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Friday, November 8, 2013

7 Quick Takes Friday

Joining up with Jen and the other gals for Seven Quick Takes.

--1--
Peter's guitar teacher is moving to California so last Wednesday was his final lesson with Zach.  And I'm not going to lie, Peter was pretty emotional.  That boy is so tenderhearted and he hates change and he loves Zach so it was a hard afternoon all the way around.



I thought I found another teacher for him but as it turns out, he just joined a band in Nashville and will between now and January he will be gone most weeks and couldn't guarantee when he would be home to teach his students.  I decided not to even start with this guy (even though I have heard lots of great things about him) because it honestly sounds like he's going to be out of the teaching business for good soon.

I have an email out to another potential teacher and am waiting to hear back from him.  Zach gave me a name of someone he recommends as well so I'll probably give him a call too.  I'm dragging my feet just a little for a couple of reasons.  It was nice not to have to go to guitar lessons this week (one less thing in the schedule makes this pregnant mama happy) and we should find out in a couple of weeks which night the kids basketball practices will be.  I'd rather have that info in hand before signing him up for lessons so I don't have to change the lesson day if it were to conflict with basketball.

--2--
 Dan has been in Ireland again and got back last night. I fed him and the kids dinner and then headed out the door with two friends for a mom's dinner out.  It was nice to catch up with these two ladies.  I love talking with other moms because it makes me feel like my kids aren't as screwed up as I think they are.  What?  Other kids fight and bicker and push buttons?  Other kids don't want to do their homework?  Other kids are struggling with x, y, or z?





It makes me feel better to know that my kids are, dare I say it, normal??  Because when you read a lot of blogs, like I do, you read about other peoples kids but you are only getting the highlights (and very rarely the lowlights) and it starts to make you wonder what the heck is wrong with your kids.


--3--
Dan and Peter are going camping with the Boy Scouts this weekend and Sarah and I have big plans.  We are hitting the mall bright and early on Saturday morning for a dress to wear to the Daddy/Daughter dance which is next Friday night.  My mom just sent me a text and informed me that there's a $10 off coupon in the paper for Belk's and that all their little girl's dresses are 40% off.  Keeping my fingers crossed.  It would be so nice to find a dress this time.

And then later in the afternoon Sarah's friend from school is coming over for a playdate.  Between shopping and a playdate with her BFF, Sarah is going to be walking on cloud nine!

--4--
 While Sarah and her friend are playing, I will be wrapping Peter's birthday gifts.  His birthday is the 13th but we will be celebrating it on Sunday afternoon at lunch with my parents and my brother.  Would you like to know what Peter's main request for his birthday is?  No?  Welp I'm tellin' ya' anyway.

A Nintendo NES.

Yes, you read that right.  A Nintendo NES circa 1985.  Y'all he's a little crazy I tell you.  He's read a lot of reviews online about how awesome the NES was/is and how even though it's old most of the cartridges still work because of the way they were constructed.  And even though we have a Wii and a PlayStation, he wanted an old NES.


We spent a lot of time trying to talk him out of it but he insisted that's what he really wanted so I headed to eBay and made the purchase.  The one I bought has been refurbished and is guaranteed to work.  Keeping my fingers crossed that we can plug it into one of our old tvs and that it will work.  Also keeping my fingers crossed that he doesn't immediately regret asking for one.

--5--
Guess what I'm almost done reading???

Yes, I know I'm a little late to the party and that you all have probably already read it but just in case you haven't, you should really get it.  I am almost done reading it and if the kids didn't need help with their homework, food, clean clothes, etc. I would already be done with it.

It's a great story and a quick read.  You will not want to put it down.  I love reading about other people's conversion story and even though I knew a little bit of Cari's background already from reading her blog, I am really enjoying this book!

--6--

My BFF Jennifer just started homeschooling 3 of her 4 kids this week.  And while I'm super excited for her, I'm sad for myself.  (Yes, I'm selfish.)  She is the office manager at her husband's Veterinary Hospital and will be homeschooling the kids during the day while she is working.  (I just got very tired typing that sentence.)  But that means that I won't be able to call her on her lunch break like I normally do or even have lunch with her like I do every couple of weeks.  Boo hoo.... Poor me!  (See, selfish!)

--7--

I have several other friends who started homeschooling this year, and of course, all of this homeschooling makes me wonder if I should be doing it too.  I know my kids are getting a good education at the Catholic school they attend.  But they have a lot of homework and many afternoons while we are in the midst of this mound of homework, it feels like we are homeschooling.  

And Peter is struggling a bit this year.  His teacher is very strict and has high expectations of her students.  (Which I appreciate.)  However, Peter is having trouble living up to these expectations.  And as I am typing this, I just noticed his Wordly Wise homework is sitting on the printer where he left it after he finished with it yesterday.  ...sigh...  another homework miss for my boy.

Head on over to Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes and have a great weekend!

4 comments:

Billie Jo said...

I too began homeschooling/cyberschooling this year. It has been a true blessing for our family. In fact, we were just talking about what you wrote ...

My kids went to a very good Cathoilc school. They were there eight hours and then came home and had at least two hours of homework a night. This did not include studying for tests!

We found that our whole life was being dictated by the school and school schedule. Now, we do our schoolwork and when we are done, usually around two each day, we are done for the night!!!

We have more time to do family things and enjoy each other. Just this morning I thought how glad I am that we chose this path. We got our first snowfall last night...only an inch or so...but before we started our lessons, the three younger kids went outside and ran around and had a snowball fight! They would not have been able to do that had they been at school. : )

Just think, next year you could be rocking a baby, sipping some tea, and helping your kiddos with schoolwork, all the while being so glad you don't have to go pick them up!

Please don't think I am against public or private schools, it is just that this really works for our family right now! : )

Have a Greg weekend, my friend.

Billie Jo said...

Ok...that would be great weekend!

Busy Bee Suz said...

I used to threaten my girls with homeschooling. :) LOL

Sorry about the guitar teacher moving...hopefully you will find someone equally as great.
I love that Petter wants an old school game system. Oh, wait, I meant Peter! Geeze. You and your fancy spelling. :)
Crossing my fingers on your dress shopping too; with us, it's always an expedition!

I hope you all have a great weekend!!!
Suz

Jessica said...

I started homeschooling (I'm using that term loosely since I didn't have a plan and I don't have all the subjects yet) last month. I was terrified. I have never wanted to be a teacher. But I got put in a position where it was our only option. If you love your Catholic school, and it works for you, great! If that's not what God wants for you, He'll let you know. That's how it worked for me, and my son and I are amazed at how happy we are now.
The forgetfulness is normal for middle-school kids. It's part of their brain development. You know what's best for your family.