Finally a Moment to Say Something...

... And I have nothing to say. I am busy every day from 5:30 in the morning until around 8:30 at night. The laundry is still always behind, and the house needs to be cleaned. Why is it so hard to get five hours of school in every day? Actually, I get five hours in, but it never seems like it was enough. Are they learning anything?

I thought I would just run school from 7 to noon everyday, easy! But then there are clubs at the actual school that start between 11 and 1. We have to leave an hour early to get there, and usually getting ready takes 30 minutes to an hour, and then an hour home, unless we have to stop for gas, food, or errands.

The most noticeable change is in JJ's handwriting. It has dramatically improved since the start of kindergarten.

I think I spend too much time on science. It's our favorite subject, and just goes so smoothly. As for every other subject and teaching, I wish I were smarter.

I'm Baack I hope!

I don't think I've written since I started homeschooling. I've been feeling really good about it. I found a nice reading program called Five in a Row. Basically, we read the same classic book for five days, and explore it fully. The lessons involve maps, art, history, literature, math, and science.

I try to blend low tech and high tech learning. Sometimes we do basic low tech writing and hands-on work, but we use Google Earth quite a bit for mapping. I try to show them pictures of places around the World, and go to museums when possible.

In addition to the subjects I teach such as reading, math, science, and social studies, they are also enrolled in the following school-offered programs: Spanish, Science Club, Reading Club, Drama, Circle Time, and various other field trips and workshops. In addition to all of that, they go to Chinese School once a week, and Boo is enrolled in soccer. I'm still driving too much, and looking for things to cut out. I just hate them to miss an opportunity.

Well, time to go finish that model we are building of a dinosaur, and eat lunch!

School Is Going To Start Again

I'm getting excited and nervous for the kids to start school. I hope I'm doing the right thing homeschooling. I want to see the curriculum already, but nobody has been at the school all summer.

I was feeling a little sad this morning, thinking of Boo's school from last year starting up again without her, and her missing her old friends. She has been making new friends. I have been taking Boo and JJ to every church activity, community event, and several sports workshops this summer.

I've been trying to look at global curriculums. Finland is supposed to have the best schools in the world, but all of their info is in Finnish I guess?

I think I should do some work this week with the kids to introduce the Summer Olympics.

Good Enough

As I was hiding peas under cheese in my son's quesadea tonight, I was thinking about my friend Denise, who just had a baby. Denise has been in the corporate world a long time. I used to be a type-A driven career woman too. That's how we met.

Denise keeps asking me, "What's next? What are your dreams? What do you want to be?" I never know quite how to answer. I had all of that angst when I first started staying home. I couldn't get used to the feeling I wasn't accomplishing anything, but I have to say that I'm over it. I don't know where we got it in our heads that being a mom just isn't enough. I remember thinking as soon as I had a baby, I'd have time to write a novel. What did those stay-at-home moms do with their days anyway?

I still have goals and dreams, but they just aren't career oriented. I want to get my kids to eat vegetables, and I'd like to go on a trip to Washington D.C. when they are old enough to appreciate it. I want them to get a great education, and I want to be a part of it, so I'm homeschooling them.

Well, my daughter watched me hide those peas, and tipped off my son, so he is going through the quesadea, and picking out every pea, and placing them on the steps outside. I'll be busy cleaning those up, and wondering if Denise really will reach her goal of inventing at least one product while she is on maternity leave. I'll be proud of her if she does it, and becomes one of those million are moms that I saw on Oprah, but for me, I've decided to be happy and personally unaccomplished. I just don't know how to get it all done.

I Can't Drive 55

I can't drive 55 mph in a golf cart, and that is all I am driving these days. Since it's the 4th, I'll make it my tribute to America. I'm going green, conserving oil, reducing pollution. Acutally, I would love to stay I'm avoiding my car for the betterment of mankind, but I just can't stand to get in that hot tin box anymore. I live about 20 miles out of town, and I drove at least three hours a day this last winter. We only have a little store with high prices across the street, so I've decided to go to the internet.

I ordered my groceries from Safeway.com last week. I was happy with it. They were delivering for free last week on orders of $150 or more. The driver refused to take a tip per company policy. They had next day service available, and the driver brought all my groceries up the stairs.

I also needed school supplies, so I went to Staples.com. I think I ordered enough for the year. They also deliver quickly and for free on orders over $50.

I haven't received my Hanes.com order yet, but I needed underwear, and I never get to underwear shop with two kids. I keep putting it off, so I might as well just get that on-line too.

The upside of this is I had extra time for some recreational walking this week. I am going to try to find even more ways to not leave my little community. If I can order it in, I'm going to. Maybe by the time I need to go to town again, there will be an electric car that can go 55. Happy 4th of July.

The Answer to Bathing Suit Blues

I avoid taking the children swimming every year because of my discomfort with bathing suits. Now this is not a piece about poor body image or low self esteem. This is about how stupid women's bathing suits are in a practical world.

Bathing suits are not made for moms! They are made for skinny models who stand by the pool in stilettos posing like goddesses, and for every single woman who thinks if she just lounges around the pool trying to look like one of those models, the perfect suit will bait the ideal mate.

Now there are the more athletic suits, but they still are about like wearing your underwear in public. One has to worry about something falling out or riding up. I won't even discuss the endless hair removal processes that are time consuming and don't lend themselves to any spontaneity. Mom's barely get 20 minutes to take a bath or wash their hair on most days!

My solution is I'm inventing a new line of swim gear called Commando Mom Swimwear. The bottoms are a cross between men's swim trunks and cargo shorts. They are tailored to a woman's body, have waterproof pockets for stick suntan lotion, your keys, and snack bar money, and you one wear them like shorts once they dry out so a stop by the grocery store on the way home is not inconvenient. The tops can range from biking style, sports bra like, or tank depending on preference. There should be a matching line of water shoes, because one always ends up chasing their child around the edge of the pool yelling, " I said walk!"

School Is Almost Out - Just Wait Until Next Year

We've almost made it through the school year. There are three graduations coming up, as Taz leaves 8th grade and middle school behind to start high school. Boo graduates from kindergarten, and JJ has preschool grad day this Thursday.

I'm pretty burnt out with the end-of-year activities, not to mention the three plus hours of driving I did every weekday for the entire year. The getting to and from school is so time consuming, I have to ask myself, "Is it worth it?"

I think there is a better way for us to manage our lives. Therefore, I am making a huge change. I am going to home school the two youngest next year. We will do this through a program with one of the public schools, and the kids will still go to school for a couple of classes a week. The curriculum is provided and goes along with state requirements, and the kids take all of the state tests, and do other tests to make sure we can assess their grade level. We will go to at least one field trip a month. Every two weeks we meet with our teacher and turn in all of our logs and assignments.

I am excited and nervous about homeschooling. I am excited about being in control of the schedule. I'm ecstatic about not driving as much. Also, I like that I can focus on my children's learning in a way that school can't. For example, I know that Boo is advanced in reading and math, yet behind in writing, so I can adjust to strengths and weaknesses. Also, if I want to add typing, Spanish, music, or tennis to the agenda, I can.

My areas of concern are around scheduling. When will I have time to clean, do laundry, and make dinner? Will I ever have a moment to myself again? Will I be able to keep the kids focused? Will my husband interrupt, and want us to run errands? Will I try to take on too much?

To get through my anxieties about it, here is my new long mantra. Keep it simple. Throw away clutter. Get the teen to babysit once in a while. Turn off the phone during school hours. Make learning fun.

Changing

Boo - She's about to finish Kindergarten. She is doing 1st grade work at home. I found a surplus textbook store, and we do a chapter of math, reading, history, and science every weekend. I also try to take her somewhere like a museum or festival once a week to stimulate her mind. She is still the more difficult child to discipline. My husband said she seems to have just snapped out of it recently. I said, "Ya, after a year of parenting classes, four parenting books, a discipline workshop, a developmental specialist, and child psychologist, she just snapped out of it!"

JJ - I was very excited about the discipline class I took and I wanted to share it with Boo's kindergarten teacher, so I have my book in hand, and then on the way to her class, JJ dropped his pants and urinated in the main hall of the school. Three teachers saw this event, and it made quite a scene, so I quickly tucked my book inside my jacket, and decided that I have nothing to teach the teacher.

What people wouldn't understand about JJ's little stunt is that he was really being compliant. His father takes him golfing frequently, and there are only bathrooms every four holes. Since Dad doesn't like to interrupt his game, he has been trying to get JJ to pee outside. The first thing JJ said was, "Daddy wants me to pee outside. Daddy says it's okay." I of course was livid, so I got Daddy on the phone right away.

JJ graduates from preschool at the end of the month. I hope he's ready to go to kindergarten. He likes reading, but not counting. His preschool teacher said that academically she's not worried about him, but he may not be mature enough yet. He will be a young kindergartner.

Taz - She has lost interest in everything except a boy, and doesn't live here as much as she used to. She claims to hate it here, because her siblings are just too annoying to tolerate. She should try living with a teenager.

As for me - I've been spending a lot of time enforcing that the children pick up their own messes. Also, I volunteer a lot. At the end of the year there are scrapbooks to make and graduations to prepare for, so I'm getting tired. I look forward to next year when both kids are in the same school.

This Week

Boo's B-Day party is this weekend. Nobody has RSVP'd. I guess she'll still have a good time if it's just family. I way overbooked.

Preschool has been taking up all of my time. It seems I'm always making something for it, or staying at the school to volunteer because no one showed up. I spend a huge amount of time driving between schools, and running errands to get things like glycerin. Glycerin makes bubbles last longer. Who knew? Construction paper is my friend.

Happy Easter

It's a beautiful day! The Easter bunny came. The kids are thrilled.

In review of the past week:

Boo made kindergarten honors with A's in everything except telling time and matching big numbers. She sang Karaoke last night in front of a bunch of people at the country club. Old Mac Donald was her song choice.

JJ is competing with Boo for attention these days. He has been crawling around for two days because he hurt his foot. When he is thinking about something else, I can put pressure on it, and he doesn't notice, but he won't walk on it. It's not swollen, and there is no noticeable signs of it being hurt. He sang Dicky Dicky Dinosaur last night. The DJ didn't have the music, but we couldn't stop him.

Taz has a boyfriend by phone only, and I haven't seen her without a phone attached to her head for weeks. We may have to preform surgery to separate it from her ear. She also seems to be leading a secret life of confidential conversations, that I am sure consist of serious remarks such as, "I'm bored." "Me too." "What are you doing?" "Nothin'."

JJ and Boo are also learning to use youtube.com, which I have to watch closely, because I haven't seen any kid's-only site yet, so you don't know what they are going to get. I would love a G-Rated youtube for kids.

As for me, I seem to be gaining weight. Since I quit drinking caffeine, I have been gaining a pound a week. It's not the size I am at this time that is bothering me, but the trend has me concerned. I worked out every day last week and still gained instead of lost. I thought about trying that Ali diet, but haven't looked into it yet. On that note, I'm off to buy deserts for Easter dinner. Here is hoping my will power holds out, and I just push the food around the plate so nobody notices I'm not eating.

Is Free Time a Fantasy?

I'm snack mom today at JJ's preschool. I only have to be snack mom two more times after this and then preschool is over. Since I volunteer around ten hours a week for this preschool, and babysit one of the working mom's kids, this will free up some of my time.

Next year JJ goes to Boo's school, and I already volunteer 40 hours a year there, but it's 40 hours per family, so I don't have to volunteer an extra 40 for JJ. I'd like to split my time between the two classes and volunteer a little every week next year. It will be so great to have them both in the same school, and only have to drive to one place. I'll have five hours of free time a day next year.

I wonder where it will go? I really want to get back in the gym and work out three days a week. I'll probably end up taking part-time jobs in my off hours. I know something will happen to my free time. I really want to get into all of the cupboards of my house and clean and organize them. Right now we are always so busy, everything just gets thrown into the drawers. Basically every drawer is a junk drawer.

Well today's time certainly isn't free. I have three kids to get ready and a snack to make! Off I go..............

Ugly Dresses

Isn't this the time of year when Easter dresses are in style? I guess not for women my age, because I just came back from spring dress shopping and there were no classic dresses! I had money to burn, and I found very little to even try on. What's with all of the black in spring? Did pretty go out of style, because the dresses that I saw today were funeral inspired.? Most of them I would not wear on any occasion. I finally gave up and bought new blouses to wear over the tops of my old dresses and skirts. I figure with a few different accessories I can squeeze some more time out of the old wardrobe, until something I like comes back into fashion.

Measures of Success

I was thinking about success today. When you become a mom, all success is your kid's success. It's how well they do in school or sports. A stay-at-home mom has no successes of her own, except for maybe finding the perfect sugar-free snack on the very day she is snack mom.

I was trying to think of the moment in my life when I felt most successful. I had a part in a movie once. I was the female lead, but I felt more successful as a stand-in on a show with Dolly Parton and Henry Winkler. I was so happy that I had that job, and soooo star struck!

I won my 7th grade interpretive speech award. Five schools competed, and that somehow felt better than graduating with a B.S. and a 4.0 GPA.

I was a project manager for a Fortune 100 company, and although everybody was singing my praises, I never felt successful. I just felt the pressure to keep outdoing myself.

What are the measures of success as a stay-at-home mom? You make it through the kids dental checkup without any cavities? Nobody got hurt today, or at least no long-term brain damage?

It can't be based on the happiness of your family. I hope! There are always complaints. Someone doesn't like what is for dinner. Another got the wrong happy meal toy. The forcing of the homework. Where is the finish line? Is it when the kids turn 18? Then what? I think I have to go and read Oprah.com now!

The Current Culture

As I was clearing away trash this weekend, I happened to pick up one of my 13-year old's Seventeen magazines. There were articles about a mom who buys her daughter flavored condoms, a girl asking if porn was okay, and if sperm could transmit anything after it had been air born. Now that my five-year old can read, I think those magazines are banned from the house. Don't get me wrong, if I'd really looked at this magazine before, I would have ended it long ago for the 13-year old too. I've always been for sex education, but saying that Seventeen Magazine is educational is like saying Playboy can teach men to be good husbands.

Our kids are inundated with messages that I don't think I want them having. I'm about ready to move to Amish country. We discuss the way that the dolls dress.

Boo's 23-year old cousin was telling us at Christmas that she couldn't find a doll that was dressed in a way that she would want a 5-year old to have it. All of the fishnet-wearing dolls looked like little hookers! At least, it opens up the discussion to talk about what is classy and what isn't.

For now, I've put the children in church every Sunday, and I am looking for any religious camp or activity I can put them into. I don't want my daughter to grow up and act like these girls in the current culture, and I don't want my son to think it's okay to treat a girl the way that these girls seem to be begging to be treated. A cute movie that made a statement about parenting and manners was Blast from the Past. Maybe raising your kids in a fallout shelter with news, movies, and customs from 1950's is the way to go.

No Kids!

John took the kids for the weekend. I thought it would be great, but I missed the kids within the hour. Then it hit me. I have no life without kids. The only things I could think of to do involved planning things for when the kids came back.

I know we will see the Spiderwick Chronicles next week. I've been reading the books to them. They've been looking for a Seeing Stone (book two) for days.

As for today, home alone, I'm going to go through all of their broken toys. It might not sound exciting but the thought of purging the house of old junk, actually is to me. Some day I'm going to go back to school. :)

Who is going to be President?

I kind of like all of the people running this year. I don't feel strongly against anyone. That's much different than feeling like I am picking the lesser of two evils. There are some I would like more than others. Mostly, I can't wait for it to end. I don't like being in suspense for longer than a two-hour movie.

Down to Business

As for me:

I'm finally back to the Blog after getting past all of the chaos in my life. My father-in-law died. It was sudden. There isn't any more I want to say about that. I've also been doing some part-time work here and there, and I'm babysitting full time.

Taz:

I think Taz (13 years old) likes a boy although she adamantly denies it. Here is how I came to this conclusion.

I said, "Taz, I Tivo'd a Jane Austen romance. Want to watch it with me?"
She said, "I've been invited on a ski trip."
I said, "Who's going?"
She said, "My mother's friends Mel and James.
I questioned, "Is their nephew going?"
Taz, "Yes."
"How old is he?"
"12."
"Do you like him?"
"Noooo, no, no."
"Oh?"
"Why?"
"Because, I said romance, and you said, ski trip."
Taz paused and sighed, "I'm going to have to be careful what I say around you."

JJ:

I'm enrolling JJ into preschool for next year. I filled out all of the forms today. He's in preschool right now, and I volunteer there two days a week, attend a parenting class, and I am snack mom once a month for this program. It's a great program, so it's worth it.

Boo:

Boo continues to get green days everyday in school. She cried when her grandfather died, and asked why I told her. Once she remembered that they said in church everybody comes back, she was better, but then I had to take her out of school for the week, and she burst into tears again, because that ruined her perfect attendance record. She's back on track again, and we made up all of the homework. It's hard to believe that she is only in kindergarten, but I think she is getting the best education that I can afford.

Check Out the Celebrity Apprentice

I love the new Celebrity Apprentice. They really raised the bar. Gene Simmons is a force! Marilou Henner is one smart cookie, and Omarosa is well, Omarosa! I think this season is going to be the best one. If you missed the season premier you can download it here. http://www.nbc.com/The_Celebrity_Apprentice/