Ahead....

There is a road in front of me, a new one--at least for me it is new. After Monday, for the first time in many years, I have no job to go to. Not yet anyway. For the first time in many years, I get to just be... be a mom, be at home, be a wife. Not an employee. It's weird to think about. My last break from work was in 2006, when I took a buyout from Safeway to relocate my family.

So what's ahead?

I don't know, to be honest. I don't know how long I'll be unemployed. It could be a couple of weeks, a month, maybe two. I may get a new job very soon, I may get my old job back if the other secretary finds something else. I won't get a lot of money on unemployment, so it can't last too long. But in the meantime I do plan on enjoying my break, taking the time to refocus and rebuild, to figure out what my next step really should be.

I would like to:

Take the kids swimming

Use our (mostly) free family bowling passes

Read some good picture books to the kids

Work in the garden

Clean out more bookshelves

Go see fireworks

Go to the park

Attend some free craft sessions (for teens) at the library

Use the morning all-you-can-ride/play passes at the local mini golf course/entertainment center

Ride our bicycles

Make some smores

Head out to the coast for a day here and there

Do some activities from Family Math, Perfectly Perilous Math, and Totally Irresponsible Science

Rip out the carpeting in The Girl's room (there's a lovely hardwood floor underneath)

Start sanding all the interior doors (we've decided to take them down to the wood, and then stain them... I think I like Brazilian Rosewood). We're thinking about doing the same to the kitchen cabinets, as the old off-white they are now is so hard to keep looking clean, and we love dark-slightly-reddish-toned wood.

I think all that will keep me adequately busy! Maybe I'll do some baking with The Girl, and we really ought to get going on the kids' summer projects (a camera obscura and knitting). I'd like to help my mom finish curtains for the kids' rooms. Whether I have a lot of time off, or a little between jobs, I hope to get to much of what I have here. I'm used to juggling a lot of things at once, so I know I can at least make a dent in this list!

As an interesting bookend of sorts, I end my job Monday, and M starts (we hope it works out) a new one. He was told to come in to [Unnamed] Restaurant Monday morning, with id, social security number, and his Food Handler's card to report for his first day on the job! He'll be starting with prep cooking, and then they want to try him on the line. Let's hope it works out!

Have a good weekend!

Monday Musings... Fresh Start...

This is the advice that I need to remember this week! I feel better after an active weekend of pursuing job leads, putting pieces together so I am not away from home too much... I hope, while still increasing our income a little. Anyhow, moving on!

What I Am Thinking About...
Fall scheduling. I am thinking about combining this schedule (the Monday through Thursday part) with a Waldorf lesson block to start the year, which would look like this:
Math
Language Arts
Science
Block

I am roughly planning out a geography block, combining hands-on, making a main lesson book, and some good books, just in case.

OR, we'll just do the above, but put the Afternoon Basket and interest-led activities in place of the block study.

I plan to have the kids vote tonight!

In the Garden...
We have miniature tomatoes, peppers, squash and watermelons. The grapes are slowly starting to look more and more like grapes, the raspberries are ripening, the cucumbers are flowering, and the zucchini is getting ready to start fruiting. The lettuce is up, and we thinned out the radishes on the Solstice, adding the thinnings to a big salad.

Watching and Reading...
Slowing down on the documentaries was a good idea, as we're enjoying them more this way. On tap this week, Cosmos and America: The Story of Us. We plan to read more from Poop Happened: A History of the World from the Bottom Up, and we're flying through The Four Story Mistake. I'm about to start a book by Julian Fellowes, the man behind Downton Abbey, called Past Imperfect. I'm also reading Intuitive Eating, because I am sick to death of thinking of myself of being on a diet, forever. I want to normalize my issues with food (like the fact that I am scared to eat regular [whole grain] pasta versus spaghetti squash). And M and I are about to finish up season 2 of Lost!

Around the House...
There is nothing like a repair guy coming over to spur a bout of housecleaning! On Saturday, we woke up to no internet, which meant no TV, etc. I did a reset of the router, and all that, and nothing. So I ended up calling AT&T and scheduling a technician visit. So long story short, the house is a lot tidier right now! I've also decided to sell off a bunch of homeschooling stuff we don't use, and to donate the books I can't sell.

This Week...
Today my dad has an appointment with a kidney specialist. All I know is that his recent lab work indicated there might be an issue. He is on a lot of medications, does not exercise, ad does not have the healthiest diet, so I can't say I am surprised. Apprehensive, yes. A little scared, yes. But surprised, no. The Boy has fencing, The Girl has derby only on Thursdays for the next few weeks, and then might do a two week derby boot camp! I'm also planning on introducing the kids to DIY.org for fun project ideas (thanks, Kim)!

Hope you all have a good week!

A Wordy Wednesday... The Bad & the Good...

The Bad...
Yesterday was terrible. I felt like I had hit absolute rock bottom, and couldn't see any way out. Finances are, well... for lack of a more polite phraseology, absolutely screwed at the moment. We've scraped by the last couple of months, but won't be doing even that much longer. M has worked two temp jobs recently, but they were just that, temp jobs. The employment market is awful right now. Yesterday, I felt fearful, and resentful.

Today, although finances are certainly not improved, I am trying to feel more hopeful. A local restaurant is holding an open house/hiring fair with on-the-spot interviews, so M is going to that. I have applied for weekend (supplemental) work at grocery stores as a clerk. With 8 years experience in that field, I am hoping I can get in two good eight hour days a week, which will help ease things a bit.

I hate this.

Some people have suggested we relocate, but looking at rental prices and the cost of living elsewhere, I am not sure that would be a worthwhile option.

And I still don't know for sure what is going on with my current job. The woman trying not to take my job has an interview tomorrow, for a position she wants, so I am crossing fingers, ankles, anything and everything! If that fails, I have a job interview next week for a part-time secretarial position. Still nerve-wracking though.


The Good...
"Summer school" is off to a great start! I eased back on documentaries, after I had a complete duh moment, and realized we have all summer to get through them! In the meantime, we're enjoying each day... the kids went swimming with their Nonna and aunt on Monday. They're devouring The Dangerous Book for Boys and The Daring Book for Girls, picking out games to learn and activities to try.... Chinese jump rope, table football, Morse Code, 50 Latin phrases everyone should know, and so on, and so forth. I read a little aloud from one or the other each day. Cassia reads to me too. And they are loving The Four Story Mistake!

They are also working on supply lists for their summer projects.

I am still loosely, and all in my head at the moment, thinking out next year. Do I want to just do the what if approach and see what happens, or do block studies? The only thing I have planned is a calendar for next year! (Well, okay, two versions. Version 1) six week block, week off; six week block, week off;two-three week block, two-three weeks off; seven week block, week off; seven week block, week off; seven week block, week off; ten weeks off. Version 2) the same to start and then five weeks on, one week off after the winter holidays, with four blocks instead of three). Hmmmm.

We'll be doing a summer crash course in Shakespeare. This was unplanned, but then I found out about this event and decided to seize the moment! We'll be reading a story version of Romeo and Juliet first, to familiarize them with the story line. Then we'll watch a movie version, or two, and maybe read through some of the actual play.

And, I wrote on Monday, but then deleted (sorry, I chickened out) about my issues with food. I am currently following the Food Addicts Anonymous food plan, and have been for three days now. I am not weighing myself at the moment, though I did the first day (and no, it was not good) -- I'm trying to keep off the scale more than once a week. Yesterday, I physically felt very tired (maybe that's part of the problem?) and out of sorts. I feel a bit better today, so I am assuming though I ate a fairly clean diet before that I am detoxing a bit from sugar and flour. I think I'll see if I can talk The Girl and M into an evening bike ride while The Boy is at fencing.

So... wish us luck on the financial front, and I hope you are all having a good week!

Monday Musings...

Outside My Window...
Beautiful clear sunny skies, and not too hot! We're supposed to be in the low to mid 80's all week, which is a comfortable warmth.

Planning...
Summer "school"/activities -- I did write a bit about this last week, which you can read here. It is a little hard actually planning activities (river trips, swimming, etc.), while still unsure of my job status at the end of the month. We're hoping, fingers crossed tight, that I'll get my layoff notice rescinded next week. If not... well, I do have an interview on the 25th for a good position elsewhere. Still, I like my job now, and would like to stay here!

In Our Homeschooling...
Lots of documentaries to watch this week, and we will finish up The Magic of Reality at last! The Girl is practicing her fluency work by reading The Boxcar Children out loud to me.

Around the House & In the Garden...
Just trying to keep up with housework as usual! The garden is doing beautifully. The cherries are gone, but we're getting some ripe raspberries now. I need to thin out the radishes and carrots. Everything has flowers and some plants have baby veggies/fruit forming!

Watching, Reading & Doing...
We're watching Cosmos, Mankind: The Story of All of Us, and America: The Story of Us. We watched Stand By Me for our family movie night last week, and everyone enjoyed it - I haven't seen that movie in years! We're reading The Magic of Reality and The Four Story Mistake. The kids and I started watching Firefly, as they ran out of Dr. Who, and M and I are still hooked on Lost. The Boy is working on a list of items needed for his summer project, while The Girl and I are planning to visit a couple of fabric stores and yarn shops soon.

What We're Up to Otherwise...
The Girl passed her first skills test in roller derby yesterday. She averaged about the middle of her team, which isn't too bad! She's really hoping to get on the roster for the final junior 2014 game in August, but is willing to donate her time to work the junior sales table if she doesn't make the cut. The Boy is working hard as always in fencing. M and I took a lovely 14 mile bike ride yesterday evening (the kids spent the night at my mom's) -- the picture here is last night's sunset on our way home. It's M's birthday this week, on Friday actually, when we celebrate the Summer Solstice with our park day friends. And then we'll be celebrating the Solstice at home on on Saturday!

Have a good week!

Summer Doth Approacheth...

We have finished math and writing for the year.

We have left to finish:

 three episodes of Mankind: The Story of All of Us 

two and a half chapters of The Magic of Reality 

three episodes of Cosmos 

10 episodes of America: The Story of Us
And we may work on finishing Poop Happened: A History of the World from the Bottom Up

We have twenty-two (albeit quite short) chapters left in A Little History of the World. I am trying to decide if we want to push to finish it, or    We'll start up in the fall with the Middle Ages in volume 1 of The Human Odyssey, and then move into volume 2!

So there will be plenty of documentary watching and reading in the next two weeks! I've been very loosely lining up episodes of the two history series -- we watched the second America one yesterday, about the Revolutionary War, and will follow it up with the 10th episode of Mankind, as it touches on the same war and then moves into the Industrial Revolution. The kids are fine with the idea of two more weeks of school, since it will just be TV and books, although The Girl is still doing some reading practice daily, which will continue over the summer.

I decided not to plan out summer school this year, as I have done in the past (2008, 2009,  2010 / 2010 changes, 2011, 2012, 2013). Instead, I have asked the kids to pick a project each, something they can lead, and design, and do on their own with my support.

The Boy wants to build a camera obscura, or I should say, at least one. His ultimate goal is to make at least two of different sizes, one of which can be mounted to a tripod.

The Girl wants to learn to knit, and to make a scarf in doing so, and to work on a sewing project as yet to be determined.

As far as "family studies", we're enjoying a good book right now, The Four Story Mistake, and may read the rest of that series. Maybe Gone Away Lake and Return to Gone Away as well. Enjoyable, informational, and not too heavy. The Boy wants to finish the 100 Cupboards series, and I think The Girl would either enjoy continuing with the Oz series, or perhaps Thimble Summer and Emily's Runaway Imagination.

I might, but then again might not, finish working through Right Brained Multiplication and Division with The Girl, or perhaps Times Tales. Maybe. Or we might just play games/do activities from Family Math (and Family Math: The Middle School Years). Maybe.

I think we'll work in some readings and activities from The Dangerous Book for Boys and The Daring Book for Girls too! Plenty of awesome summer-time ideas in those books!

 I have some household/homeschooling organizational plans, am reading (more carefully) back through Project-Based Homeschooling, A Charlotte Mason Education, and More Charlotte Mason Education (yes, I read fiction too), and and have plans to spend lots of time in places like this...

Throwing rocks to watch the splashes and ripples...

Taking breaks from bicycling...

Beach time, swimming, creekside time, fencing, roller derby, bowling, Frisbee tossing, shooting hoops, playing baseball, time to watch movies, paint pictures, and just hang out. Then, we don't plan to start up again until [around] Labor Day!

Monday Musings

Outside My Window...
It was overcast and almost chilly this morning! Mostly warm to hot in the afternoons, and lots of afternoon sunshine. I'm glad the days are getting longer.
That gives us more time to get out and active before, or after, dinner.

In My Garden...
We've picked (and eaten) most of the cherries, though I'll be pitting and freezing a bunch over the next few days. The veggie plants have all doubled, tripled, or even quadrupled in size, and most have blossoms on them. I added another watermelon plant and two lemon cucumbers to the garden last week. Radishes have been planted as well. I think the artichokes are nearly done for the season.

In the House & Kitchen...
I got the hallway closet completely cleaned out and reorganized recently, and washed all the sheets and towels before putting them back. This week's goal is to clean out all the kitchen cupboards. Among other items on the menu this week, taco salad (The Girl's request), and my husband's blackened fish tacos (my request).

In Our Homeschooling...
The Boy and I had a conference yesterday afternoon, where we realized that once again we were over-planning his eighth grade year. We're working on simplifying it a lot, as the best curriculum is the one that gets done. He'll be working with integers this week, courtesy of Math Mammoth, taking a bit of a break from decimal work. The Girl will be continuing to work in Knowing Mathematics and on memorizing her multiplication tables.

Reading & Watching...
The kids have been on a Dr. Who binge the last few days, and I finally started watching Lost with M (and now we can't stop watching it!). We're still catching up on Cosmos, and will watch the first episode of America: The Story of Us, as it ties in well with the last episode we watched of Mankind: The Story of All of Us. Still reading The Wind in the Willows. The Boy is reading a book called 100 Cupboards, and The Girl and I are going to start reading The Lost Children. I'm reading another Mark Helprin book -- In Sunlight & In Shadow -- it is as beautifully written as A Winter's Tale. We're also laughing our way through Poop Happened: A History of the World From the Bottom Up, alongside continued reading of A Little History of the World.

Happenings This Week...
The Boy is getting a belated birthday lunch out with my sister (The Girl will go too). I'm working on end-of-the-year stuff at work, and still hoping they'll rescind the layoff. There's fencing, derby practice, and tomorrow evening a family bike ride, maybe some Frisbee tossing!

Have a good week!