Life Lately

See, I told you that would happen. I would blog for a few days and then get busy. And now it's been a month since I last posted.

So what have we been doing around here?

Brynne finished her 7th grade year in public school. She walked away with Straight A's all year except for one semester grade of an A- the first semester in Science. She had a successful year in sports playing volleyball and basketball and is now two-thirds of the way through her summer softball season.

Eli finished his 8th grade year in our homeschool and had a very productive year. Although it was hard on both of us with him being home alone the majority of the time doing his work, it was also good for him as he learned what he is capable of doing on his own. One of the biggest things he learned was time management. And we can all benefit from a healthy dose of that.

This year I have really concentrated on teaching the kids some life skills, not only because they need to know how to do these things but because I needed some help. With working, I just did not have the time to get everything done at home by myself. And I shouldn't have to anyway. We are a family and should work together. Eli started being responsible for taking out the trash and recycling, and Brynne's job became unloading the dishwasher. They learned how to do their own laundry and are now responsible for doing it each week. They have to choose one day of the weekend and completely clean their own rooms, vacuuming and dusting and straightening, etc., and have to keep their own sink clean in the bathroom. These things are in addition to just picking up after themselves, which they have always been pretty good at doing anyway. This past week I taught them how to mow the yard, so they each have a portion they mow each time it needs to be done. They will thank me someday for all of these lessons. Next up is to each learn how to cook two dinners so that we can start sharing some of the responsibility for evening meals. What chores do your kids do?

I have been working from home for about a month now, and I love it! I have settled into a pretty good routine where I get up early to workout and have some quiet time, and then I jump right into my workload. I pretty much work all day, taking a break here and there to eat or step outside for some fresh air. It's a pretty good gig.

Although I have Eli's next school year pretty much mapped out, he and I have been discussing some of the specifics of his course load. He has also expressed an interest in joining some kind of coop so we are looking into a couple of options for fall.

Our summer is going to be crazy busy, as usual. We have softball games, medical appointments, library activities, a trip to Chicago for National Stuttering Association conference, Dawson's graduation from tech school, my niece's wedding, Dawson and Alyssa's wedding, Dawson's leave here at home and their move to South Carolina, a lake trip with friends, volleyball camps, and birthdays. The days are just flying by.