Home schooling for as many who want it.

I have been reading tons lately through Facebook on the subject of home schooling.  I have been really struggling as a home school mom this year.  This is the first year we have counted the number of days we do school.  With all of the grandmother funerals (3 in 3 weeks), we lost a lot of days.  My two grandmothers' funerals included two separate trips to Iowa.  The first one had me foolishly packing school books.  The second one I knew better! 

If you ever thought, I wouldn't mind home schooling my kids or even, I would never have the patience to home school - home schooling could be for you!  I have come to some conclusions lately and the biggest one is that I am so glad my kids aren't involved in public education.  That culture is so harmful.  Herding around learning the same things as everyone else.  Getting yelled at as a group for one or two kids misdeeds.  Kids medicated for the slightest reason. 

This year Emma has really taken off on her own learning just what she wants.  Going above and beyond what is assigned to her.  I start to worry that she isn't getting enough done and then she blows my mind with what she can do!

Bella is coming along as well.  Still early for her to be going great guns on her own.  She is reading chapter books and really enjoying them! 

So proud of my girls.  Now if I didn't have to count days...

Well, life is not the gloom and doom of December and January and most of February!  Lucien is having his first two days off in three weeks. 

The girls and I have been keeping ultra busy with school, tutorial, Girl Scout cookie sales, church activities and some minor housework.  I have to say that this is the first year we have kept track of the number of days we are schooling.  Looks like we will be going into June!  And we started in August.  However, we attended three funerals between September and October and two of them were out of state.  That was more time off than I anticipated. 

I have taught a fiber arts class this year at our tutorial.  It was a bunch of fun.  I taught knitting, weaving, spinning and felting.  I taught and learned three different felting techniques.  It was very enjoyable.  I am looking at ways of "boxing it up" to teach in other settings.  I have a great love of dyeing thing as well.  Our group will get together in April to dye some fiber and yarn.  That tends to be messy so we will meet outside at my house. 

The daylight savings' time change is kicking my butt.  I could sleep sitting up! 

Yesterday, I got up dark and early to get to church for choir.  We need to be there at 7:45 in order to sing at 8:30 am.  By 8:10 there were only 14 of the 25 confirmed to sing there so Kevin decided to not let us sing.  At least 10 arrived at 8:27.  Oh well.  Got to chat with some folks I rarely see. 

It just seems to keep pouring.  The Jeep is fixed but is still sort of messing up.  We will be taking it back up to the shop tomorrow.  It broke down the Saturday before Christmas.  We had to let the satellite go to save money.  I miss it.  Lou hasn't had a full time job since he got back from NY in October.  He seriously underbid a job last week, worked for a pitance.  Someone went on a shopping spree using my debit card last night.  It is getting taken care of but seriously.  Our account is at $13.  So lovely.  The Ram has been out of commision since Lou got back from NY and needs a new engine.  Our house still leaks.  We all need new clothes and shoes.  Lou and I need haircuts.  We had to cut back on our data plan and my computer broke the week before Christmas. 


I'm tired.

Sad news

We have been on sort of a death watch for both of my grandmothers this summer.  Grandma Rowe developed pneumonia in June and Grandma Hunter had a pulmonary embolism in May.  Neither were expected to live much longer.

Two days ago, Lou told me that his grandmother wasn't doing well and wasn't supposed to make it two days.  She quit eating on Friday and passed away on Wednesday morning.  I feel a bit blindsided.  

To make matters worse, both of my grandmothers are in the the hospital.  Grandma Rowe's lungs keep filling with fluid.  She will be sent home with hospice.  Grandma Hunter had been given an overdose of Cumadin and was bleeding from everywhere.  She was given transfusions and will be returning to her nursing home.  Some one should "pay" for od'ing an elderly woman.  But I'm sure nothing will come of it.  

Grandma Rowe really wanted to go back to Iowa to the hospice facility in Marshalltown.  I'm just not seeing that happening since she is in TX.  

There are days that I wish I lived close to my relatives.  It is really difficult to be so far and to have been so far for so many years.  We left Iowa when I was 7 and we never went back to live there.  Travelling for visits is expensive.  Staying in touch by phone is awkward.  I don't have what Lou has here.  I didn't get to spend the night at Grandma's house or go over after school.  I grew up without the guidance of older relatives or aunties to take me out to lunch after a morning of shopping.  I don't have the closeness of cousins who all played together every Sunday after lunch at Grandmama's.  

Lou's grandmother was a saint of a woman.  She has been missing for many years since Alzeimer's (sp) took her memory.  My kids really never got to know this sweet, smiling, friend of Jesus.  When Lou started going to church with me in '96 at the church she had been going to for years, she was so thrilled to have a grandson attending with her.  She had ten grandchildren and fifteen great-grandchildren.

What a day!

What a good day.  The girls and I went downtown to meet my friend Susan and her boys at her mother in law's house.  We left the kids with Nana and Susan and I went to visit a friend in the hospital.

  He was VERY badly injured in a car wreck.  The other man involved was killed and had been drinking.  Sacco as he is called is a very strong man and works as a bodyguard and a personal trainer.  He has a broken jaw, broken legs, 3 broken vertebra in his neck.  Internal injuries were to his spleen which was removed and his liver was cut.  He had two long sets of sutures on his right leg and his head is in a halo.  Long road to recovery ahead but if anyone can do it, it's Sacco!

We came back to the kids to find them all in the backyard playing soccer (even Nana!).  We sat for a minute and decided to go to Chuy's for lunch.  What a yummy place!  We had the cutest waiter!  Beautiful!  He he!
While we were waiting on our food Manuel walked in with his entourage!  He is a famous designer to the country music stars!  All of the people with him were in their 20s.  One guy was filming.  Very interesting!

From there we went to visit the Williams.  It's been a while since we had been there.  The kids had a ball!  They have gotten chickens I think they had gotten eight to start with.  Turns out 6 were roosters.  Nice.  They had one for dinner a while back.  The others get to roam while the two hens stay in the coop/chicken tractor to keep the boys from fighting.  Did I mention the kids had a really good time together?  

All in all it was a very fun day.  Well, yeah without the whole Sacco seriously injured thing.  I don't mean to make light of it.  I just keep praying for him to heal and heal well.

Good day

We had a good, productive school day.  I got the kitchen cleaned up.  Girls got school done.  

Funny chicken story.  I noticed that one of the hens was loose in the yard.  I told the girls to go get her.  They go running out the door.  I started to tell them to not run at her or she will run away when I noticed that she had turned and was running to them!  When they got closer, she sat down and waited for them to pick her up and put her back in the pen.  So cute!  They don't like to be away from their sisters!

Lucien just called and was so excited about the work that he is doing and what his partner has planned for them.  John is an ideas man.  And he is great at getting jobs.  Lucien is great at getting jobs done!  I see a good future here!  

Same bat time, slightly different bat channel

Lucien left for Stony Brook, NY on Long Island yesterday and got there around 6:30pm today.  I feel like I'm lucky to have gotten out of bed and gotten dressed today.  It's going to be a long six weeks.  Bella isn't handling it well and Emma keeps getting hurt.  When he gets home, he will likely turn right around and go off somewhere else to work.  Either Ohio or who knows?  

I keep thinking this will get easier.  I know it is what we are supposed to be doing.  Lucien loves what he is doing other than us not being there.  The bills are getting paid.  I hope it is just a bump on the road to bigger and better!

Our week is stacking up!  Tomorrow we need to shop for items we still haven't bought for tutorial on Wednesday.  Wednesday is tutorial.  Thursday Bella has Girl scouts.  Friday we are headed to our friend's house in Murfreesboro.