Cheetos and chocolate
No exercise for me recently. I feel disgusting and feel like I look disgusting. My female body has not been very kind over the last few days. As I was sitting here at the computer, I inhaled 2 snack-size bags of Cheetos and ate an ice cream cone. It’s almost midnight, but I have no regrets. Those were some really good chips and chocolate! Sometimes, I need that fix before I kick my rear back to the gym. Not to mention, my hair is so dirty and greasy-looking that it’s really embarrassing to be seen out in public. No “me time” right now.
I’m in an academic marathon for days on end it seems. I know we’ll be having trips and such ahead, so I’m pushing hard with our home studies. Four kids in four different grades-I start to look bug-eyed after a while. In the midst of my instruction, I’m encouraging my oldest to become an independent learner. That can be a challenging goal for him at times. Sometimes, I feel like beating my head against the wall with what I have to repeat to him or when I find work that was half-accomplished. But, I refuse to give up on this goal. Independent learning is an essential life skill to have.
Off to prep..no rest for the weary, and the tooth fairy needs to show up again! Two teeth in two days.
Adults only
Yes, this would be a post not suitable for young eyes and ears. Tonight brought quite an R-rated conversation that I had with my oldest son. My day went like this:
Another extensive day of academics, then extra-curriculars beginning at 4:30 with soccer for the boys and Hip-hop dance for my daughter (It’s actually, thankfully, very tasteful-no “Funky Cold Medina”). I made a quick trip to the grocery store while my daughter was in class (45 minutes) because our cupboards were bare. I picked her up from class, picked up my youngest from soccer, and drove quickly to the gym to take a class (Tabata) Work! Then, I went back to the turf field to pick up the other 2 boys from soccer. We arrived home around 8:30, and I began dinner-chicken Parmesan with precooked hormone-free patties. We ate dinner around 9:30, and they finally went to bed around 10:00.
So, now to my adult conversation with my son. It started out with me telling him about a book I’d purchased for him to read going in-depth on many issues such as porn and masturbation and STDs written from a Christian perspective. Then, he chimed in with questions about things that he’s seen or heard. We talked about condoms, oral sex, masturbation, STDs, AIDS, girls, protecting his body, and so forth. I hadn’t planned at all on having this conversation at 10:30 at night, but this is what developed as I sat beside him on his bed. He’s hearing and seeing different things from his friends and so forth, so he needed clarification and guidance on how to handle himself and the conversations. We ended our discussion with me emphasizing that he can always ask his dad and me anything, anytime. Such is the season that we are now in. This is reality for us, and I’m of the approach to discuss topics in real time with real facts. I don’t dance around issues. That probably stems somewhat from my personality and partly from my medical background. Equipping them to make wise decisions is a primary goal of mine as their decisions can have huge impacts not only on their own lives but on others, as well. Homeschooling offers you many opportunities to have these types of conversations, because you are with them so much. I’m thankful for those sweet moments. Parenthood is a dynamic process, to say the least.
Planning all of the time
Another day of studies here at home. So many interruptions today while teaching.. everything from the phone ringing to the UPS guy to a leak in the basement which led to the water service guy appearing and the list goes on. Comes with the territory but challenging to your rhythm none the less. I walk in circles all day long going from child to child since they all need my attention.
Tonight, I had dinner with a fellow homeschooling mom and another mom in the engineering trade to discuss what opportunities and experiences we could create for our kids and possibly other homeschooling families. Excited to see what might develop from our meeting of the minds:) What a different world this engineering mom leads compared to my daily life. I am a little jealous of her professional environment. I miss being called “Dr. Dozier” at times, keeping up on the latest in medical education, and taking care of patients. That part was really special for me. Nevertheless, here I am spending a great deal of my time now in my home. I wear yoga pants, old t-shirts, dirty house shoes, and zippered jackets every day. I call it my uniform because it’s the same outfit every day. My hair may or may not get combed. There is no make-up worn. The fashion police would arrest me in a heartbeat. That’s what I need! I need to be on one of those make-over shows so that I can get some new outfits! Reality TV, here I come…
Sauteed some peppers and chicken for dinner-don’t you know that I burned them.
Ivy League Homeschooling 