John's week off

We wound up having a good week, even though it started a bit rough.

Wednesday we went to Charlotte to celebrate my Dad's 77th birthday! I know the girls had fun, but I think they tired Grandpa out. lol

This cake was perfect! We all had one piece and that is all any of us needed.

Thursday we left Charlotte heading west. John surprised us with a trip to Pigeon Forge to stay at the cabin we stayed in last year. It is amazing how the landscape changes there. Last year most of it was still covered in snow and ice from the storm two days before our visit. This year, while the trees had not bloomed, the grass was coming out and the flowers were all blooming. It is always beautiful there. Just makes you go, "ahhh".



One of two new swing sets.

My picture does not do this justice. But in my mind I can still hear it.

The mini golf course at the cabin resort.

He loved looking out the windows; Rosie didn't need to hop up, she was tall enough to just look out.

They were convinced her pool cue was food. lol

Chloe was eating ice cream while John watched over the fire he was building.
 

I believe they spent most of their time here. My family would be so proud. ;)
 

I believe we all had a good time and we're all looking forward to going back again...one day.

What is that in the sky?!

OH! It is just the sun; wow, how I've missed it. lol

Nothing new here. School is going well. After today we'll have 41 days left. The girls are excited and keeping a countdown in the corner of the whiteboard. Our summer will be cut a little short this year. I hate it for them, but they will survive.

John is taking off work next week. The girls are looking forward to a week off from school (and you wonder why it takes us so long to get in 180 days). We don't have much planned, but relaxing. I'm looking forward to some quite time and not going anywhere. Both girls are taking off from volunteering too. Jesse had no choice because the library is closed on her day, but we decided Chloe could use a day off too. Okay, it is more like Mom could use the time off from traveling. I feel like I'm always driving somewhere.

Back to Life

Well, we are getting back to our normal routine around here. School is going well, not that it slacked off any during rehearsals. I think we have 45 or 44 days remaining. I'm hoping we'll get them in by the end of May. I know it seems like we would, but when John is off so much is difficult to do.

We went back to taekwondo last night. We either have five, or four, new white belts. The one depends on her schedule with T-ball or softball; I don't know, some kind of ball that is not basket. lol  I am also working with three black belt recommendeds and two brand new-to-us black belts who are all relearning the forms. Yep, FIVE! I've never had to reteach five before and three of them don't know most of the forms (one came in as a blue belt). Last night was interesting to say the least. Master Mike thinks I can teach the next form to all five of them in fifteen minutes tomorrow night. We'll see. (I doubt it.) I understand why he wants to, but I don't really see it happening.

We don't have much going on around the house right now. Just trying to keep up with life is enough I suppose. We are hoping our plants we re-potted will survive. Some look great, but since we've had NO sun since we replanted them they are looking sad. I'm hoping tomorrow more of them will perk up.

"Alice in Wonderland"

Today is the final show of "Alice in Wonderland". If you've missed them all you missed one heck of a great show! I've had many parents come up to tell me how awesome they believe Chloe did. She has one speech that has rendered everyone speechless. Jesse was complimented last night, by the director, for her dance moves, which made her very happy.

Back row: Rachel, "the Caterpillar"; Mel, "the Hedgehog"; Jesse, "the Tin Man". Front: Chloe, "Alice #2)
Yes, all the Alices were referred to by their number. lol



Two of my favorite people from "Music Man" that we were reunited with during "Alice".

The "Wizard of Oz" crew for "Alice". It was a bit funny!

Lewis Carroll and all of his Alices.

All-in-all it has been an interesting ride. But I'll be honest, I will happily go back to teaching our taekwondo students next week knowing they listen (most of the time), are honest and trustworthy. I rather enjoy being around people I know I can trust. One of the things I teach in my classes are honesty, integrity, and the idea that martial arts is not just an individual sport, but a team one too. We help each out when we're stuck. We offer support and aid when we fall. And above all there is no laughing at one another because no one enjoys being laughed at.

We also went on an awesome field trip Friday. We went to the Catawba Cultural Center in Rock Hill. It was amazing. I learned so much! Chloe said, on the way home, it "was the best field trip ever!" Jesse quickly agreed.



A pottery demonstration; she created a milk jug right in front of us!

A demonstration of their music then several of their dances.

Jesse's favorite part was the "Friendship Dance" because everyone was able to participate. I loved the idea of the dance; you hope you and your friends' paths cross often. It is a beautiful, simple thought. Chloe's favorite was the "Hoop Dance" and I agree it was awesome and tiring just watching. lol

Oh, happy day!

Sometimes it is the little things in life that bring us much joy. Today, I had one of those moments. The girls and I had to go to Michael's for art supplies for a science project for Jesse (I'll post pictures when she is done). You know how they always have the row of small, awesome things you could live without? Well, today they had an item (maybe two) that I just could not do without and I already knew how I would use it. The girls told me to buy. I put it down; then picked it up and brought it home. It is a simple item. A bag. (Yes, John another bag, but wait!) This particular bag is rather small, but I knew it would be the perfect size to house my watercolor pencils, brushes and notebook. Guess what? It was a perfect fit! Now I have all my tools together (minus the water) and it makes me happy.

It is awesome! Right?! I love it.

The second tech rehearsal went much better last night. We actually ran the curtain calls three times and ran through the entire play. A couple of lines were messed up (one was a Que for Chloe; she was slightly irritated). I even charged my camera for pictures! Then promptly left it at home. So frustrating! I'm hoping to take a few pictures tonight backstage, but not sure how well I'll do with that. It is so much easier taking them during the rehearsals rather than an actual performance. Will see what I can accomplish. Fingers crossed that everyone breaks-a-leg!!! :)

Pictures. Yep! I have pictures.

I took a few pictures of the garage yesterday. Mainly, so after it gets messy again I can look back to see what it looked like clean. lol

My gardening area

It all looks so nice. And I've discovered another bonus: John moved the trash can to the side where my car door opens. So, I just put the trash directly from my car into the can outside my door. :)

We had another rehearsal last night. I was just too tired to blog. Last night costumes were handed out. What a job! I was not part of the dressing team; I was in the auditorium trying to keep 110 children somewhat quite and unharmed. The first part of that was much easier than the second considering I was the one wanting to do harm. I was so proud of my girls, who know how to sit quietly and patiently while waiting an hour and a half for 110 children to all get their costumes. It was all the socially enabled public school kids who can't seem to sit quietly nor wait patiently. So why am I also asked about the socialization of my kids? Interesting.

Anyway. I managed not to hurt anyone's children, but I did have to threaten one with being removed from the show if I saw her hitting anyone else with her costume. She instantly said it was "an accident". I asked her if "I looked stupid? You hit her three times in a row, which makes it not an accident." Girl, please! I also embarrassed a boy, who has been untrustworthy backstage. I asked him in front of all 110 children if he needed to come stand beside me and be my friend. (I told him the night before, backstage, if he didn't behave he was going to have to stand right beside me and be my friend.) Do I know how to get them to behave or what?! LOL 

Well, here is what you were waiting for anyway. The girls in their costumes:

I got some GREAT pictures last night and I hope I can get more tonight. But I figured, here, most people would just be interested in seeing our girls. ;)

An all day event!

Well, I have to admit John had been working on this project by himself, off and on, for a couple of weeks. Our garage! It was a mess. It was getting embarrassing to leave the house. I hoped no one would go by while the door was open. Well, now I just want to leave the door open. It is beautiful! So clean and every square inch has been reorganized.

I worked on my space, the gardening area. John said he didn't want me touching his stuff. ;)  He bought me a new shelf too and it helped so much. John had put in a couple of shelves a few months back, but I needed a step stool just to get to the bottom shelf and a ladder for the top one. The new free-standing shelves are going to be so much more functional for me.

John and Chloe did most of the work yesterday (Jesse was knitting). They worked hard putting stuff away and sweeping. Almost everything was moved so the entire area could be swept. The landing for the door was completely cleared. I think it is the cleanest it has ever been, including when we bought John's garage storage units.

Then after all the cleaning and organizing, the girls had rehearsal. I think it went well. It went somewhat better than the night before. I'm hoping the girl who plays the white rabbit gets her act together. She is still walking around with a script and missing a few of her entrance ques. Tonight everyone gets their costume and will probably go long.

The funny thing about last night. I spent quite a few minutes talking with a young man last night backstage. He has bronchitis and asthma, so he was having hard time. He was very polite and quite funny. I was talking to the girls on the way home only to discover this young man was "Tommy Djilas" from Music Man last year. Wow! He has probably grown close to a foot and matured more than that in the last year. Bravo, for "Tommy" (Shannon is his name)!

A full day, again

Today was another school day here. I know it is Sunday, but I am still trying to get in our days by the end of May. I think we are going to make it, but we have to be diligent.

The girls had another rehearsal this afternoon. One more down and three rehearsals and four shows then we are done! Whew! lol  Today was my first day working stage right. Why is it all the kids come in from stage right?! I was doing my job keeping everyone's feet back and trying my best to keep them all quiet, when one small girl asked, "Who are you?", so sweetly. I replied, "I'm Mrs. Marsha and I'm here to tell you what not to do. And what to do. But mostly what not to do, because I don't know what you are suppose to do." Well, the older girl next to me thought it was quite funny and started laughing. The little girl smiled then continued to wait to go on stage.

I think overall it was a good rehearsal. We started with some grief. An event yesterday did not clean up after themselves, so we had to clear off the stage and clean up before we could even begin rehearsal. I'm not sure what time we actually started, but we didn't get to finish the entire play today. We had to drop the last scene. Hopefully, tomorrow we'll run the entire show and everyone will know where they are suppose to be and when they are suppose to be there. lol

Never a dull moment

Today was one of those days where everything seems to go right. They are rare, but so worth the wait.

This morning the girls had to rise early. We actually did school work today. Normally, we have school one weekend a month (when John works). Poor girls they had to get it all done before lunch today. But they worked hard and finished everything I asked them to do.

Lunch was quick, and nothing to brag about. Unless you count the ripe avocados because they were awesome on my wrap! The girls both had ramen. (Not even close to my favorite...I don't even like the smell.)  Anyway. I think what made it better was the mail. They both received a letter from a Sanchez. They were very quiet on the car ride, looking at their letters.

The reason the girls had to work so hard then eat a mediocre lunch was because Chloe was going to a friend's house at noon. Last year during "Music Man", Chloe made friends with a girl named Gabby. Well, Gabby got sick before the show even started. She wound up in the hospital and never made it back to the theater. Chloe was heartbroken. But! They met up again during this show and now they are making sure they can continue contact. They have already exchanged emails and now phone numbers. I don't think they will go another year without talking again. lol

Jesse and I spent the time at Goodalle State park. It was beautiful! So quiet and peaceful. There were quite a few people there (at least 6 cars, which is a lot for this park). Many people were having picnics, some just letting the kids run and others were walking their dogs. Jesse swung while I just relaxed in my camping chair. It was perfect.

We picked up Chloe, then headed over to the auditorium at Camden High School. That place is gorgeous! Today was a three-hour rehearsal so I actually got to go home. The rest of the week you will find me in the right wing trying to coax 114 children to stay behind the line and stop them from talking. Wish me luck!

We went through a drive-thru coming home. It has rained all week (it seems) so John wanted the girls to be able to get outside with their pellet gun and bow tonight. They had a great time. I was inside working on a project listening to both dogs whine, because they could not go out too. Poor puppies. Not! This afternoon I forgot I had let Hank out. He was out for over an hour. I suppose he got bored because when I called him in he had "dirt" all over him. I tried to wipe him off with a moist paper towel to discover it was not dirt. Oh, no! It was poop! Really, Hank?! So to the bath he went. Crazy dog!

Somehow our funny bone is often tickled at night

Last night was no exception.

We had retired to our rooms. The girls were trying to fall asleep and John and I were watching TV and reading, respectively.  Suddenly, a loud bang came from the front porch. John and I both got up. I tried looking outside, while keeping Hank inside (he still believes an open door is an open invitation to go outside...we're working on that one still). Finally, I got out the front door looked left to wide-eyed frightened cats then noticed at my foot a weird wet "cat". I looked down and there, a mere, 8-inches from my foot was a small opossum. Yep, a opossum on the porch! I came back in immediately informing every one of my find (by now the whole house was awake). John got a long stick and pushed it off the porch. I found it more amazing none of our cats hissed or anything. The only noise had come from the opossum tipping over an empty container. Of course, that was enough noise to set both dogs to barking wildly.

Tonight is our only night off from rehearsals until after the show. Chloe is going to help a friend run lines over the phone and I don't know what the rest of us will do. I am looking forward to one night at home.

Life is complicated, but if it weren't it would be dull.

I think I'll take complicated, because I get bored with dull.

I've come to this blog many days writing about my stress over homeschooling and life. I am certainly not alone in the woes of homeschooling. All of us, who homeschool, have our moments when we feel the pain. I think that is why we flock together; we just get it.

A friend of mine posted a link on Facebook today. It was a post on this very matter. It is the correlation between school and life that I, and so many, struggle with on occasion. Here is the link:

http://prayingwithoneeyeopen.wordpress.com/2014/02/26/the-real-problem-with-homeschooling/

There is so much more to homeschooling than just school. It is about being with each other all day, every day. It is about learning to be kind to one another no matter how exhausted you feel. It is trying to find the calm inside your own head, when your home is in total chaos. Homeschooling is not just spelling, math or English, it is life. It is knowing your children are not leaving for eight hours, so you can get the house clean. It is finding the time to clean between science experiments and diagraming sentences. It is knowing you have to teach them and guide them for everything life will throw at them, not just algebra (which I LOVE!). It is truly knowing, on those days when you really want to give up, that you'll never give up because we are talking about your children and their future.

No, John doesn't get the same stress. And most homeschool families will tell you the same, because most families have one parent who does all, or most, of the teaching. That one parent also chooses the curriculum too. John will tell you it is stressful, though he is not part of the daily routine. He does help with science (I'm clueless!) and he helps me with problems, or situations, as they occur. His input and encouragement are essential to our success.

It is trying not to scream at your children because your laptop is irritating the snot out of you. Okay, I failed on that one. I did scream, "What?!" But I apologized and they know my computer is getting on my last nerve right now. Doesn't make it right though.

My point here is homeschooling is not easy. Neither is raising children to be decent, upstanding adults. But as parents that is our job. It is just homeschooling families have the school stuff too. :D

I think I can talk about it now...

John was taking pictures, Thursday night at Jesse's graduation, when the memory full message came on (I had not deleted pictures since our Florida trip before Thanksgiving-I really wish I had remembered to do that). I then asked Mrs. Tuba if she could take some pictures and videos for me, then her battery died. I asked Ms. Shondraya if she would take some pictures for me, then her battery died. Unbelievable! The entire day was like that with a list of items that went wrong, including a car trying to have a head-on collision with us on the to graduation. A creepy guy in the neighborhood, who said he was going to be there for three days, but never came back. (I took pictures of his car and his face from the classroom and dining room, so there is evidence of him.)

So anyway.

Jesse received her fourth degree black belt Thursday!! We are so proud. She is Master Mike's fourth student to receive this belt and the only female. She worked so hard for it. The new belt even came with new pants. They are white with a black stripe going down the outside of the pants legs. {giggle} I can't wait to see her in them tomorrow.

Rehearsals are going well, and about to seriously ramp up. Chloe has been the only one called so far, except the initial rehearsal when everyone was called. She is doing well, but nervous. This is the biggest role she has ever had and with so many lines! Jesse is looking forward to rehearsals tonight; their first for her scene. They are both excited about this show. I think it may go better than what it did in Columbia. I never saw it in Columbia, but I heard it was not so good from one of the parents of one of the actors in it. The show will be at Kershaw Fine Arts Center in Camden March 13-16, should anyone want to attend. I'm not sure when tickets go on sale, but you can check their website.

We spent Saturday at my parents' house. John switched his work weekends, so he could go too. He was glad he did when he found chicken and dumplings for lunch. He loves my parents' dumplings. lol We also did a little work around the house for them, not much but a couple of little things. And Jesse helped Grandma with a computer problem. Jesse is getting to be a real computer whiz.

Sunday was an adventurous day! We finally bought Jesse a compound bow we had been promising her since their Summer Day Camp last year. And Chloe got a pellet gun. They had so much fun yesterday in the backyard. Chloe was not too happy about having to leave for rehearsal, but they were back out there as soon was we got home. They did great. They made their own targets and everything (and no I didn't take pictures...I just emptied the memory...lol). They took turns using the backyard, safety third you know! (Love those Rocket guys.)

Today, school is going to be horticulture. We are going to start our seeds for the garden, then run a few errands. This afternoon, my plan, is do a little clearing in the backyard. Then Jesse and I will get ready for rehearsals. Fun day!