Week 7, 8th

MONDAY

Well, it finally feels like we are back to normal.  We have no company, human or otherwise and although it's lonelier, it's quieter.

Lola (BoxerX) is resting her legs and back, she's been playing a lot and is still frequently.  There's no one interesting here at the moment so she is spending time just relaxing on the couch.  I have every faith it'll help her heal up.  Nothing like a rest to let your body fix itself.

Walter (Pug) is pleased for the quiet of GuestPug going home.  Although lovely, GuestPug does follow the crowd around and seems to think Walter should be a better host.  I love GuestPug but it was a rough week for him being here with trying to train baby Alice.  He's back after Thanksgiving and I'm looking forward to it.

Alice (Pug) is adorable, painfully so.  She's smart and has settled into the family beautifully.  She's back on track, training wise, after the fun of my mom and GuestPug being here.  Back to the grind, baby Alice.  She's sleep on my foot as I write this, yeah, she fits in nicely.

Five of the 6 chickens are laying eggs regularly now.  Edna has failed to impress, so far but I have faith in her ability to perform.  I will admit that we have been unable to confirm the identity of the giant mutant double yolk egg that was laid in the coop.  We assumed it was Martini because of the consistent gigantic size of her eggs.  I'm keeping a watchful eye to see when Edna comes through.  They are still huge fans of laying in my chair outside and in fact had a line up this morning waiting to jump up and lay.  It's ridiculous and anarchy, fun!

The Banker is back on track as well.  We have a full, regular, week of school planned.  We headed out to get new tires on my car today and stopped at Half Price Books to have a look around.  We decided to switch gears in Latin and we bought him a Wheelock latin book.  We have been futzing around with a few different Latin ideas and neither of us have been delighted with any of them.  We are streamlining to the one Wheelock book and we'll see how it goes.

We also bought 2001 A Space Odyssey, he'll start reading it this week and when he's done we'll do a little project and see the movie, great plan for a science unit, I think!

I feel frantic for some reason, maybe just overtired or worried or fat or all of the above.  I'm taking some well needed and deserved "me" time tomorrow to spend time at Ikea (one of my favorite places to lurk about) with FriendC, I like her vibe and am looking forward to the spending of time.

I don't feel too much like I'm breaking the Banker this week, bonus!

We did stop on the way home and bought copious amounts of Chinese food so I don't have to cook later although I am playing around with one of my tried and true millionaire shortbread recipes, never one to rest on my laurels :)

I think it's cocktail time...

/Tracy

TUESDAY

I'm going out to play today.  Here's a little something to keep you entertaining for a few moment, it's how we roll at my house now.


Sunny lays an egg:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azc9aenKymk&feature=plcp

Chicken lays an egg:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7spSqyvLMc&feature=plcp

I'm leaving the Banker to his own devices this morning and heading off to Ikea with a friend.  I need the diversion and FriendC is the one to divert me.

I had a culinary crisis yesterday when the insert of my pressure cooker (Nesco Electric) took a tumble and crushed it's side.  I actually wept.  I use the pressure cooker all the time and had just done a massive meat shop, specifically for meat to cook in the pressure cooker! GASP!  I toyed briefly with just going out and buying another one.  I got mine at Walmart for $62 but they are $70 now and frankly I was afraid to spend the grocery money on one.  I called the company and they are shipping me a new insert for $25, it's going to be a long 7-10 days *whimper*  I don't cope well with waiting.

The Banker is going to be responsible for completing his "English" day work, literature, grammar and vocabulary.  He also has to finish the first chapter of his new Latin book from yesterday and I want him to finish his laundry (you BET he does his own!) and empty and refill the dishwasher so I can come home to a clean space and make dinner.  I think I'll make a meatloaf, I haven't made one forever and it'll be quick and easy when I get back.  I was going to make meatballs with the ground beef but since I discovered the pressure cooked meatball, I don't think I could go back to the oven or stove top cooked kind.  I'm a snob about my own food apparently.

I posted a couple of chicken videos for you.  There was an actual wrestling match in the chair between Sunny, who was in the throws of laying an egg and Chicken who needed the spot herself!  Sunny laid her egg on Chicken's head and left, that's why there is an egg on the chair in the video.  I have video of Sunny laying an egg and now of Chicken, very different techniques and yes, it's the kind of thing I notice.  I'm on a mission to get a video of each one of them although Peck lays in a very tiny dog crate so it'll be far less dramatic.

I'm off to do what I want to do today and leave my poor Banker to do all the work, poor Cinderella.

/Tracy

Week 6, 8th

Wednesday (see, only 2 days late)

WOW, what a great time we had with my mom here. We didn't do real touristy things but there was a lot of chicken watching, egg gathering (five of the six now lay consistently) and puppy wrangling. We also took in a guest pug to watch for a week and the chaos was palpable. I don't like guest dog sitting when I'm trying to train a puppy. At all. I really like the dog but not this week, when I've had my mother here and the chickens and home school and trying to keep a puppy organized with a dog (even a cute one) that is in the way and doesn't "do" our rules, messes it up just a bit. It didn't help that husband told me the dog was coming 2 days before then he went to pick it up and came home with it 2 days early from the original time he told me. I think the dog goes home Sunday and I can get into actually seriously training Alice without the distraction of an oversexed old pug or a mother I want to play with instead of paying attention to poop schedules.

School, oh that pesky thing; we did it fine. The Banker was on his regular schedule, more or less, and managed to get through it while we futzed here, played out and were generally distracting in either our presence or not.

Mum left yesterday, as did husband for a quickie business trip. My plans for 2 free days went out the window but it looks like I might get a portion of one today. I just want a day I don't have to go anywhere or cook or clean something, I just want to relax. I don't think that's in my cards but I will continue to strive for it in my head.

Back to school, I do digress, I think it's going well. Banker is managing to keep up with the 2 biggest subjects, history and literature. I have an expectation he complete a week's worth of work in one day on those subjects and he's producing beautifully. I think math is going well, he's mastering the subjects and we are ready to order the Algebra package. I think he's figured out how to learn from the dvd as opposed to watch it and then complete the problems using tools he'd gotten in school. I didn't realize that is why he was struggling through a couple of the lessons. I don't think the Banker thought he'd be learning actual new processes and formulas and got frustrated when the methods he'd learned in 6th grade no longer worked through the entire problems he was being given. Successes, like he's been getting now, breed success and joy and he's back to humming and singing while he does his math and that is always a good thing.

Physics is going well, he is working through the Khan Academy videos then doing followup activities on 2 websites and then he has an iPad book with activities and quizzes that he is working through. Good stuff.

Science continues to frustrate me. At the moment he's working through the Khan Academy astronomy and cosmology videos, taking fabulous notes and discussing the theories with me in reasonable detail. I still feel it's lacking somewhere and is the source of my fretting and worry that I am sending him down a path of becoming a terribly annoying (with just enough knowledge to drive people crazy) drive thru MacDonalds professional. *sigh* *this is a good place to throw in a "you're not breaking him" comment.

He has started to read Divergent, my mum brought it for him with high praise from my niece who is the same age as the Banker. I hope he learns to enjoy books again, he used to and has lost the love of it somewhere...it's a mission of mine to get him back into the sheer joy of books. I would happily let him use a book as a course, read 2001 and get back to me in 2 months... Here's your next subject, honey, and hand him a book.

HEY, wait a minute. That's a GREAT idea. And yes, that just came to me from my fingertips as I type this. Why don't I give him 2001 A Space Odyssey and have him review and research the details as he reads it AS his science class for the rest of this "semester". HEY, I'm going to think about that with a reasonable amount of seriousness today.

The Banker is doing well with his photography, he takes 20 pics on one subject matter. He edits then logs them and puts them in a cyber album. We review them and discuss the voice and feeling of the pictures. I'd like to get him a more sophisticated photo editing program, I'll look for something online I think initially.

He loves the CoOp and is working hard at it. He loves his Volunteering class where he assists the teacher in a 3-4 yr old class. He loves his Art Class and can't wait to show us what he's produced. He has a stronger affinity for the Art than I thought he would, excellent. He loves his Spanish Class and works hard in it. He has a lot of home work, considering it's a CoOp and takes it seriously to complete and complete well. I'm proud of him.

I am doing my CoOp volunteering weekly. I think there are 9 weeks left. I can't even describe my own experience and out of respect to the people who work so hard to make it happen, I am not going to describe it here. There are 9 weeks left. I can do anything 9 times. I can do anything 9 times that results in the Banker, my sweet boy, being so happy and enjoying it so much. This, by the way is why I intend on being a burden to him when I'm older, not that I begrudge any happiness he may experience as a result of this but my unhappiness is the reason I'll show up on his door step with bags in my hand and a drool bucket over my arm..."I'm here, dear...remember CoOp". HAHAHAHAH

I think I'll grade some of the Banker's work from last week (ooops) and de-"my mom is coming!" my house. After that, I think I'll take the damned day off.

/Tracy

Week 5, 8th

Well, this is just ridiculous.

MONDAY:

My mother is here and we are playing every day.  With the puppy and the chickens and the dogs and the home school and the cooking and eating and playing and restauranting, there's no time for anything silly like sitting down or blogging.

Just quickly, school is going beautifully.  The schedule is working beautifully and the Banker has mastered those pesky concepts in pre-Algebra that had been kicking his butt.  He breezed through the last chapter and aced the test.  We were both terribly proud.  I think he had been concerned and the success did wonders for his confidence and faith in this home school thing.

We are cooking and shopping and then cooking and cocktailing today.  Well, mum and I, the Banker will be doing Latin, Science and Physics.  Sometimes it's good being the grown up.

I'm loving the time mum is here.  She's digging the chickens, Alouette has decided to lay eggs in my chair on the patio,  Luckily the Banker made a nest from my chartreuse Ikea blanket for such an auspicious occasion. The two of them sat and watched her, in my chair and on my blanket, lay a beautiful brown egg then hop down and wander off, job for the day well done.

It's weird here at the moment, I kind of love it.  I'll be lonely as hell when mum leaves, it's been fantastic and amazing to have a grown up to chat to on demand :)

/Tracy

TUESDAY

Every once in a while there is a moment in time that confirms to me the Banker is getting it. "Hey, mom, is it ok if I do another chapter in my Newton iPad book? I'm really enjoying it..." Um, sure dear ;) The temptation to do a fake anger and send him to his room was rather sizable. HAHA I love love love this part of the home school experience. If he digs something, he simply keeps researching/reading/studying it. Wow, what a crazy concept. I think he's finally stopped looking at clocks and doesn't ask me how long he needs to do something any more. He reviews his daily schedule and simply works through it until it's all complete, hands the comp books to me for review and bingo, day done. Sometimes he's working until about 1-2 and sometimes, like yesterday, he works until close to 6 because he's enjoying the experience of learning something and investigating something.

I am having a blast with mum here.  Yesterday we played with coconut rum (she'd not tried it) and make the best cocktail on earth, dangerous cocktail because there isn't the slightest hint of anything alcoholic in it.  Coconut rum (1x) Pineapple juice (2x) 1 banana and loads of ice.  Blend in my Ninja and you've got a smoothie, refreshing, 2 fruits! and it's ab/so/lutely delicious.  I don't think we should have more than 2 in any sitting though, well, unless we have no intention of standing. HAHAHA

The Banker and mum just went for a walk around the neighborhood and now she's getting organized, the Banker is working on his literature work and I've just put millionaire shortbread up to cool and am going to go walk on my treadmill for a few minutes before my shower and then I'll be ready for a Monday Afternoon (which is what we're calling the rum cocktail) and a think about what we should do this afternoon that's almost touristy without being blatantly so.

Alouette and Chicken are still the only ones producing eggs but they're pretty much each giving me one a day.  Alice pug puppy is coming along nicely with her training and is now on a solid 11pm-7am crate schedule and is going in for 2 hour naps without a peep. She has figured out I need her to pee/poop when we go outside THEN she can play and she adores Lola, who has the patience of Job and is the best mother of any species I've ever seen.  Walter Pug may have come to figure out Alice isn't going anywhere and has stopped being so grumpy with her.  She plays, loves on, cuddles (and runs to for support) with Lola  and she sits, stoically beside Walter watching the world go by, she's found her spot in the pack.

For the moment, it's all good :)

/Tracy

Week 4, 8th

MONDAY

Well, it was a very busy weekend. My mother arrives today and I waited until Friday night to start doing anything around my house. You know, silly things like washing bedding and towels so the poor woman can lay down and bathe :)

I'm looking forward to loads of cooking, cocktails and giggling. It's what we do. The Banker is well set with school this time around (we were in chaos when she came down last time in May, I felt like a true failure). He has a much more organized and flowing schedule this time, one of each class, laid out in a relatively cohesive order. He likes the work, completes the work and we seem to have a decent thing going. I hope.

Of course, this morning I started looking online for 8th grade science text/work/project books. I think I found one I might like,


Ready-to-Use Science Proficiency Lessons & Activities: 8th Grade Level

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0130340987/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&smid=A1F4CBIOQT8423


I'll have my resident expert, Ms.Zan check it out for me. I always defer to her experience with such things. I think it looks like a good basic resource that we can use to learn, direct and do some hands on work/projects/problems.


I've added an iPad book, Newton's Physics which the Banker is using as a companion to his Khan Physics lessons, in addition to the student extras on physicsclasssroom.com and he's been registered for months with, and gets the problem/s of the day emailed to him from, learnconceptualphysics.com. I think we're covered there :)


I love Ms.Zan's Literature and History lesson plans which I stole, she donated to our cause. The Banker loves those the best, he says they are the most professional of our classes. I like that.


In any event, I think my mother will be impressed with our progress from the anarchy of last year to the more organized this year.


One of my chickens, Alouette, has started to wander the garden to lay her eggs in new and exciting hidden locations. I think it's delightful she's added a playful element to what could be the drudgery of lay an egg in the assigned location, one of us gathering it, then eating it. Really, adding a hunt into the mix is, ok, it's going to be a pain in the a**. The problem is that the girls can jump (!) out of their run and into the yard to wander, forage, eat bugs and generally piss off the blue jays in the area but they can't jump back IN! Husband is moaning and threatening to cover their run with netting but then I can't go in the run, where I actually go and hang out and clean it and rake it. IF he covers it with netting then I have to shrink my bulk down to 3 feet tall and I'm not crawling in ANYwhere for ANYone, seriously.


We have 7 eggs in our little bowl at the moment and plan on having a number of them, lightly fried on homemade bread for dinner tonight when my mother arrives. Nothing says welcome to the farm than, "here, hold the puppy, Hurricane Alice, go hunt for eggs and dinner? oh it's that thing the chicken just squeezed out of her back end, sorry about the sticky butt residue, i'll just go wash that off..."! Hmmm, worth the flight to Texas.


I am not even going to comment on the fact my mother is arriving this afternoon from Ontario, Canada and my husband is flying to Ontario, Canada, tomorrow morning. His company is owned by a company not far from my mother's house. He is going for a week, will be back a week and then both he and my mum fly out the same day, both Canada bound. Different flights/destinations but it'll be weird waving them both off. I told the Banker we are taking the day after that completely and totally off. I said we will do ice cream for breakfast, popcorn for lunch and cookies for dinner that day, in jammies, watching trashy tv. We may even rent a couple of movies and just sit that day.


He's well into his work today, he enjoys Monday. Monday is science, physics, and latin day. He likes the computer and then iPad then computer aspect of the work/information on his first day out of the shoot. Tomorrow is his Literature day so there's more paper and working out of 2 books day, his Nook for his read and then one online exercise. I like the way his schedule is balanced that way.


While he has climbed into his iPad and is reading more about Newton and those laws, I'm off to deal with my final laundry, puppy, chicken coop clean out then dash to the store for limes and yeast and more wine...much much more wine!


/Tracy

Week 3, 8th

Wow, what a Labor Day weekend!

TUESDAY

We had a great 3 days, loads of playing, chickens, puppy time, eggs, friends, cocktails and plans for the future. WOW.

I will be honest, it was hard to get motivated today, I need a day off :)

Alouette is laying 1 egg every 30 hours or so, the other chickens are lollygagging about and resting on her laurels. I'm not above eating them. I think they know it and start to squawk and honk loudly when they see me, in a veiled attempt to lull me into a false sense of thinking they're trying to lay eggs. That's my current theory.

The Banker is working hard today, it's language arts day. I'm trying to ensure we're back on track so we can move into some of the 'elective' things he wants to do. It seemed we were fighting upstream last week and I don't want to feel that way.

I simply removed Mondays classes from our roster this week so there's no trying to make up the classes we didn't do Monday (labor day) sometimes you simply have to play the day away with friends without consequence. I like that.

I am going to download the second Hunger Games book for the Banker to start reading this week, hopefully we'll have a less stressful reading program than we had over the summer. I bought it for his Nook, I hope he enjoys it! I bought the second and third books actually so he can finish the trilogy. My mom told me about some teen book that is all the rage (she's further in the loop than me!), she's bought him the paper book, "Divergent", my niece is a huge fan of that series apparently. We like a little familial pressure to perform ;)

The CoOp starts this Friday and I am dreading it. That's all I'll say about that right now. I don't want to jinx it or send bad vibes to the Banker. I can do anything 12 times, 11 if I catch something and as long as it's not chaos, the Banker will have a great time and that is the whole point there. I may pack a flask. No one need know.

In other news, Pug puppy Alice is a joy, a sheer and utter joy. She hasn't had an accident since she arrived and has rung the bells to go outside a number of times. I can't see an accident happening. She is still very young, 3 mos, so no doubt she could forget or just squat but since the other two are regular bell ringing goer outers, Alice is on their schedule anyway. She does start to charge around the house like mad when she's playing with Lola in the evenings and when I send her outside when she's frantic like that she always produces, like any youngster, having too much fun to want to stop and go to the bathroom. Only a week and I can't remember our house without her in it.

We are supposed to go to a park tomorrow morning but we are blowing that off. I want to get the work this week under our belts. My mother arrives on Monday and that'll give us loads of reasons to divert over the next two weeks so we may as well work while we have the house to ourselves and no diversion to goof off. We can take time when she's here to play.

I haven't made any noises about getting a minecraft play time together, I've been busy playing myself. I have that on my short list of things to do this week, maybe we can do one at the Microsoft store at the Domain in Austin in which case the Banker can cyberplay and my mother and I can shop at my new favorite cooking store there, Sur La Table. We'll see.

I'm cooking a big roast dinner tonight for some reason, 102 degrees isn't going to get me down because sometimes I just feel like roast chicken, mashed potatoes, peas, glazed carrots, gravy and stuffing. Mmmmm. I have a hankering and when the mother has a hankering, everyone eats well ;)

/Tracy

WEDNESDAY

I have a treadmill in my house now.  Hubba surprised me on the weekend with one.  We have an elliptical but I can't use it with my crazy ankle and hip.  When I turned 48, something happened to me and I found myself starting to swell, not unlike a balloon being inflated.  Peri-menopause symptoms, said my Dr.  WTHell? Now, after no change in my lifestyle or intake I'm 2 sizes bigger and rounder and moodier (yes, it was possible apparently) and menopausal and figured a way to help me (enjoyably!) cut a pound or two (other than removing a limb) was to start walking on a treadmill. It's Austin, Texas, it's always too hot for me to walk outside. I walk 1.25 miles in the morning and again in the afternoon. Unfortunately, walking on a treadmill makes me starving hungry and after the walk this morning I walked downstairs and ate half a BLT with cheddar that I made on a half loaf of ciabatta I made, a banana, a glass of milk, a cookie and 14 milk chocolate covered pretzels. Yeah, this is going to work beautifully. *thud*

FRIDAY

It's first day of Co-Op today. I'm trying not to fret.  This isn't about me, after all.  It's about The Banker.  He is taking volunteer hours (which everyone should) he's taking high school art (to mess with his academic brain and loosen him up a bit) and then Spanish (which everyone should, any foreign language).  It's his fruits and nuts semester.  I told him he can do 'serious' class/es next semester at One Day or Bronze Door ($$!)  I'm going to spend 3 hours a week with little children.  I planned this badly but am not going to moan about it anymore.  As long as the Banker is happy, I will be happy.

This, by the way is the moment in time I intend to use in later years as part of my 'becoming a burden' to the Banker.  This story, this experience is why he has to take care of me when I'm old and feeble.  I'd thought about it over the years and tried to determine which moment I could pinpoint as the one moment he owes me for.  This is the one.  It's not that I don't like other people's little children it is that I don't like other people's little wild children.  I am not going to prejudge too heavily today though.  I haven't even met those children.  Perhaps they'll be delightful.

Baby Pug Alice is still doing wonderfully, no accidents and doing well in the crate.  She loves the chickens, doesn't chase them anymore and completely and fully believes Lola is her mother.  I have been really consistent with the crate and feeding and schedules which is why there's been no accidents in my house.  She comes to her name, is relatively obedient, for a little girl, and loves to have a good cuddle.

I have been working her up to almost 3 hours in the crate in the morning then 2 in the afternoon after a play and a feed.  She has to do her longest stint yet today, 3 1/2 hours and I fully intend on using her as an excuse to bolt out of there after CoOp today.  Sure it's lame but it's what I am going to do.  I can't remember a time she wasn't here, crazy little dog.  Lola is doing a beautiful job training her and keeping her occupied at my request.  I can't imagine having a puppy without Lola around to do the actual work.

We had a great day yesterday, changing the subject.  FriendE came with her boys, FriendJ and FriendZ.  True to form the children vanished with laptops and we only saw them when their need for food and drink surpassed their need to do whatever it is they were doing.  Mining emeralds apparently.  Minecraft of course.  I made an enormous platter of sandwiches and chips and sent them away upstairs.  Sometimes I really love my gameroom.

FriendE and I chatted about homeschool things, she'd purchased a book we looked through.  It was nice to have the chat with someone in the same boat.  We both feel overwhelmed and underwhelmed by our science options and choices.  We designed the perfect 8th-12th grade science curriculum, now if someone would merely produce it, we'd be set!

An interesting thing happened as well.  FriendE brought her crochet.  I haven't crocheted for a while, choosing to switch to the much faster and more instantly gratifying sewing/serging and embroidering.  I haven't played with my hooks or sticks since the fire in the craft room.  She had seen a pattern online she wanted to do but wasn't prepared to pay $9 for the instructions.  I agreed.  We deconstructed the pattern, we can do that, and wrote our own version and voila, our own pattern and that poor girl who spent all that time and effort writing her .pdf to sell, well, sorry for your luck, dear.

I had a small epiphany about it actually.  I realized I really do enjoy knitting and crochet.  It's infinitely portable and something I can do in addition to the food and the writing while we are in school mode and in the same room as the Banker.  Something I cannot do with the machines. Hmmm, sometimes it takes a simple question, "hey, do you think we can figure out this pattern so we don't have to pay this girl?" to make you rediscover something you thoroughly enjoy doing.

I'm going to play with my sticks and hooks more again and I'm sort of delighted about it.  I am also completely delighted with my treadmill and am continuing to do 1.25 miles, twice a day, with my headphones on, unplugged from everything except the noises in my head.  I love it.  I may not be able to ever go out or ever be on my own but this machine buys me 30 minutes of 'leave me alone' time and that is never ever a bad thing.

I'll report back on how our day progressed, of course.

/Tracy

FRIDAY, part deux

Sometimes, when we fret and worry about something we've never experienced, it becomes bigger than life.  I am a firm believer that most of the time, the fear of the thing is so much worse than the actual thing.  Well, usually.  Not today.  Today it was worse.  Much, much, much worse.

The Banker had a great time, he loved helping out the little kids for his volunteer hour.  He knew one of the little boys in the class which made them both feel a little more special.  He absolutely loved Art class and got kudos for a job well done from the teacher.  He loved his Spanish class and excitedly told me about the homework he has, the similarities between Spanish and Latin and generally bubbled over about the whole experience.  It warms my heart to see him so joyful about this.

I was in hell.  I thought I would hate my experience but had no idea how much I would hate it.  All my nagging little fears were incalculably multiplied.  I have to do it 11 more times, 10 if I can manage to catch something horrible.  I wonder where I can catch something horrible.  Leprosy? Plague?  I'm easy and don't really care which.  Summarizing my experience?  OH, I.absolutely.hate.it.  For fear of anyone involved potentially seeing this, I won't do any detail, it would be disrespectful and I don't want to do that.  I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings...a blog or my opinion are never worth it.  All I will say on the matter is the Banker is happy and glowing and excited and for that, I will continue to do anything.  I on the other hand, spent 3 hours of my day today watching to run screaming, I'm not being over dramatic here, I literally wanted to run...screaming...

I think I'll go have a little nervous breakdown now, just a little one, in my room, all alone.  I told the Banker how much I hated it.  He knew by my face and my frantic exit from the facility.  I told him how much I hated it with a smile and a giggle of course, you can't take this too seriously and the level of which I hate this is actually comical.  I hope I made him feel better about me hating it.  He does worry.  He was concerned I'd quit and then he would have to.  I assured him I would never quit something he enjoyed so much.  I can do 11 more.  Or 10, there's always the potential for Scabies? Rabies?  Lice?

When I go to my room for my little breakdown, I may actually shed a tear or two, stress tears of course.  Then I'll be over it and will suck it up.

Besides the fear I had/have of breaking the Banker and ruining the rest of his life, this moment in time is the worst home school moment (so far).

/Tracy

Week two, 8th

I'm not going to post daily but will update this post through the week based on day.  I may have nothing to say ;)



MONDAY

Week two seems to be off to a rousing start.  We have a new diversion in the house, I've named her Alice. Good grief, 2 dogs, 6 chickens and now...a puppy! What am I thinking?!?!
     

I am sort of hard core when it comes to dog training so, cute as she is, we're in full on crate training.  Her daytime schedule is 2 hours crated, 1 hour out, no squealing, whining or barking allowed.  So far, she's spot on and hasn't made a peep.  She's also not allowed to come out of the crate until I invite her, also, she's nailing it and waiting patiently until I open the door and then stand back and invite her to come out.  As I said, cute or no, I have things to do and I'm hard core :)  She'll be trained quickly because she's smart, I'm consistent as hell and Lola and Walter are doing all the work for me :).  My dogs are bell trained and it took Alice all of 30 minutes to figure out the bell ringing (Lola and Walter both ring it) means the doors is opening and we're all going out.  She also comes to her name already!  (I changed it to Alice because, well she LOOKS like an Alice)  She is in the crate all night, 11-6:30 without a peep and isn't making a sound when I pop her into the crate so I can get something done.  Puppies are never.ever.ever unsupervised at my house, even for a second.  No accidents so far :)  

I turned my office/craft room/ sewing room/ writing den/ classroom back into the space we needed after transforming it into a sewing space to finish a rug that was ordered from my Etsy store.  I am suspending the store (for the craft stuff) for the time being.  I can't do both in here and I prefer to write.  I finished one rug, at the cost (almost) of the top of my finger, a gash which I keep reopening *ouch*  I am going to trim and ship the white rug and am going to return the money of the second rug.  I don't have the teeshirts here and have no intention of going to shop for them then cut them then make the rug for the cost I charged.  I set the price when I was making them regularly and had the t's in stock.  I am trying not to feel like a failure.  I just don't feel it anymore.  I think it's because I finally made the decision to move on, to write, to follow my passion and am feeling obligated to make these tshag rugs and you can't be creative and happy if you feel obligated.  That's my thought anyway. 

Science, Latin and Physics went fine today.  I did buy the Banker an iBook for his iPad, Newton's Laws, for him to use in conjunction with his Khan Physics.  He's delighted. 

We have a good system with the big purple binder that we pass back and forth with notes and expectations and schedule, daily agenda and completed work.  It's like a game of tag, you're free until it's your turn to work in the binder! 

He finished by 1pm today and is on full puppy duty, I hear giggling and cartoons and the odd happy puppy noise coming from the other room.  Most excellent. I think I'll make him garlic cheese biscuits to go with the farfalle with two sauces I'm doing for dinner.

/Tracy

WEDNESDAY

The week has been a rousing academic success, well, up until 10:30 on day 3.  The Banker got all the work done on Monday he needed to, all the work yesterday and is well on his way on MathUSee day today.   I finally *ooops* graded the rest of his tests from earlier weeks and discovered there was one that he failed miserably.  I mean there's failing a test then there's failing miserably.  The good thing about such an abysmal score is that he was obviously thinking about something completely different.  He was so far off that I think he wasn't paying attention or something else was going on that day.

When I sit and think about it, I seem to recall he did a bunch of tests that one day and this may have been the last one or he was just done with it all. I get that.  He is going to redo the test today, gotta love home school...  the retake without worry or ramifications.  That makes me happy.  He was sort of surprised when I told him how horribly he'd done and agreed he was just off.  You're allowed to be off when you're in the 8th grade, you can't be off when you're in high schools exams or college placement tests but he's 13 and working at home so he is absolutely, completely, allowed to have an 'off' day.

I'm also going to test a theory and give him 'review pages" at the end of each chapter instead of 'tests'.  We are having a hellish day because he's shattered about failure. Having him redo a chapter (at my request as opposed to his decision to review the work) is being met with drama befitting of a 15 year old girl rebuffed in the lunch room over a love note.  *gack*

I'm not delighted.

Alice, that puppy, isn't interfering too much.  I am a hardcore crate trainer so she is in her crate from 9-11:30 every morning so she can rest (hahahaha) sure, we'll say that.  It's so we can get our stuff done and it prepares her for when we go out, did I mention I really really need to go out.  She comes out of the crate for about 1 1/2 hours then starts to fade so we crate her for another 2 hours.  That schedule seems to work for her and then she's ready for bed at about 11 or so and she's down for the night and back up around 6:30.  Not a peep in the night, this is my kind of puppy!

I am going to start the Banker on his photography class later today if for no other reason as for the diversion.  I'm sending him out with a camera.  Sure, we could talk about theory and history, naw, he's going to take pictures, experiment with hue and focus and the best way to learn what the million buttons on my Samsung digital camera do is to use them.

I'm thinking it might be wine time already. I have a hissy pissy teenage boy doing math in a snort and the puppy is only good for another half hour before I have to go be perky and joyful (and I'm in no mood suddenly).  I should take my window of opportunity here and now.

/tracy

FRIDAY

Well, what a week, with my ridiculous decision to get a puppy, which is going beautifully by the way, then the drama that was trying to get through a 12 hour school day and today, one of my chickens laid their first egg!  In the nesting box, wow.  I'm over the moon excited about it.  It's a little thing, barely brown and it's a big bowl on my counter waiting for more so we can have a meal.  I am not going to get anything done today for running outside to check the run, the yard and the coop for another!!

School kicked our butt this week a little bit.  We did math for an entire day which pushed everything back a day and today, which is supposed to be our 'free' day, is going to spent on the final math test then chapter for this week to bring us back in line.

The Banker told me he doesn't feel well and has gone to lay down.  I don't think he feels ill, I think he feels guilty from a little drama outburst he had at bedtime last night.  He wakes up feeling guilty when he's acted like that.  That's a good thing.  I'd be upset if he didn't give a damn about acting like a mouthy 'i know everything and you are obviously an idiot' teenager.

I think it's going to be a low key day and that's fine.  We are in week 2, are up to date on everything I wanted to be into by now and if we put off the next math chapter for a week then so be it.

I realize it's a short week next week and then we lose Friday by having the CoOp start.  Yeah, my time is ticking away there.  I'm still trying not to fret, even with the diversion of Alice and the chickens' egg I am feeling pretty consistently ill about the whole thing.  I will have to decide which subject stream day we blow off.  Just because Monday is Latin/Science/Physics doesn't mean that's the day we'll lose on a holiday.  I'll talk to the Banker about it

I think friends are coming over on Monday to talk about a food trailer (be still my heart) and even if we weren't having people come play, I think we are going to take all the school holidays off.

I have to research chickens today, about their laying habits, I can't spend every minute wondering if I should run into my backyard to check for an egg!  ACK!  I'm excited **GRIN**

Have a happy weekend, I have work to do.

/Tracy