Blogging EVERY day... FAIL

Blogging every day, for the rest of the month, beginning on May 16 Bucket List so far is a fail.  I didn't blog at all yesterday.  Crying babies and a Regionals Track Meet got in the way.  Emotional distress following yesterdays said Regional track meet got in the way.  Sleeping in on Saturday morning for the first time in months got in the way.  Shopping for plants for my garden got in the way. 

I won't consider today and yesterday a fail though.  Sleeping in is not a fail.  Also, I did buy plants and seeds for my garden, finally, not a fail.  And, last but not least, I did spent a wonderful evening with my family and a wonderful day with my girls and my sweet Momma.  Total win.  Tomorrow I plant.  I will try to blog, but honestly, it's not high on my list of priorities right now, despite being number 2 on the bucket list...

May Bucket List

Linking up With Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop today!  Using prompt #4.) Create a “May Bucket List”…what will you accomplish this month?

Now that we've reached May 16 I've decided it's time to come up with a "May Bucket List".  Being the procrastinator that I am this will work out fantastically for me.  So, with no further adieu here is my list of things I would like to accomplish before June 1.

• Wash the dishes
• Do some laundry
• Clean the bathroom
• Shower the kids
• Homeschool
• Daycare
• Cook dinner

Wait... that's my list for today...

So, what do I want to do?  What would I like to accomplish before June 1?  I've never created a "bucket list" before, not that I recall, and certainly not one where I have actually written things down.  I feel there are things that I HAVE to accomplish but only a few that I WANT to accomplish.  So what are the guidelines for a bucket list?  I think I'm just going to go with the idea that my "bucket list" should contain things that will make me feel better if I accomplish them.  So, I'm setting aside my daily "to do" list on my lunch break to put together a "bucket list".

1. Stop putting "bucket list" in quotations.  Just write bucket list.
2. Just write.  Once upon a time I would write something on my blog EVERY day.  Then I got busy.  Then I got sad.  Now it's time to get back to life.   Between now and May 31 I will write something on my blog everyday.
3. Finish homeschooling for the year.  This one is gonna hurt.  All of our procrastination in the last 3 months have given us quite a challenge, but it's time to get our act together and call the 2012/2013 school year complete.  Just do it.
4. Go to watch my daughter compete at state.  I know, this is more her than me, but if I can help her find her drive again, I'm certain she will go.  We've just got to find that confidence by tomorrow's regional competition.
5. Have a campfire in the backyard. Come on weather.  This one is all you really.  If we could have a dry weekend, that would be awesome.  Thank you very much.
6. Purchase tags for the boats and fishing licenses.  There will be no excuses for not going this year. 
7. Shampoo the carpet.  Oh dear God please, please let me find time to shampoo the carpet.  Or rip it out, one of the two.  Stupid piano seems to have pinned it in place.  I'd really be happier if the carpet was flat out gone.  A Saturday free to shampoo it would be lovely alternative though.
8. Have a date night with my sweet Daddy Y.  It's been too long.  I miss him.
9. Backyard movie night with my sis and her kiddo's.  We've missed doing that as well.
10. Visit the cemeteries for Memorial Day.  I can't even believe I'll be visiting my own father this year.  It will be hard, and I'm not sure I'm ready, but it's what Memorial Day is for and I will be there.

I hope to come up with a better bucket list next month, but for now this will be enough.

Comfort

Comfort is a kind word, a photo memory, a cartoon drawing, a family member.  Comfort is the feeling of warmth on a shoulder.  Knowing you're there even though I can't see you.  Comfort is each second.  Grief is strong right now.  I miss you so much Dad.  This isn't fair.  It isn't right.  It's not OK.  God knows what we can handle though.  I will have to take comfort in that.  I love Him, but I don't like Him today.  Time will provide enough of a scar to protect.  Time is a comfort.  Babies are a comfort.  They fill the day with constant needs.  Children are a comfort.  They laugh and smile and demonstrate how life should go on.  Track meets are a comfort.  They prove that there is a purpose in life. "Pick a direction and go that way."  Words from my Dad, written on my daughter's arm.  Inspiration passed on to her generation from him.  There is much comfort in that.  Tears.  There is comfort in tears that bring people together.  Many many tears must equal much comfort.  If not now, then comfort stored for tomorrow, or next month or maybe next year.  Comfort none the less.

Linking up with Lisa-Jo Baker's Five Minute Friday's.  Thank you for the much needed prompt Lisa-Jo!

Valentines Day isn't commercial around here

The phone rang that Valentine's Day morning in 2008 and I answered, seeing on the caller ID that it was Daddy Y.


"Hey!  What's up?" I asked.


"Well," he said, "I've got sort of a surprise.  We need to go the the church tonight.  There's a mass I want to go to."


"Okay"  I said.  "Uhm... it's Valentine's Day.  Is it a special mass?  What's going on?"


"Well.  I kind of wanted it to be a surprise, but I guess I should tell you.  Fr. is having a special mass for me.  I've decided to become Catholic.  Call your parents and invite them to be there.  I'm calling mine.  It's a private mass, just for us.  I'm going to be confirmed.  I want to go to dinner afterwards to celebrate."


"Oh my goodness.  Really?  Are you serious?  Are you sure?  What brought this on?  Really?  Oh my goodness.  I LOVE you!" 

That was my Valentine's Day gift January 14, 2008.  Daddy Y had been to RCIA classes 3 times.  The first time, he and I went together, at my request because I wanted him to understand what our children were learning.   I was Catholic and he was Disciples of Christ.  We made it about 3/4 of the way through the class when we got busy and didn't have time to finish.

The second time he went, he decided he wanted to go through it all the way through.  He finished the class and found it interesting enough, but wasn't interested in becoming Catholic.  I was totally okay with that and had never imagined he would decide otherwise.

The third time he decided to go because the priest who had blessed our marriage and baptised Awesome was leading it.  He found the class to be very interesting and Fr. to be very insightful.  Daddy Y and Fr. even set up appointments for philosophical discussions on the faith.  He enjoyed the experience very much and felt he learned a lot, but by the end of the class, he still wasn't sure he wanted to convert.  I never expected him to.

Daddy Y became good friends with Fr. and would occasionally schedule an appointment to go and have more discussions one on one with Fr.  Every time he came home with a smile on his face.   I was thrilled that he had someone he felt he could talk to about the faith. 

In January 2008, we found that my niece (then 11?) had been suddenly diagnosed with PH.  You can read more about that story at my sister's website here.  What followed was prayer.  Lots and lots of family prayer.  Rosaries and Novena's to be specific.  Friday's our family would gather for a rosary and dinner.  At home we prayed the rosary as a family.  We cried and we prayed, and then we prayed some more.  Daddy Y was moved. 

Obviously, he'd been contemplating the idea for some time prior to his decision, but this family emergency was the spring board that set his heart in motion. 

So in a private mass, on February 14, 2008, we went to Queen of the Holy Rosary church where he was confirmed Catholic.  I stood with him as he made his commitment and our parents and children were there to witness the day and help celebrate afterwards.  Tonight we will celebrate our faith again with a special dinner followed by a rosary.  Love that man of mine!

Happy Valentine's Day!


                          

Homeschool Parent Panel Linky

Last night we had a parent expo we attended for our virtual school and I was asked to be on a parent panel.  Unfortunately, that portion of the evening didn't have very good attendance as everyone else went to the organization session and the how to maximize your child's learning session that were going on at the same time.  What!?!  I'm interesting!  No, but seriously, I wanted to attend both of those myself and wasn't at all surprised.

I did take the time to look over the questions for the parent panel and thought I would share the questions and my responses here.  I'm sure you're dying to know more about me!

1.  Give us a brief summary of your educational journey.

     a. Number of children - 3 ages 10, 13 and 16

     b. Length of time in homeschooling, virtual, brick-and-mortar experience, etc., - 16 year old has been in brick-and-mortar exclusively (though looking back I would absolutely change that!), 13 year old spent preschool through 4th grade in brick-and-mortar and for 5th grade we began virtual homeschooling, 10 year old attended 3 year old preschool, kindergarten and first grade in brick-and-mortar and began virtual homeschooling in 2nd grade.  In total, I've been virtual homeschooling my 2 youngest children for 2 1/2 years.

     c.  What's interesting about YOU and/or your family - To me, everything is interesting about my family.  We have a story, just like every other family.  To an innocent bystander though, we're probably just your average every day family.

2.  How have you organized your day to accommodate your student's school schedule? - Organized?  That's such a strong word.  With one in high school, 2 homeschooling and 3 kiddo's coming here daily for daycare, our schedule is very fluid.  While we do enjoy some routine, we are flexible and face each individual day as they come.  That's the beauty of schooling at home.  You can do whatever works for you.


3.  What challenges do you face in your school day that compete with successfully "doing school"  How have you worked to overcome these challenges?  - Our biggest challenges are daycare schedule changes, fussy babies and high school schedule changes.  There are a lot of times when I can't work one on one with my kids and they are forced to work independently.  One way that we handle this is to allow them, on those particularly difficult days, to choose which subjects they feel the most comfortable tackling on their own.  We may have a day where we make it through every subject just fine, but we may have a day where my son will exclusively work on math and my daughter will exclusively work on science.  The biggest thing to understand is that it is completely OK to do it this way.  Our school day in no way has to be representative of what a "normal" brick-and-mortar school day looks like.  We can do whatever fits for us.

4.  Have there been one or two important things that have really worked for you?  What have you done that seemed to really make a difference? - There have been several things that have worked especially well for us.  First of all, exercise.  Whenever we have a rough patch, we stop what we're doing and find something physical to do.  We can do that as many times in a day as we need to and it is a great fix.  Another thing we have done that helps us is to use timers.  It's surprising how one little $5 kitchen timer can be such a huge force in keeping a kid on task.  Who doesn't like to play beat the clock?  Thirdly, art.  We need a physical outlet, but we also need a creative outlet.  Art is a very limited part of our virtual curriculum, so I am always looking for new projects for the kids to try.  They love experimenting and creating and these art sessions have no boundaries.  Fourth, block learning.  Sometimes it's just exhausting to keep changing subjects.  Sometimes it's just simpler to pick a subject, dive in and spend a day.  It really does help to allow them to find and keep a focus.  Lastly, but not least, we have a mandatory 3:30 cut-off.  I don't care where you are in your workload, at 3:30 you're done, no homework, no worries, close it up, put it away and enjoy the rest of your day.  This one has done a lot for moral and a lot to keep the kids on task.  They know there is an end to their work.  Everyone appreciates that.

So these were the panel questions.  I was only 1 of 4 panel members and I was really looking forward to hearing everyone else's take on these questions.  Unfortunately, that didn't happen, so now I'm asking you, will you be on the homeschool parent panel and answer these questions?  I would really love an open discussion!  Blog about them and link up or answer in the comments!  Can't wait to get some awesome advice!