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Outside my window…

I am thinking…

about my son who will probably have to move because the rent on his house will go up almost 50% at the end of his lease.  I did do some checking and the landlord is not out of line with his request. Most houses have rents that start at around $700 per month and go up from there.  Then I started looking at mortgages and interestingly, he could pay a house payment on the same house for half of that on a 30 year mortgage. The wheels are spinning.

I am thankful…
for my sister. Sis has been sick the past couple of weeks so whenever I have needed her to research something online for me, she has been like a dog with a bone!! Great job sis and thanks for the help!

I am pondering…
Rosie turned 12 on Saturday. She wanted to go out too breakfast with her dad and me, (we went to Dennys) and then she went to her Little Flowers Club where they helped her celebrate. Then she brought a friend home for a family dinner and all of her siblings except for Calvin and Sarah were there. It was a simple, fun birthday.

She opened her presents and received a lot of clothes!   I sort of miss the days  of Barbies and toys, but next  year she will be a teenager – my last teenager.

One of my Favorite things

When I was a junior in high school, we were given the option of purchasing a class ring. My grandparents bought mine and I remember wearing it very proudly through the rest of high school.

But after I graduated I stopped wearing it because I thought it made me “too youthful” to employers. So for a while I put it on my charm bracelet, and then I stopped wearing the bracelet very often.

But in my 40s I noticed that my sister-in-law always wore her ring and I asked her about it. She said that ring and her trumpet were the two things her parents bought specifically just for her, and she treasured them. I took my ring off of the bracelet and started wearing it regularly.

Of course, when I first got the ring I weighed 115 pounds and it fit nicely on my ring finger. Now I have to wear it on my little finger, where it will probably stay as I doubt I will ever see 115 pounds again!

So I bought graduation rings for two of my sons. I asked my second son about his ring and he said he thinks he knows where it is (sigh…) but my daughter really wanted a graduation ring, so her father and I bought it for her. It’s certainly different from my ring and the rings I got for the boys, but it suits her and she helped pick it out. She loves wearing it, and I think it will always be a nice memento for her.

I am hearing…
the air conditioner. My tinnitus was gone all day yesterday and it’s not too bad this morning. Maybe the shrillness of spring is over.

In the kitchen…
No clue. Mr. Pete does the grocery shopping and he hurt his back yesterday so I will have to go to the store today and see what is on sale and what I would like to prepare.

I am wearing…

Gray skort and gray striped T-shirt.

I am going…

• to walk or work out every day with Pfilates . 
• to cut my carbs via the Wheat Belly Total Health: The Ultimate Grain-Free Health and Weight-Loss Life Plan recommendations – no more than 15 grams of carbs per meal. I’m also attempting intermittent fasting. 
• call my July bride and get set up for that wedding!
• Pick out music for my new concert. 
• Pick out next year’s curriculum for Rosie. 
• Make a schedule for Miss C. for the summer. 

From the Learning Rooms…

Maryrose:                                             

Reading Trumpet of the Swan and get back into the swing of running. 

Isadora: Senior year!

Starting an apprenticeship of sorts today. Also going to work hard on the flip house.

Also looks like I will be teaching General Science for our Co-op next year. I was talking to a few of my friends about this and it seems there is a lot of division among homeschoolers over young earth vs. old earth.  I had no idea it was such a big deal.  What really surprised me was that my more devout friends are very ANTI- young earth.

I am not married to either theory (although I guess I lean young earth) but I find the entire thing fascinating.

A quote to share…

Government schooling is the most radical adventure in history.  It kills the family by monopolizing the best times of childhood and by teaching disrespect for home and parents.   John Taylor Gatto, Teacher of the Year in New York State in his essay “I Quit, I Think” published in the Wall Street Journal.

This sounded very familiar to me – probably because I wrote a similar opinion on this blog four years  ago this month and got soundly thumped for it. 

A picture to share…

Rosie art