Day 25b: The Homeschool Report

As promised in the Goals post, here is today's Homeschool Report.

I am so relieved to be able to report--and before dinner, no less--that we have completed all the items on the Homeschool schedule. Today.

It wasn't seamless. It took effort. I had to confiscate a game and a dvd. It got ugly more than once.

A lot of my problems come from not paying attention. I suppose that's not particularly unusual. Like anyone, when I'm interested in something, I give it my full attention. I know what's going on. I do whatever it is I need to do in order to stay on top of it.

But, since my daughter started attending public school last fall, my heart for homeschooling seems to have gone with her. It's wrong. It isn't fair to the student I have with me still and, thus, I have to change it.

I sat down with the work he did today to go over it and see what was what in order to write up this report. Let me just say that I am so glad I did. My inattention has caused him not to pay attention as closely as he should. My inattention has meant he hasn't been accountable to anyone for how he has been doing his work.

I am hanging my head in shame.

We'll do the corrections.
We'll do the work scheduled for tomorrow.

And I hope we have a happier report tomorrow night.

Day 25: Grumpy.

Daedalus (my husband. Not his real name.) had to go back to work this morning after his week off. We don't get up with him.

But, my daughter and I overslept our alarms. So, I woke up "behind." That was the first "grumpy."

I gathered all the clothes out of our laundry hamper to sort into baskets and take downstairs. The laundry room isn't done: but Daedalus hooked up the machines last night before bed so I could do some laundry.

As I turned right at the bottom of the basement stairs and stepped into the laundry room, I just missed a pile of fresh poop.

That's the second grumpy.

I started the first load and helped my daughter get some breakfast (last of the frozen pre-made pancakes. Errgh.)

Then, I walked into the living room to begin my "pick up and put away" and lo and behold, a fresh wet stain on the carpet.

What is wrong with the dog? Is he just protesting my husband's return to work? This is the third time in five days in roughly the same spot. I'm going to have to do some research and figure out how to stop this. Fortunately, our curbside carpet was treated with something, but nothing can stand up to much more of this abuse.

Oh--and the last grumpy?

(If you are at all sensitive, have a weak stomach or are eating something, look away.)

I put a quarter down for scale

This was left in a bucket under the bathroom sink.

Yes, Daedalus finally tackled that clogged bathroom sink. He said he'd found a "clump of hair" in the pea trap.

The anger gave me a lot of energy, though. I scrubbed away at that stain in the carpet (before breakfast!) and wiped down the fixtures in the downstairs bathroom. Truth be told, I am glad we have the sink useable again!

I washed the breakfast dishes after briefly debating with myself about leaving them until after lunch and just giving up this morning and hopping onto the computer.

But I did them after cleaning out my purse and reviewing the calendar and my to-do lists for today.

I have washed, dried, folded and put away two complete loads of laundry already! (There'll be more.)

I went upstairs, wiped down the upstairs bathroom, made my bed, and quickly dusted. I knew today's Fall Cure 2011 task was "buy fresh flowers." Currently I have lots, so I made a fresh bouquet for my nightstand.

You know why?

I knew it would cheer me up.


And so it does.

(Did you catch that? I did housework to cheer myself up. It's just weird.)

Movin' and Shakin'

OK, so maybe I exaggerated a wee bit the other day when I mentioned I was changing things up in the living room to accommodate the "new" rug.

Nonetheless, I have made a few changes.

The most dramatic has been new curtains from IKEA.

Seriously.

Usually in winter I put up a set of triple pleated brown polyester drapes. They weigh a ton. They're old: but I like them. But they are a bit "heavy" for summer.


So, as I usually do when the light lengthens, I put up these cream tab tops this Spring.


This was supposed to be the "before" picture for the summer project item "lengthen living room curtains."

They waited patiently for me to make up my mind about what I wanted to sew along the bottom. I waited for direction, inspiration, something to strike. And then we found the "new" carpet. Not even a coordinating bottom could save them.


I confess I'd lost heart long before when in the attempt to iron one of the six panels I found the edge had been twisted beyond all redemption.


They served me well.


Don't mind the chairs. That's just me trying to figure out how to make things work.

I've read that a clear bright colour like my teal rug needs lots of white, black and other clear colours to look its best. Now that I've purchased and hung white RITVA curtains from IKEA, I think they're right.

Can you see the difference?


I'm letting all six panels go to Value Village.

Day 24: The Fall Cure 2011, Day 1

Yep. Maxwell is doing that abbreviated 20/20 cure for "busy" people, again. Yep. lots of dusting, vacuuming and flower buying. Whatever.

It feels odd to say, "I don't need it." But I don't. Not the extended 8 week version, or this quick lick and a promise version. It feels odd--but strangely liberating too. Odd because the Cure was the reason I started this blog in the first place. 829 posts ago I wrote the very first post announcing my intention to participate in the fall Cure of...wait for it...2007.

Liberating because this daily thing is working so well. Finally, I feel like I've got this cleaning figured out.

Nonetheless, I can't ignore it. I'm not quite ready to just let it go. So, here is what I'll do. As always, I'll make it work for me.

Today, Maxwell encouraged us to "surface clean" one room: vacuum and dust. I chose the dining room. With spilled chocolate cake crumbs and gift packaging littered the floor, a toddler's handprints and a Beagle's nose prints smudging the windows, it seemed the obvious choice.

So, in addition to my morning routine, I quickly dusted all the shelves, washed the windows and swept.

Then, I wiped down the top of the two doors, the sides and cleaned up a few spots on the walls.

I've been wondering how to prioritize my projects and get them done. This 20/20 Cure thing may provide me with the format I need. This week, I will finish up the projects related to the dining room and give a little tour on Friday.

Then, we'll do the kitchen and the living room in the weeks following. I just made up a schedule. Either it is unrealistic: or I am going to be very busy!

Day 23: Goals

Nothing like the smell of chocolate cake creeping into the corners of the house to put me in a good mood!

I woke up this morning determined to not let let today slip by like yesterday. I weighed myself. I didn't make the bed: I changed the sheets! Then I made the bed.

I wiped down the mirrors and the fixtures in the upstairs bath. I'll be sending my daughter up to wash down the walls, clean the toilet and wash the floor.

I wiped down the fixtures in the downstairs bathroom and swished the toilet bowl.

I've picked up the house, more or less. I washed the dishes while I "helped" my daughter make her brother's birthday cake.

No laundry. I'll have to ask Daedalus to hook the machines up tomorrow so I can get his work clothes ready, at least.

I have to plan lunches, yet, and make up my grocery list (and go shopping for the next ten days. Terrible Tuesday is coming back up--already!) Then, I have to make up our homeschool schedule for the week.

I thought about adding biweekly chores to my list: I probably should. But, frankly, my biggest challenge right now is doing what I need to do with my son to make sure he gets through his school work everyday.

There are eight or nine weeks left until Christmas: surely I can focus that long and keep us on track (though I will be tiling the bath tub and shower in a few weeks). I think what I need to do is come here in the evening and quickly report in on whether we got done what was on the schedule for the day. I hesitate, though, because I do not want to make this a homeschooling blog. Yet, the accountability is necessary and so helpful. It would only be for a week.

Nonetheless, I think I will give him the day off tomorrow. He went to camp this weekend not feeling well. He'll be getting his gifts tonight and I'm pretty sure all he'll want to do tomorrow is rest and make a start on some of his stop motions with his new toys.

Inspiration: The Living Room

I've been surfing over at The House of Turquoise lately to try and find a way to live with our "new" carpet.


There's a story behind it, of course, but it is a simple one.

Daedalus (My husband. Not his real name.) and I were actively looking for and discussing carpet options. The thing is, we need an 8x10 for our living room--and they are a bit out of our price range.

As well, our sweet Beagle loves to leave little "presents" for us whenever we leave him alone. (We tried crate training him but it didn't work.) So, we were understandably reluctant to spend good money on something that may be wrecked as fast as our old one. (Of course, we know that the less you spend the quicker the rug will be ruined as it is of poor quality to begin with!)


So, one evening this summer while we were walking the mangey mutt we noticed a house for sale in the neighbourhood. As luck would have it, outside by the curb was a TV, a bunch of plastic shoe boxes, odds and ends and this bright teal rug. I hemmed and hawed for five full minutes and then sent my son and husband down to carry it home.

It's bright. It's bold and it's bossy.

Kind of like these inspiration pics.

Betsy Burnham via House of Turquoise

How about this?

Chris Barret via House of Turquoise.

and this?

Porter Design via House of Turquoise

This, taking Turquoise in a quieter direction, is also lovely:

Phoebe Howard via House of Turquoise

and one more:

Kathryn Chaplow via House of Turquoise

I have no idea, really, where we'll end up....but things are movin' and shakin' around here.

Day 22: What, Again?

Today, Nester has a post on not liking her limitations. Today, that's how I feel, too.

I took my sweet time with the Morning Routine today. In fact, I don't think I've finished. Let's see:

I started with picking up the house while coffee brewed. As I was picking things up and putting them away, I came across the purchases I made at IKEA yesterday. I hadn't had a minute to deal with them. So, over coffee, I put together two Kassett video boxes. Then, of course, I had to deal with the rest of it.

There's water standing in my downstairs bathroom sink, again, so I did not swish and swipe (though I could have. It really wasn't any reason not to.)

No laundry. No laundry room, yet. What does it say about how many clothes we have that I haven't been able to do a laundry for a week: and all I've needed is cleaning cloths?

I did review the calendar as my daughter had to be somewhere to sell Girl Guide cookies later this afternoon. I did not make a list. I did not make my bed, but I did weigh myself. And I waited and did the dishes after lunch. Believe me, I had to give myself a good talking to to do even that much.

Today is the last day of the weekly list. What did I not do?

Dust. (again!)
File papers.
Change our sheets.
Wash the upstairs bathroom.

Tomorrow, we're celebrating my son's 14th birthday, so I'm not sure I'll get these things done. I'm not sure what to think about that.