I finished my book!

I did it! I wrote a (children's) book! It is my senior project, and a longtime dream. The illustrations are not finished yet, but will be within the next couple of weeks. If I have enough courage, I'll see if I can share it here as a slideshow or some such thing.

I am totally proud of myself for completing the writing and layout. I shed tears writing the last page.

And we're done with 4H fundraising for the year! Big sigh of relief. The kids had a blast, except for the last 15 minutes of picking up trash. And, they looked great in the parade! Even M had a great time grilling chicken, for two hours, in the sun (he's the one in the black hat, to the right)

And just for fun, a couple of gratuitous shots of foam weapons-making!

Pulling rank...

Well, after much thought, and many discussions, I am pulling rank as the director of our homeschool. I have chosen the path we will take next year! I am going with Plan A, now re-dubbed The Plan. Why not Oak Meadow? Because, simply put, the cost of the syllabuses puts it just out of reach, or if not entirely out of reach, it would devour much of my homeschool budget. That's one reason. Another is that I like our travels through history, and a Charlotte Mason approach. And finally, because I enjoy choosing books for the children to choose from, and I can come up with creative projects on my own. However, I also realized (yet another duh moment) that I can blend in the more Waldorf-like elements of Oak Meadow right into my own plans. I can have my children make Main Lesson Books, which will in turn make great memoirs down the road.

Anyhow, it feels lovely to be settled. To know that I can free myself from scouring second-hand curricula boards for a good deal. And, with the money I am saving not buying OM, I can buy better art supplies. I have already purchased, mostly second-hand, much of what we will need next year.

This weekend, while I don't have work per se, is going to be a busy one! We have Foam Weaponry and a mock battle this afternoon. I have baked a cake already that needs to be assembled and frosted for the 4H fundraiser tomorrow. I have a 4H scarf to sew for my Fairy. Tomorrow we have the 4H fundraising event, which is a giant, open-to-the-public BBQ. The kids are in the parade, and on trash duty. M is taking a shift grilling. I have the kids to supervise, the cake to deliver to the cake booth, etc. And then there are the everyday, mundane tasks of laundry, housework, etc.

Hoe you all have a good weekend!