My Mind Could Possibly Explode

My daughter's birthday is in two weeks and as a mom I can feel the pressure as to who to invite and who not to.  My house can only hold so many.  Stopping at this point, you might be wondering why I don't just have something small.  It's just a birthday after all.  Well, because we have never had anything slightly big.  Lots of balloons perhaps but nothing big.  I thought that just once we would give it a go.  

Her party is Alice and Wonderland themed but because she is only turning 7 and not all of her friends are quite at that level of maturity yet, we are combining the 2 Disney movies and just creating a wonderland of our own.  Bright colors, whimsical patterns and just fun games to go with it all.  

I'm excited and nervous all at once because we are inviting somewhere around 15 - 20 kids.  They might not sound like a lot but when they are all on a sugar high?  Yeah.  

I'll be sure to post pictures once taken.  This should be very fun putting it together in a style that says "Miss G" all over it.

Old Friends and New

I'm feeling rather contemplative tonight.  I ran across a couple of people on Facebook who I have not spoken to in years.  I wish I never lost touch.  One "friended" me and the other I hope will.  I often find myself missing this wonderful family.
They are the type who are so darn sweet and so fun to be around but there is that one life changing event that well, changes everything!  And so contact is lost....
I suppose back in the day, it would have been the same as suddenly running into a long lost friend at the coffee shop that you go to every day.  You've never seen them there but out of the blue, there they are!  Anyways, I am feeling pretty good right now.
I hope all of you run into that person(s) again one day and have that 'this-feels-pretty-good' feeling as well.

What was I thinking?!

I must start by saying I am a visual learner and a closet perfectionist.  I started this blog in May of this year and so far I only have 4-5 actual posts.  "Why did you even start it then," you ask, "if not to use it daily?" Well, the be quite honest, I had no idea what I was doing!
Now, I finally am beginning to see results of my fiddling around with this and that.  My blog looked in the beginning like an unfinished scrapbook page.  All the parts thrown on but not in the right place.  When all is said and done, a completely different design appears and it positively screams "you".  That is where I am almost at right now....and I'm thankful.

The School Year At A Glance

It's hot, sticky, sweaty among other unpleasant feelings outside.  My child has taken to leaving the sprinklers on for her to run through periodically throughout the day. When she isn't doing that, she is limp and hung upside down on some piece of furniture somewhere saying "What are we going to do today?"  It's her version of 'I'm bored' or 'Are we there yet?'.

Now I normally can find a whole list of things for her to do when she asks this odious question however lately, I too have been feeling rather limp.  My mind turning slowly to mush as the heat rises.  I quickly pray and prayer of thanks for the hot weather as I know I'll be wishing for it come January and then another prayer for survival.  I cannot wait for the school year to start.

Yes, we home school our daughter so you would think that organization is a year-round thing right?  Wrong.  School is school and home is home and the lines blur all of the time except for scheduling.  You see during the school year we also have daily school work to do, ballet, p.e., field trips etc.  This year we are also including Girls Scouts (Miss G is a Brownie), and she is old enough she officially has to become an official student under an official church school.  So a little more structure is involved.  

For those who do not understand homeschooling, please try to think of it like this:  your child at his/her public school without lines in the bathroom break, water fountain line, cafeteria line (the long one), the line to go to the next class, the line for library, the limited time in the library so no mom, they didn't get the book they wanted 'cause little Susie got it instead, the pushing, the shoving, the Parent Teacher Conferences, etc.  You get the idea.  My child still becomes educated, just at her speed and with a teacher/student ratio of 1:1.  Very very cool in her and my eyes.  

She likes the field trips the most with her favorite place being the Naval Aviation Museum.  I like it because it's free and this year she is mature enough to do little reviews on what she saw and learned.  She also likes the Gulf Coast Zoo otherwise known as The Little Zoo That Could.

We are trying a new book this year.  They have changed as I have weeded through the mass quantities out there available to homeschoolers but finally decisions have been made. Singapore Math,

Daily 6 Handwriting, Christian Eclectic Readers, Noeo Science and DK Science (for variety), Learning Language Arts Through Literature (LLTL), and Story of the World Vol. 1 are just a few other items we will be studying from.  Yes, there will be other mini lessons added (just as in public school, don't think they don't) as the lesson creeps up, but these are the basics for now.  I am prayerfully considering each one before I buy.  

Anyways,  even though in the morning my daughter will ask the inevitable question "What are we going to do today?"  Even though I will grimace, I think some park time is in order.  Sunscreen on, bug spray on, ready, set, GO!