Just Another Manic Monday

So, I stayed up all night again last night, Sunday into Monday, so I could work on my coupons, of all things. I haven't opened the paper in three weeks, and since it's almost the end of the month, I needed to work on the database if I was going to have a chance of winning that $25 Amazon.com gift certificate for April! I hope I get it again... it definitely helps!

The plan had been to work on coupons on Sunday and laundry on Monday, but it didn't quite work out that way. Other than taking Sophia to her classmate's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese (deja vu!) on Sunday, I mostly slept. Don't know what's up with that, I've just been so tired. Between that and a wee-hours cup of coffee, I was well primed for another all-nighter. It seems like I do it once or twice a week lately. Sucks, but like Stephanie said, it's better than every night like I used to do!

 

I spent over an hour on the phone with my dad in the morning, hearing about his and Wife's honeymoon cruise, his first visit with my grandpa since my sister's wedding, his extensive home repair woes, yadda yadda. When he asked me what was new, I hesitantly told him about the kids' ADHD diagnoses and our plans to homeschool next year. He's VERY outspoken and not at all crunchy or anything like that, so I thought he would not approve... but he did and said he was proud of me! I don't live for my dad's praise or anything, but it comes so rarely that I'll take it when I can get it. He was all for the homeschooling thing, which shocked the crap out of me, but especially when I told him it was an alternative to keeping them in school and medicating them.

 

Around noon or so, I got up (yes, I worked on coupons for, like, 12 hours! But I wasted plenty of that time doing other things, too) to get ready to go to court. Today was my appearance for my naughty doggy's "dog at large" charge from last month, when Tiger Lily escaped the yard and had a nice time roaming the neighborhood until someone called Animal Control. Did I tell you about that? I had planned to fight the fine, since it had never happened before and hopefully won't happen again. She's licensed, microchipped, rabies-vaxed, and we pick up after her when she poops around the neighborhood. In other words, we're pretty responsible pet owners, and I was hoping for leniency based on that fact.

I was nervous. I dressed in a new skirt (I never mentioned that I went on a shopping spree at Old Navy after Sophia's birthday party last weekend. Everything is a size medium! I bought mostly size 14 bottoms, but 12s fit, and I should be down to at least a 10 after my abdominoplasty. And dare I say I could probably have fit into some 'small' tops, too. Exciting!) and tank top with matching sweater. I carefully did my make-up, hair, and put on jewelry. I wanted to look proper and responsible for the court.

At the court, I was chagrined to find I could bring in neither my cell phone nor my knitting. I had to trek back to my van in heels to put all my stuff back. By the time I got back in and found my courtroom - in criminal court, no less! - it was already time to go in. 

The judge was quite stern. When he was first addressing us, the peanut gallery, I was thinking, "Oh, Lordy, I'ma goin' to jail!" And then after the two people stepped up to ask for continuances in their cases, I was the first person called! I tried not to be nervous, but the judge had just yelled at the previous guy for talking too much, and I didn't want to make the same mistake. 

The animal control officer who had captured Tiger Lily and issued my citation, or whatever it is, was there. She stepped up to the bench with me and explained the case. The judge asked me, "How do you plea?" and I said, "Uh... not guilty?" He was not amused. He raised his eyebrows and looked down his nose at me, and then I said, "Your honor, I would like to ask for leniency. This has never happened before or since."  And blah blah blah, I gave the rest of my reasons. He looked at the AC officer, who basically pled my case for me, telling him I had no priors and that I was very cooperative, etc. He asked her if he should give me the benefit of the doubt this time, she nodded, and he spat out, "Your case is dismissed!"

I just stood there for a second and then asked, "Okay... do I just leave now?" "Yep!" replied the judge. I thanked him quietly, nodded at the officer, and high-tailed it out of there with a big grin on my face. It was all I could do not to kick up my heels and whoop out in the hallway!

Once in the car, I called Rob and my dad to share the good news about my dismissal - and, I'd like to add, I wasn't even the one who let the dang dog out in the first place!! I drove home and worked on laundry for an hour or so. I was so caught up with laundry so very recently, that it amazes me how far behind I am on it again already. It's ridiculous, the amount of clothes we go through. I can't stand it! But it's even worse now that I'm both changing over the kids' wardrobes to Spring/Summer and putting away Fall/Winter, as well as getting rid of all my Large/size 18 clothes and putting in all the new stuff I just got. Clothes, clothes, everywhere, and not a stitch to wear! Heh.

Anyway. Rob was supposed to go down to the bus stop to get the kids, but he fell asleep, so I had to race down to the corner at top speed to meet the bus. Just in time! All three kids bounced happily off the bus; they'd had good days. Rare for all three to have one at the same time.

Rob and I canoodled for a little while, while the kids cleaned up their rooms a little bit, and then I finally fell asleep. Just for a couple hours; I woke up just as Rob was taking Jack and Sophie to The Boy's Cub Scout den meeting. Chloë stayed home with me, to work on homework and then study for the Virginia SOL tests coming up next month. We have been really lax about working on that, and now that we're going to homeschool, I care even less... but I would like to see her do well.

When Rob and Crew returned home at 2015, Chloë and I whizzed over to the library. While she studied, I was reading up on homeschooling stuff online. There is just SO much stuff out there, I keep getting overwhelmed. I just don't feel like I know where to start. So I wanted to go check out a few books on the subject, to give me a little more focus. I found one on getting started in homeschooling, though not the one by Rebecca Rupp that I was hoping to find (maybe I'll get that on Amazon if I win that GC?), and another on homeschooling kids with special needs, and a third on what kids should know at each age and stage.

Chloë checked out a few books, too, and then we picked out an audiobook for the kids to listen to whenever there's time. We chose Little House on the Prairie, which I loved to read as a young girl her age. I couldn't find any audiobooks I was interested in there, but I'd like to listen to some while I do my knitting and such. I know I can download more from the library's website, so I'll have a look-see later to see what I can find. Have you ever listened to an audiobook? Do you like it?

Upon our return, I found Rob in the kitchen, cleaning up and cooking dinner. I had thought he'd already fed the kids before Cub Scouts, but apparently not! It smelled wonderful, but it was going to be a while, so I started the kids in on their audiobook. They sat around behind me in chairs and cuddled up on the floor in blankets, listening to the story with various levels of interest. I'm not sure Sophia is into it, but I caught Chloë reading one of the books she checked out when she was supposed to be listening, so... I'm not sure it will hold their interest!

Oh, before I went to the library, I talked a little bit with the kids about homeschooling next year, and what they want to learn. Sophia, no surprise, wants to learn more about birds. I told her I'd send her to her grandma. Next! (I jest.) Chloë wanted to focus on art and music (eek!), and learn more about taking care of animals. Jack wanted to learn about cars and boats. Shocker! That will all be fun; we can definitely do that. I just can't wait!!

I plan to be semi-structured with homeschooling. I want Sophia to learn to read more - she's definitely ready - over the course of the next year, and I want Jack to improve drastically. I will work on all the core subjects, but we will also have things like Field Trip Friday (maybe, I don't want to be too rigid about that), Library Day, etc. 

Also, I want to take a whole different approach to our eating style. I'm all into the environment, and yet I don't practice what I preach where food is concerned. As we use up the stockpile that I developed mostly in February, I want to replace those over-processed, "fakey" foods with natural, sometimes organic (but I'm not a stickler) and definitely local foods. Eating local is very important to me. We'll hit the Farmer's Market as often as we can, getting fresh meats and seafoods, produce - and there's even an organic market there, too. We'll go to the berry fields and pick our own, as well as beans and whatever else I can find. I want to learn to freeze and can our produce, and eat what's in season locally as much as possible. I'm way excited about the prospect. It will not only be great for the environment, but it'll be much better nutrition and might help with the kids' ADHD-whatever thing, as well. And surely, it'll be much more delicious than something out of a box, right?

Rob suddenly remembered that he had to go to work, leaving me to finish dinner while the kids listened to their story. D'oh! He jumped up and left, quick, fast and in a hurry. I miss him already. The kids ate well, and then I sent them off to bed, quite late. Quite late.

I'm all amped up about homeschooling right now. I feel like, with another cup of coffee, I could stay up all night researching it some more! I kid, I kid.

In the morning, Sophia's supposed to stay home with me and then go in at 0900 and register for kindergarten... but guess what? We're going to march in there and inform them of our intent to homeschool, instead! I'm sure they'll be surprised, since I had originally told them it would just be Jack.

This homeschooling thing is going to be So. Much. Fun. I can't wait!

Fin.