Where Have I been,You Wonder?

I've been here. I really have not been doing much this week but yet do not seem to be getting much blogging in. I haven't even been getting my sewing fix. I have been relaxing and enjoying the nice weather. I made a visit to the library this week with Elena,Grant,Alan,Joyce,Cyrus,Nolan,and Josh. This evening I spent some fun time playing Frisbee with Elena and wandering around goofing with my camera.

I am still plugging away with home school planning. I have not yet finished my group c kids yet. It is very hard to fit in school planning during free moments. It takes a lot of brain work. Sewing on the other hand can be done here and there. I have had my share of weak moments where I have been so overwhelmed with planning school that I just want to throw in the towel. I do not think I am making things more complicated that they could be. I am finding that planning for 12 (half of whom still struggle with reading and need one-on-one time) is much different than planning for for say half the number I did a few years back. Is there anyone else out there who has done what I am doing and made it through? I need a little encouragement...

What am I using to teach my many ducklings? Weaver with a lot of notebooking (of course, I LOVE,LOVE,LOVE both),my great Pearables home ec book, and Bob Jones for math for all. A few non-readers are going through Reading in 100 Easy lessons. A few other non-readers will be reusing some old Bob Jones K phonics books. I could have all the non-reader use the 100 Easy Lessons but I just could not sit and teach that 6 times a day! I would scream. Maybe someone out there (of my nine blog readers...I checked) has used that book to teach in a small classroom setting?

I'm really not complaining. I just get hung up on the organising and planning part of homeschooling. Finding the time to plan and organize is also very difficult. Oh, but this will be a fun year. It will be easier than the past few years. Those where very hard years with the home school area. Now, I have a much better idea of where our Liberian kids are at academically. It helps that I know their personalities so much better as well as what areas they each find easy or hard.


On to other things...

Once again our refrigerator, dryer, and stove are not behaving well. All year our freezer part of the fridge would over freeze and not defrost and our fridge would usually not get below 50. It was fixed for a little while last year but went goofy again. Our dryer does not dry in hot weather, and the two burners we have left on our stove only work when they want to work. Picky,picky... I will not carry on over our continuously clogged and overflowing toilets, or temperamental kitchen lights, or MANY broken windows,or ripped screens,or broken doors...but I could...it is all a part of the fun of raising a large family.

No, I will stick to my three pesky appliances.

Thank goodness for Centerpoint Energy service plan. The Centerpoint Energy guy was out here all afternoon working hard to get our appliances back in working order. He did not quite accomplish that but he ordered parts for our three misbehavers and will be back to see what he can do next week. I'm not too worried. We have lived this long with the issues and to actually have something working the right way seems like frivolous excess.


Here are a few of the random pictures I took this evening







My dear friend over at The Zoo took some very pretty summer pictures of the flowers growing in her yard. I thought it would be fun to show what's growing around our yard! What do you think Barb? Breathtaking? I know, the milkweed leaves everyone speechless. It is about the only thing growing in my square foot garden this year.