General Update

Wow, it's been awhile since I blogged. Obviously that means I've been busy! The good news is that the kids and I followed our MOTH schedule quite well this week and got a lot accomplished. The "bad" news is that my schedule leaves very little time for frivolous things like blogging...but that's probably not entirely bad, is it?! I could spend a lot of time reading other people's blogs, surfing the 'net, and of course blogging myself. But then I find myself neglecting important things like discipline and training the children--I end up yelling at them from the office to be quiet and get along rather than getting off my rear end to go and parent them. I was convicted of this and took a little time off, and now I hope to balance blog updates with my other responsibilities. I do have at least an hour and a half of office time scheduled every day...but my business needs to be squished into that time as well as family office stuff like bill paying, etc.

Whew, that paragraph kind of rambled right on with no plan. My "plan" now is to quickly give a rundown of updates while the kids finish dinner (Ted and I are waiting to have a popcorn snack after they're in bed) before the new week starts and I get caught up in other things. So, here goes:

Our house--still on the market, but no nibbles yet. We heard from the paralegal at the attorney's office where we send our rent payments that the bankruptcy file has not moved, so there is no sale date for the house yet. We're not sure exactly what that means other than we don't have to move in the next 30 days. One month down, 23 to go!! (That's how much longer we have in Vegas...)

Kenna--She's doing great. The thrush has disappeared, praise the Lord, and Kenna is now chattering and smiling again. Unfortunately, we seem to be dealing with teething pain. She's been waking up at night again, and I'm not sure whether it's from teething or because she's close to being ready for solids. The other kids began waking at night soon before we started them on cereal. However, last night she didn't seem to want to nurse, so that may not really be the issue. At any rate, I'm hoping to hold off at least until after we go to my Stampin' Up1 Convention. In other news, we seem to have a thumb-sucker...she is finding her thumb with amazing precision these days and prefers that to the pacifier during her waking hours. No rolling over yet, but it's probably going to happen soon.

Ted's job--He finished some rather boring but essential training and will be officially working his new position starting tomorrow. He learned he needs to go to VA sometime soon for a few days. We're liking his predictable hours and the fact that he can ride the bus...saves us a LOT on gas. Overall, I think he gives his job a thumbs-up.

Home school--We will be starting week 8 of our Sonlight core. We're a bit behind in science (just finished week 6) but can probably catch that up. Charis is doing very well with creative writing assignments now that I've begun allowing her to type up a final draft after handwriting a rough draft. She has emailed her friend Hannah one of her assignments, and I think I'll encourage her to email a different friend and/or family member each week so she can enjoy sharing her writing with others. Tobin is doing pretty well with his LA as well. Some days he can't seem to get enough; other days I have to practically sit on him to get anything accomplished. All the kids love the Sonlight reading as well as science. (We're planting bean shoots currently, and Charis is diligently recording each event in her nature journal.) I've been giving Arden his own half-hour of school time with Mommy, and we've enjoyed reading together, practicing writing his name, and working in a shapes workbook.

The Schedule--WOW! Life on a schedule is GREAT!! Now that we're back on track with a new, updated schedule that reflects our major life changes (i.e. adding another child and schooling two children instead of one), life is so much more peaceful around here. I set the timer for a half an hour, and when it dings, we move on to the next activity. I have the flexibility to tweak as needed...some days Charis and Tobin do math simultaneously instead of having their own half hour with me; other days the timer goes in 25-minute increments instead of 30. Schoolwork is getting done, attitudes are much better, behavior is better, and I'm on track (for the most part) with general housekeeping responsibilities. Getting back to our menu planning has also been a huge help in this area.

Running--Last weekend I took some of my business profits and went shopping. I got new running clothes and shoes, plus a stopwatch. Awhile ago I had ordered a Fuel Belt, which I love, so I am all set. Despite the loss of my running partner, I've managed to do quite well. I may start posting my weekly mileage for some accountability. Here are my last 3 weeks' worth of running totals:
* Week of June 24: 8 miles, 3 miles, 3 miles, 6 miles = 20 miles total
* Week of July 1: 3 miles, 7 miles = 10 miles total (This is the week I had the pain from the thrush.)
* Week of July 8: 5 miles, 3 miles, 5 miles, 7 miles = 20 miles total

Business--I'm hoping to get more workshops booked, but for now I'm busy enough with stamp clubs. However, a couple of clubs are ending, so I'm hoping to branch out now that we're settled with Ted at home and our school routine in place. Our Stampin' Up! convention is just around the corner, and I'm excited to get together with my stampin' sisters!

OK, I'd better close here...it's apparently story time! Hope this little update will tide everyone over until later!