FEELING CHATTY TONIGHT

One W is sleeping, two Ws are out of the house, and two Ws are watching a movie.  This W is sitting in a quiet house with a computer on her lap.  Seems like the right time for a blog post!

Sonlight - At this point, we've always and only used Sonlight for school.  I've had a code for new customers to use that gives them $5.00 off their first order if it's $50.00 or more, but no one has ever used it until recently.  I gave it to someone from church and they used it, but today I got notification about someone else who had used it.  Someone I don't know.  Random, but I'm glad they got the discount. 

I know $5.00 isn't much when you're buying curriculum, but every little bit helps!  If you're interested, then you can click here or go to the link in my sidebar to be taken to the registration page with my referral code automatically added in.  If you're already a Sonlight user, then be sure to share your referral code with friends who are going to be making their first Sonlight purchase.

Me - I am still using My Fitness Pal and making sure I get some form of exercise each day.  Usually I go on a stroller-pushing walk, but I've also spent some time swimming (we had a season pass that ended today), tried jumping rope (that just about killed me on my first try, so I cut back, but it hurts my shins), jumping jacks, push ups, etc.  I don't feel like my shape has changed at all, but I know I'm taking better care of myself.  A handful of people mentioned that it could be a diastasis, but I'm not sure if it's that or just plain old fat. 

I've also set a weeknight bedtime of 10:00 for myself and set my alarm for about 15 minutes before the little Ws usually wake up in the morning.  I'm slowly working on having more self-discipline, an area of my life that is in desperate need of improvement.

School - I like to get four to six weeks of school completed during the summer.  We completed two.  Just two, but we're cruising along and it will be fine. My biggest struggle right now is getting language arts done.  I'd love for a genie to appear at my door and just take care of that with the big boys.  Alas, I need to figure out how to keep that on track.

I was telling someone tonight that we take homeschooling one kid and one year at a time, but that the early years were the most important to me.  I never established when the early years ended, but Silas will be in middle school next year.  Pretty sure his early years are over.  I have no idea what we'll do next year, but it's crazy how fast those years with Silas flew by. 

Home - I am realizing how much more I love homemaking than homeschooling.  Efficiently running a household is mindless for me and I enjoy it.  Unfortunately, I tend to slack on everything when I feel like there's too much on my plate, which is counter-productive because the incomplete tasks stress me out and then I bark at everyone.  It's the perfectionist coping mechanism - if you can't do it all well, then don't do any of it at all.  Not very wise.  Productivity and a clean house make me happy, so it's time to crack down and manage my time better.

Granny - My grandma, whom many of you have met over the years, moved out of state about a year and a half ago.  With the exception of a year or so in California, she's lived as close as the same apartment complex to as far as three hours away from us for about ten years.  Needless to say, she was a regular part of our life.  She loves me, but I think she loves Tim even more.  And the kids?  They're loved even more than Tim.  In fact, Naomi wailed uncontrollably for hours when she had to say goodbye to Granny.  It was horrid.

Anyway, if you know me at all, then you know I am not a phone talker, but I try to call Granny every week. Sometimes I miss, but I'm making an effort.  It's hard, though.  Her memory is failing and it's becoming more difficult for me to think of things to talk about.  She pretty much worshipped the ground Naomi walked on, but now refers to her as "the girl".  I don't remember the last time she called any of our kids by name.  My birthday?  This was the first year of my life that she didn't remember it... or the other Ws', for that matter.  She refers to my mom as "Mike's sister" or "my daughter", but never as "your mom".  I don't think she makes that connection anymore. 

But she keeps our pictures on her mirror and tells me about them every time we talk.  I love that.

I don't even know why I'm telling you this.  It's just hard.  Not as hard as caring for her, but still hard. 

Storage - Silas called me into the bathroom today to show me something he discovered.  A drawer.  We've lived here almost a year and never realized there was a drawer at the bottom of that bathroom cabinet.  It's like a secret hideaway and I'm delighted to have extra storage space in that room.

Tim - He's taking classes once a week, landed a two day subbing job in the beginning of October, and was offered a few days of work from a friend.  I'm thankful for the upcoming work, regardless of whether or not it's teaching!  He's still doing the Take Shape For Life program and is getting pretty close to his goal weight.  People generally have to lose a ton of weight before I notice, but I saw a difference in him several days ago. 

He's actually decided to become a health coach with TSFL and just opened up his website a couple days ago, though I think he's holding off on posting his picture until he's reached his goal weight.  He has a degree in health promotion and fitness management, so he's pretty excited to use that background with the TSFL program. 

And we'll stop there.  I have more on my mind, but I've probably chatted enough for one blog post.  Have a great weekend!!