been doing my research on modern day homesteading and Ken is country boy at heart.  The kids, not so much.  One is afraid of insects and the other is terrified of bugs, go figure.

Oh where to begin... again...

I am not new to blogging at all.  I am new to consistently remembering to post to my blog.  After reading other folks blogs, I see I'm in good company!

I just want to start off with how awesome of a day I'm having.  It's June 21, the first day of summer, officially!  The kids and I took a break from our summer homeschool routine and spent the day just being plain old lazy.  Summer has always been a time to relax and have fun. Since we're fully aware school work is waiting to be done tomorrow, it made today even more fun.  I even decided to start this blog today!  See what happens with a day without schedules. 

As I mentioned, I'm not new to blogging, but this time I plan to make an effort to update at least weekly on the ins and outs of my life.  Be forewarned... I have the propensity to break out into a spontaneous rant, for any reason, at any time.