It's NOT You, It's Me

It's hard to believe that we are already nearing the last days of summer! Or at least of summer vacation. Having survived the past week of VBS, Fashionista has begun her last week of 5-day clubs for the summer. I'm frantically trying to pull together lesson plans in preparation for the looming school year. I knew this summer was going to be a whirlwind but I did not expect it to take the kind of toll on me that it has.

It seems that especially lately I'm finding myself feeling more ASPIE than normal. (For an explanation of what Aspie is you may want to read my former post, Hi, I'm Dee and I have Asperger's Syndrome) I'm feeling like I just want to climb up into myself and shut the rest of the world out. Perhaps this is a result of being forced out of my house and into the presence of people all summer long, which is something that I find absolutely exhausting. I think this weekend was the first time all summer that I was allowed to stay home and not have to go anywhere.

I guess I'm feeling depleted of I'm not even sure what. Opportunities for inner contemplation? That thing that I have to tap into which allows me to be social despite how unnaturally that comes to me? Whatever it is, I'm feeling totally drained of it. Even talking on the phone is feeling like a gigantic chore to me. 

Hopefully, the cessation of 5-day clubs and getting back into a school routine which will not require me to be out of the house and around people so much will help my Aspieness to retreat. In the meantime, I'm sorry to all of you who have been feeling like I'm mad at you for some reason. Try to remember that it's not you, it's me.

What To Do With All These Books?

Having finally finished updating my personal database for all our books, I've started listing them on Amazon. My goal was to be able to list them in bulk but after wrestling with making that happen for a whole day, I decided that it was easier to just deal with listing them one at a time. 

I got about 40 some books listed that way. This morning upon checking my email, I realized that one of my book had sold. Yay! Time to get it ready to ship. I have flat rate boxes, no problem. Oh, good grief! It costs more to ship that way than I charged for the book! Scrap that idea! Ok, so what are my other options??

A trip to the post office later and $1.49 spent on a padded mailer, then buying postage, I think I made a whole .48 cents on that book! Uuuuugh!! This is NOT going to be worth all the trouble I'm going to!

So what do I do with these 200+ books?? Trying to decide if it will even be worth my time to mark them all and attempt a yard sale. I'm having trouble getting to all that I need to get done as it is! I just want these books out of here! I may just take the whole lot to the Salvation Army and be done with the mess!

What are your thoughts??

Encouraging Progress in a Difficult Subject

This past week was July 4th so Fashionista had no 5-day clubs. It was nice to have a little respite from getting up so early every day and running around town playing chauffeur. This week we get to do it all again! Only this week Fashionista has afternoon clubs. This means that I don't have to leave the house so early to drop MyHero off. Fashionista doesn't have to be at the CEF office until noon.

We had our annual homeschool evaluations on Friday. I was quite nervous about these because we struggle with math. There was no need for me to be concerned however. All 3 kids made improvements in their scores over last year. ManBoy's score went up nearly 3 grade levels! We still have a long way to go, but I'm greatly encouraged by the progress made.

My kids are not liking it but I'm making them work on their math facts over the summer. They think that they know them, but it's always good to keep them fresh! We will be covering some new territory in math this coming school year so this will help them to be able to comprehend the new material more easily.

I'm starting to feel the pressure to get prepared for the new school year. Need to nail down what curriculum we will be using, I know most of it, but some is still up in the air. Also need to set up lesson plans and all that stuff. 

One of the things I plan to use this next year is, English From the Roots Up. It's an oldie but a goodie. I've had it sitting on my shelf for a while and rediscovered it while clearing off bookshelves. I think it is finally time to put it to work. It should help to improve spelling and vocabulary for my kids.

I would also like to get Fashionista enrolled in a class with www.time4writing.com. She loves to write fantasy books but needs a lot of help with her grammar and mechanics.

I still have all those books sitting in boxes in my kitchen as well! I have GOT to get them listed on Amazon. I'm feeling like my summer is filling up with too much to do and too little time to get it all done! I'd better get busy!

First a couple questions for you! We all as homeschoolers seem to have at least one subject that we struggle with. What subject is it for you and your kids? If you don't homeschool then what was your tough subject in school? How do you deal with this difficult subject? Have you found a way to make it less of a struggle?

Is it the weekend yet?

Oh, my! What a crazy week! Fashionista started her summer of 5-Day Clubs with CYIA, (Christian Youth In Action). I spent the week playing chauffeur to her and her dad. We have one vehicle and they both had to be in places across town from each other at the same time. I dropped MyHero off at work a bit early then scooted over to the CEF (Child Evangelism Fellowship) office to drop Fashionista off to head out with her team.

Fashionista and her team were at a local church all week. This next week they have no clubs due to the July 4th holiday. I have been working out and running almost every day this past week and would like to continue getting up early to do this in the coming week.

Speaking of working out and trying to loose weight...I think I've figured out why I went months working out like a maniac but not able to loose a single pound. I realized that I'm beginning the wonderful adventure of perimenopause. Along with that comes the tendency to gain and retain weight. So I decided to try one of those menopause symptom relief supplements. I'll have to let you know if it helps. Of course, I'm also recommitting to eating better. My new motto that I'm trying to keep in my head is, "You can't out exercise a bad diet."

What Have WE Been Up To??

I'm making it my goal to get back to blogging at least weekly. I'm amazed at how quickly I can get behind with my blog! Some updating is definitely in order. 

If you remember the post about the little stray dog I found and took in, he found a forever home. We were unable to keep him ourselves although I would have in a heartbeat. After much research I finally found a foster home for him. They had him for a few months and then decided that they wanted to make him part of their permanent family. 

I finally got those book shelves cleared as well! That was a LOT of work! Now the over 200 books are sitting in boxes waiting to be sold on Amazon. First I have to clean up my database so that I can do a mass listing on Amazon. That shouldn't take very long, once I get the time to do it. 

I did manage to get all the books we are keeping to fit into one shelf. That's a good thing because we needed the extra room for my sister and two aunts who came down from Arkansas to visit with us last week! We went to the beach pretty much every day they were here. 

This was the day we went to Tarpon Springs, home of the United States' largest Greek population and historic sponge docks. Mmmm!! Gyros!

On the heals of having my family visiting, I took Fashionista to her week of training with CYIA (Christian Youth In Action). She is spending the week in the dorms of a local Christian college learning how to tell kids about Jesus Christ. She had to send out support letters just like a missionary and is earning the title Junior Missionary.

I miss her terribly but know that she is in great hands with the staff of CEF (Child Evangelism Fellowship). I'd better get used to it because we will not be seeing much of her this summer. She will be going out doing 5-day clubs for the remainder of the summer after her training is done.

In the meantime, the boys and I will be working to clean out their room and toss or give away all the junk...er ahem stuff they don't need or want. I will also be working to sell all those books and of course crocheting! I'll also have to carve out some time to do some homeschool planning for this upcoming school year.

Just 15 minutes!

GUEST POST by Rebecca Fuller of LearnFluteOnline.com

What can I accomplish in 15 minutes?

Well... it all depends on which 15 minutes you are asking me about.  I have certain “15 minutes” windows of time where I am like a lump on a log and other times I can whisk my whole entire main floor into ship-shape.

What are the differences between these little snippits of time?  As a highly motivated person striving to raise highly motivated children, I have had to analyze this often.

First, I am a goal setter.  Second, I am a goal accomplisher.

I have home-taught my children to a very high-level of proficiency on several different instruments.  I’m not kidding when I say that I work concertos with 9 year olds, and that they love it.

What’s the secret to my success?  15 minutes.  That’s it.  I can take 15 minutes and set everything else in the world aside and put and extremely concentrated effort into making sure my child and I have a positive experience in music learning.    

Where has this gotten us?  I don’t think this blog post could be long enough to list all of the benefits and amazing fun we have had over the years as a performing family.

It’s 15 minutes a day working towards an effort for a positive experience between you and your child.  Desire to have more positive experiences grow from here.  

And, children are never too young to start a lifetime of positive experiences.

-Rebecca Fuller

You can find Rebecca teaching online with passion and organized to the hilt at: http://LearnFluteOnline.com where she helps all ages hone their musical skill by using the beautiful instrument flute in a step-by-step, affordable, online approach.

Thank you Rebecca for sharing with us here!

Just a Little Bit

On Wednesday I did something I've never done before! I was out for my run and several blocks from home when this Little Bit of a dog came toward me. He let me approach him and pick him up. I checked him for a collar and he had none. I asked people in nearby homes if they knew who he belonged to. They said that they had never seen him before. So, not knowing what else to do with him, I took him home.

Little Bit was absolutely filthy! Not only that but he was covered in fleas. I tried to give him a bath, but his fur was so thick and fluffy that it just started matting up. I ended up pulling out my scissors and dog grooming clippers and taking all that nasty, dirty fur off. He seemed to be relieved to get it off.

After the fur was gone, it was back to the bath. It took several sudsing ups to get him clean. There were fleas seemingly coming from nowhere all over his tiny face. It seemed to take forever to get all of them off.

Now that he was finally clean and more comfortable, I started the process of searching the internet and making phone calls to Animal Services, SPCA, the sherriff's office and, posting to Facebook and Craig's List. We even took a walk to the vet down the street several blocks to ask them to scan him for a microchip. He doesn't have one. I also put "Found Dog" posters up near where I found him and at the vet's office and our local library.

I knew that I didn't want to take him somewhere that he might be euthanized. So I told Animal Services that I prefer to keep him here until his owners can be found or a new family located for him. In the meantime, he is getting lots of love from my kids and me.

Yesterday, Fashionista and I decided to try to get an idea of how old Little Bit is so we tried to get a look at his teeth. There were no teeth! Now we understand why he wouldn't chew the kibble we tried to give him.

I wanted to make sure that Little Bit doesn't become re-infested with fleas or get our house infested, so MyHero and I went to the pet store last night to find flea medicine for him. In chatting with the store employee who was helping us, we realized that he most likely has worms. So she helped us find a dewormer for him. I would love to take him to our vet, but we really can't afford to do that.

I've gotten tons of offers to give him a good home but no owners have come forward. Anyone who takes him in is going to need to be prepared for a walking vet bill! Not only that, but he doesn't have good bladder control and piddles in the floor. My hero is NOT thrilled with the piddling and many might think twice about taking him in knowing these things. I'm praying that he is able to find a loving home soon so that MyHero doesn't insist that I take him to the pound!