Monday, July 2, 2012

All in the Motherhood

I know, 2 blog posts in one week and its only Monday! Well, don't get used to it! I'm a hard working mom of 3 boys, then there is the dog, and the husband who brings home hay dust. Besides my usual cooking, cleaning, laundry and more laundry routine there are trips to the library, the grocery store and the park. Not to mention the unpacking from our recent move. The unpacking is not made any less stressful when I know we will most likely be packing up to move again in 12 to 18 months! Hopefully that will be our last move! Ever! We have picked out a couple of plans for modular homes and plan on building our own place that no one can ever sell out from under us! What a disaster that was! But it seems to all be working out and so I have to trust the good Lord on this one! I just don't like packing, moving all my packed belongings or unpacking! I think I'll stick with a cubist decorating motif for the next 12 to 18 months and save myself some work!
Among the monkey wrenches thrown at us with the sale of our old house (we had been renting a property just off the ranch for 18 months, so yes that will be 3 moves in 3 years with 3 little kids! Yikes!) is the boys schooling. For the last 5 years we have been driving by a wonderful little 3 room rural school with amazing teachers and a caring school board. My husband and father-in-law being 2 of the board member, well, my husband was one of the board members until we moved. He had to resign because we are about 1/4 to 1/2 mile out of district now. Which also means we need to get an inter district transfer. I really pray we are able to get the transfer without too may problems and on our knees begging. Since we are planning on building in the old district things should work out. We don't want to have to send them to one school for a year and then uproot them. If we don't get the transfer I think I will start formally homeschooling them. We are already a home that focuses on education. At 5 years old entering kindergarten the twins can read at a second to third grade level, count past 100, know all their shapes and colors (many in Spanish as well) and do basic addition and subtraction. I am very proud of them! Their little brother can say his alphabet, identify letters, count to 10 in two languages, knows most of his colors and shapes (including pentagon!) and loves to look at books! In a way I think it would be amazing to formally homeschool! It would be interesting to see how well my boys would do if I started using a classical curriculum and began their formal education! Either way, I am excited to see how the next year progresses for them, and for us as a family! So many opportunities out of what seemed like such a mess of unanswered prayers. Now if I can only find my husband's running watch, he would be so much happier. I know its in a brown box...

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Still Here

I am still here, the tired and slightly less overwhelmed mother of 3 very active boys! The twins will be starting kindergarten a week from tomorrow! I am encouraged to see how excited they are about school, but there is a huge part of me that does not want to release control of the education of my children. We live in a rural county that has 9 rural schools. Our school will have 26 kids K-8 this next year with 2 teachers and 1 1/2 teachers aides (one aide is also the school secretary). The kindergarten class of 5 will be the largest grade in the school and one of the largest classes for quite some time. If we didn't have this school, I would homeschool, no question. And we might just have too homeschool! We recently had to move as the house we were renting at the edge of my husband's family ranch was sold out from under us. We tried to buy it, but the house was old, lacked a foundation and did not qualify for a conventional loan. Once we finally had financing in place we lost the house to a couple with a ton of money who didn't need to bother the bank about foundations and dry rot and wanted a project. It was a very stressful time for us, but we are settling in about 6 miles down the road and saving to build our own home on the ranch. I have a pile of floor plans here on my desk to keep me company. One of the complications of this move (besides having all my possessions shoved into boxes) is moving 1/4 mile out of district. We are going to try for an inter district transfer but we are not expecting to get it. If the appeal to the county is denied then we will be a homeschooling family. Part of me is looking forward to homeschooling. Another part of me is looking forward to 3 1/2 hours a day with just one kid! After having twins first, well I find one kid amazingly easy! I can get sooo much done with just one kid! Especially one kid who still naps and hour and a half each day! If I could get nap time and school time to coincide I would be a very happy mama! Well, the kids are off in a hay field with daddy and a nap for me sounds like a good idea. Its been a long week and its only Sunday!