Random

Printemps

I love this time of year. At this moment I’m sitting on my deck sipping coffee while the kids play around me. And my coffee isn’t getting instantly cold! We had supper out here last night, the first time this year.

It’s the little things.

One of my favorite things about spring is this: less clothing.

I’m ready for my car not to be knee-deep in overcoats, hats and gloves (that here in Georgia, we wear perhaps twice a year yet manage to collect).

Little tanks and shorts for the kids take up no space in the washer, so there’s far less laundry. No socks. No pajamas. No cardigans that need special care. No tights. A baby in a onesie is fully dressed.

It’s much easier to be a minimalist in warmer weather.

Home School Planning

For some odd reason (maybe the appearance of spring weather is making my mind fast-forward to summer, which leads into autumn?), I’m feeling eager to get next year’s home school curriculum all squared away.

In 2016/17 I want to focus more on literature with the older kids. I’m going to do more read aloud. For grammar/language arts/English, we’ll mostly just be reading great books together. Fewer textbooks, more book books. I ordered this: Classics to Read Aloud to Your Children as a jumping-off place.

I decided that Sadie, 10, really does need “drill and kill” for math. Sorry, Life of Fred, you’re great for my 15-year-old son, but you don’t work for everyone. I ordered Saxon Home School Math for her (and she’ll be doing it all summer as well).

I personally think Teaching Textbooks is da domb, but for Sadie it just isn’t a good fit. She gets distracted and sidetracked by the internet when she uses a computer, her aura or energy field or whatever causes the program to stall/get buggy, and somehow she gets mayonnaise or some other mystery goo all over the DVDs (or loses or scratches or breaks them). I can’t deal with that anymore. Paper it is.

My oldest is graduating! Wow, that seems like such an important milestone. I remember being a bit freaked out a few years ago about high school, now I’m planning his party.

Aging

I’ll be 41 in a couple of months. My 40th birthday was a non-event, emotionally. I don’t mind getting older. I’m trying to decide what to do about my hair though, and this post reminded me of the topic. I’ve been going gray since my twenties (I blame the children, sleep deprivation and genes – my Dad was prematurely gray). I don’t terribly mind coloring it, a $7 box of hair color and 45 minutes every 6 weeks is hardly high maintenance. But I don’t want to dye forever. I keep saying I’ll stop coloring it at un certain age, but that becomes a moving target as I get older.

As I’ve lost weight postpartum I’ve been cutting my hair shorter. This summer when it’s unbearably hot I’m going to do a very short ‘do, a long Pixie basically, so I’ll start experimenting with letting the gray peep out then when it’s less obvious (and easier to cover if I hate it). I think it’s harder for those of us with very dark hair. Mine is naturally almost black. Skunk just ain’t attractive.

Filed under “things they don’t tell you about getting older”: how delicate your hands become. Almost anything makes me develop a blood blister. I can’t open packages with my fingers or I get several cuts. My hands are crepe-y and dry and unless I moisturize every single time I wash them, I get paper cuts frequently.

Spring Cleaning and Decluttering

What is it about spring time that makes one want to throw everything out and organize what’s left? While waiting for some energy, I read this book. Amazing how many “Now why didn’t I think of that?!” moments it elicits.

My oldest two boys woke up this morning and, unbeknownst to me, did a declutter and cleanup of their room. I taught them well.

On Sleep Deprivation 

It’s a season. I know this. Some days I have to remind myself that my youngest WILL sleep through the night, won’t require being hooked up to a feeding tube (ME) all night, and that I won’t always feel so tired, or be unable to start my day early. I met a mom of a preemie the other day, a 2 year old who weighs what my son does now, and he is on a real feeding tube all night because he struggles to gain weight.

I don’t mind being the human feeding tube all night, but I do so miss my morning alone time.

Blogging

I have been quiet here for the last two weeks, mostly because I’m too tired, and when I’m not, I don’t have time. Also, I started writing about my weight loss and sugar-free diet (and “smart carb” eating) on a new blog. If that kind of thing interests you, check it out. Right now I weigh what I did a decade ago, and I love my new way of eating. But instead of that topic taking over the pages here, I started another blog.

A whole lot of random stuff. Thanks for reading!