As you can see...

I have added a third column to my blog. I also decided I was tired of having two blogs (this one and Side Notes), so I combined them.

You may remember from an earlier post that I want to be more organized this year, and believe me, I am trying. On the homeschool front, I have been doing a bit of research for next year, which you can read more about here. I am having a lot of fun playing around with ideas, potential plans, projects, and more. I also got my lesson plans done for the next three weeks! Despite trying both a teacher's planning book and various internet/downloadable versions, I find I do best with Open Office and a simple spreadsheet.

Now, household organization... I am doing a bit better, but not as much as I'd like, so I have decided to try FlyLady once more. Wish me luck! I am also menu planning, which helps keep me on (or under) budget. I find I like knowing ahead of time what we will be eating, and how much cooking I will be doing. I think we eat more healthfully this way too.

In other news, M is returning to school in the fall. He has decided, I think in part by seeing that I am working toward a career, that he wants a career too. Right now he works as a warehouse manager for a small company, and to him, that's a job, not a career. I won't tell you yet what field he is going into, but I am really proud that he's taking the first steps, researching programs (he has got one in mind now!), completing his FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid - I do this myself every year, and grants re getting me through college, along with small federal student loans), looking at potential classes. I hope I can be as supportive of him in this journey as he has been for me.