Juggling: Socially Risky Behavior

 Slowly, but surely, I am getting back into the swing of things.  Each day has its schedule, although 'normal' cannot be used to describe my school week.  Or life in general.  What is normal?  There always seems to be a last second change.  A new event needing to be scheduled, things needing to be pushed around to make everything work.  But flexibility is one of the perks of being homeschooled.  And blogging is finally inching its way to the top of the priorities list. :)

Afternoons have, until just recently, consisted of walks to the park with Mom and the two little ones.  While Bear arranges his stick garden or guides Mom into his imaginary house (through the back door, because the front is locked, obviously), I spend our last warm outings differently.  Laying on my back in the grass, watching the blue sky, feeling the light breeze brush my face, ignoring the tingling feeling on my ankle telling me that some curious insect or another is striking out over the unknown and watching trees shed golden leaves.  If not for the leaves, I could have sworn that it was still late August. 

Summer has gone and fall has officially set in.  And I can't say that I am sad to see it go.  I have enjoyed the bright, sunny, warm days, yes, but there is something about fall that I have missed.  The bursts of color, brisk winds, and those cloudy days where the best thing to do is throw on sweats and a jacket, make some hot cocoa and sit back for an afternoon of online classes.

Bingo, Latin style.
(With edible, sugary, delicious playing pieces. Best kind of bingo if you ask me.)

I am enjoying school quite a bit this year.  The stress of the first year of highschool is gone and I have been able to relax after getting used to new online class times and homework due-dates.  And so, on top of online classes four afternoons of the week, and babysitting three mornings a week, there are those super important extra-curricular activities such as football games, helping out with Awana, afternoons spent bowling, and Venture Crew events to fit in as well. 

While I do not claim to have the art of juggling events mastered, I haven't dropped a ball (completely, anyways, there have been near misses) yet.  Hopefully I won't ever.  But that is highly unlikely.

~RM



Spring Cleaning....in November....

....All I have to say is: it shouldn't be legal.....

Tomorrow we leave this wonderful house that has been home for the past two years and move into the not-so-wonderful TLF that will be our living space for the next two weeks.  Tomorrow morning the home 'inspector' (insert dramatic dun-dun-DUN music here) comes to, well, inspect.  Our house has to be ship-shape before then.  The walls must be free of all dirt, crayon marks, food smudges (not that there's many of those) and pretty much blemishes of any kind.  I told my mom that a lot of them are not removable.  She told me to use some soap and elbow grease.  The blemishes have been removed and I am out of elbow grease.  Saturday was spent cleaning and painting our garage walls and then power scrubbing our fence, white fences and red dirt shouldn't be legal either.  The refrigerator has been thoroughly sanitized, the microwave was just washed, and this morning the oven cleaned itself.  Most of the walls have been sufficiently disinfected, but there are still many more things to be done.  The bathroom being at the top of the list.  I do detest cleaning bathrooms.....

So I decided to type up this blog post and let you all know how things are going!

Nooo, I'm not avoiding anything....

~RM

No Ghoul Left Behind

On our driveway stands a small boy wearing blue pajamas that read, "Daddy is my hero".  In his hand he holds a lethal foam sword daring any Halloween monster to challenge him.  Surrounded by darkness the conqueror fears no one.  Running to the very brink of his dominion he raises his weapon, yelling at the fiends across the street ...

"HEY! MOONSTERS!! WE GOT CANDY!!

The brutes could never resist such a challenge ...

~RM

~RM

Hidden Talent

My room is empty...well, all except for my bed, my duffel, and the teeny, tiny TV that we kept.  The other day (right after the movers took all our stuff away) my dad came in and expressed how he wanted my room to stay nice and neat at all times.  Of course my response was,  "Psh, that'll be easy!  There's nothing in my room!"

I am extremely talented.  I have the ability to make a mess out of nothing...

Living out of a duffel is not for me.  In no way shape or form was I meant to live with all of my clothes stuffed into one bag.  There is no good way to get anything out of it!  Especially when my jeans are at the bottom.  I like my jeans, a lot.  And, on top of the difficulty of retrieving clothes out of the evil bag that causes much frustration, all of my clothes are wrinkled when I finally find them!  That pushes my buttons.  Ironing every single piece of clothing I own before I wear it is not my idea of good time management.  Of course, spending an hour on the computer is considered good time management....

~RM

And Now For a Traffic Update...

Due to major construction, hallway 85 is down to one lane....

~RM

A Walk on the Beach/ Aloha to Hawaii

My parents have been putting together a 'yearbook' that covers most of our stay here in Hawaii.  Having experimented with a photo album for my dad while he was in Iraq, Shutterfly has been used to construct this book of memoirs before our move.  My father came up with the idea to take this picture for the very last page of our yearbook as an 'aloha' to our home here in Hawaii. 
~RM

And With the Rain Comes the....Wildlife

I named him Stanley....
~RM

Riley, Summed-Up

            This is Riley.  Riley is our dog.  Riley is...special.

Riley likes to act like an old dog, sleeping inside, going outside, sleeping outside.  He has a schedule.  Unless of course it's a Friday afternoon and the ice-cream truck drives by, then....well, then it's best to stay out of his way. He also has this thing with people walking along the curb next to our fence, he'll run up and down the length of our yard, over and over again, barking like anything while the people walk calmly by.  Then he'll go lay down again to catch his breath.  He doesn't care if the people walk on the other side of the road, on the sidewalk.  Riley just enjoys defending our borders.  Little girls on our street think he's a monster and spend their time running right up to our fence and staring at him while he barks insanely.  That pushes his buttons.  So do birds eating his food, the birds have learned to fear him.  Though, once you get to know him, he is really a sweet, laid-back dog.  He lives with Bear stepping on his paws and generally treating him as something to boss around.  If that isn't patience, I don't know what is.

~RM

Photo Fun

Last Saturday was school picture day!  Actually, it was the second school picture day, the first one didn't go  very well.  So!  We just scheduled another one!  I love being homeschooled :)  The books you see piled beside each of us are our reading for the year....lots of reading... 

Isaac

Abi

Me :)

And Bear...one of these things is not like the other....

~RM

Dilemma of the Day

To do laundry or not to do laundry...That is the question.   I could do it today, but then I wouldn't be able to get it all done.  If I was going to do it today I should have started earlier...but I didn't.  So I could just do it tomorrow, but then I wouldn't have anything to wear to church (I haven't done laundry in a while...my grandma was in town ok?!).  Another option would be to just wash what I'm going to wear tomorrow morning...but it would be nice to be able to see the bottom of my closet for a change.  Life is just full of tough decisions.  I think I'll just look through the back of my closet for something that's church-appropriate....and still fits....

~RM

Board-Game by Candle Light

~RM

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

This is precisely what happens when Bears don't get there afternoon nap.