New, Different, Exciting, and Exceptional

Today was a day of firsts at Two Moms' Homeschool . . .

This is the only proof we have that today was Baby Boy's first day at University.  Now no one can corroborate his story, but we don't have any reason to not believe he was there.  :-)

In a truly shocking and amazing turn of events, the biggest Fairy had her first day of kindergarten today.  We do want to eventually keep the girls home, but right now school is the option du jour for this Grand-Baby-Girl.

Biggest Fairy Saying Good-Bye to Twin Little Fairies  

Ready To Take On the World

We've Taught Her Well . . . Going Straight For The Books

Ready To Learn!

Has anyone else started anything new, different, exciting, or exceptional lately? 

Tell me all about it.

Until next time . . .

This is . . .

. . . my wild child.

 Found her like this.  Straightened her out and covered her up.

A little bit later, found her like this. 

Which is why we keep her bed so close to the ground.

And this is just her sleeping personality.  You should see this little Texas Tornado when she's awake!


Until next time . . .

 

Mothers and Daughters at the Opera

Last night was the opening night of this season's Educational Opera Program.  They performed Pagliacci.  

I had never seen it performed live before, only on PBS.  It had to be the shortest opera I've ever attended.  We were home before 10 o'clock!

As an olive branch of good will, I invited my Mom to come with us, as she has never been.  I didn't think she had any interest in it, but a few weeks ago she began hinting around for an invitation, so what's a daughter to do.  She really seemed to enjoy herself,  even though she had LOTS of questions.  I'm glad we were able to spend a little quality time together without too much pressure of stimulating conversation.  I'm not much for small talk  these days and things have been a tiny bit tense between us since she moved so close to me.  Actually, I've been a bit tense, but I don't think she has noticed.  It is kind of unnerving to have your Mother about to pop up at your house at any given time of day or night.  Since I don't have a day job, she thinks I'm available to do things with her all day every day.  That's actually not true at all, my family keeps me on my toes quite consistently. Anyway, I'm working on boundaries.  Let me just say, it's a work in progress.  

She was already hinting around at an invitation for the next performance when I dropped her off at home last night, LOL.  That lady really is something else.  But she's my Mother, and I love her.  What else can you do.

Speaking of the performance, everything was spectacular.  Poor Canio, the Pagliacci, a jilted, suspicious, homicidal clown is really something to behold on stage.  Although his killing scene wasn't nearly as terrifying as Lucia's from Lucia di Lammermoor, I still had to give him a lot of credit.  He was a beautiful tenor.

There was a strange moment at the end where after the curtain call and all of the ovations, the three main characters . . . including ones who had just died . . . got up and sang a few bonus songs at the end.  I don't know if this has a formal name in the opera world or not, as I've never witnessed anything like it.  It was so nice to go drive home humming the bonus score.

I've never really understood why some people have a fear of clowns, but after last night, I think I'm going to keep my distance from them.  Also, I have truly witnessed the literal interpretation of "Tears of a Clown." 

So now I know what music I'll be playing around the house all weekend. 


What wonderful weekend plans do you have?
 

Until next time . . .

 

Apparently There is NO Justice in this World!

After surviving:

• The most frightening night of the year for any dieter, Halloween, without eating a single piece of candy.

•  A family dinner in which your Mother-in-Law, the slimmest lady in the world, fries ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING plus serves delicious desserts including a heavenly cake and scrumptious homemade cookies by drinking a couple of gallons of water and saying "No, thank you" excessively.

AND . . .

•  Sitting across from your brother-in-law who is shoveling desserts into his mouth like a human hoover while STILL WEARING a compression garment from the LIPOSUCTION he just had the very day before.

I got up this morning and weighed in.  I only lost 0.8 pounds this week.

Life. Is. Not. Fair.

That. Is. All.  

Until next time . . .

 

I think I'm blogging again

It's been a whirlwind few months!  I won't bore you with all the details but let me just say that we have been going through a LOT of changes.  I'll try to divvy it out in bite-sized pieces so it's not so overwhelming, LOL. 

I would like to share one of my tiny victories.  I finally finished my very last required Spanish class.  I took it over the summer. Thank goodness it's over!  I'm still trying to read, speak, and watch television in Spanish so I don't lose everything I've worked so hard for . . . but I must say . . . my Spanish speaking part of my brain is exhausted.  I don't know when it gets easier to switch back and forth between languages, but I certainly have not reached that point yet. 

Did I tell you that my parent's just bought a brand new house right around the corner from us?  We'll have to discuss the art of dodging a Mom who likes to call and say that she's on the way when she's actually in your driveway.  HELP!




Until next time . . .

Reunited And It Feels SOOOOO Good!

My parents, married thirty-six years and then tragically divorced, have been working on finding their way back to one another for the past few years.  It's been a long, arduous road, filled with ups and downs, and way too many tears. 

Well . . . On Saturday we attended the most beautiful, intimate, perfect wedding . . .

The Wedding Party

The Coordinator

The Blushing Bride

The Ceremony

Yes, She Gets ANOTHER Ring!

Sealed With a Kiss

It's Not Official Until They Jump the Broom!

A Family Reunited

We are all so very, very, VERY happy! 

 Until next time . . .

 

Change, Expectations, Sacrifices, and Realizations

Right now I'm trying to process a lot of change, expectations, sacrifices, and realizations in my life.  I about to unpack a bunch of emotional baggage, so . . . if you didn't plan to spend your leisure reading time hearing about an old lady's problems . . . you might just want to move on.

Changes:   The three fairies have become a front and center fixture in my life, possibly for the long haul.  Last week when they stayed with their parents, it wasn't as successful as Mom #2 and I had hoped.  We're really trying to work with their parents and get the girls back home as soon as possible, but we are meeting resistance.  That's very sad to me. I'm also still struggling with parenting a young adult, since that is apparently what Baby Boy is now.  Going from "Mommy" to "Ma" is quite a change.  *SIGH*  That last sentence is going to need to be a separate blog post one of these days.

Expectations:  I am expected to morph from "grandma" to "surrogate mom" on a dime and the transition is very labor intensive.  I still have a lot of presence in Baby Boy's life, and I am trying to be a good spouse to Mom #2 as well.   Baby Doggy also has a lot of needs, LOL.  I've apparently set up a system of dependence in every life I've come into contact with . . . and now I feel stretched a tiny bit too thin.

Sacrifices:  I didn't go to school  this semester.  The semester is over next week and I think this is the first time I've "said" it "out loud."  I see Baby Boy with his books and leaving for class, and I'm soooo envious.  This has led to some very good discussions between us though.  I've really been a not-so-shiny example of how not to wait until you're middle aged to get your education.  Right now I'm not sure if I'll be able to return next semester or not.  I have a few weeks to turn in my paperwork.

Realizations:  I do realize that these challenges will not define me.  I have a FANTASTIC support system in Mom #2 and Baby Boy.  I realize that there is a sparkly lining to every situation.  I realize that we'll make it though this together, as we've made it through so many things before this. 

Boy, reading back over this post, it sounds very depressing, but I'm not depressed.  I'm actually happy to have a little clarity.  Sometimes just getting all the feelings outside of yourself helps to bring resolution to what seemed to be a perpetual problem.  Off to enjoy the day!

Thanks for being my therapist for the day!
 
Until next time . . .

 

Taking a Breather

The fairies are staying with their parents for the week.  It's been soooooo quiet around the house.  I have so many mixed emotions about the situation.  I am so grateful to be able to slow down and enjoy the peace and quiet that is our home with three adults (yes, I do view Baby Boy as an adult now) living in it.  At the same time, I worry about the girls and how they are doing.  I worry about the situations that led to them living here in the first place.  Needless to say, we call them - OFTEN.   

Worried.  Relaxed.  Worried.  Relaxed.  That's been my frame of mind all week, LOL. 

I have had a chance to catch up on some housework and on reading the piles of unopened mail stashed on every single horizontal surface in the house.  Most of it just requires shredding anyway.  Too much junk mail for me. I should actually be cleaning right now, but . . . yuck . . . you know. ;-)

Last week Baby Boy had a birthday!  I guess he's my Baby Young Man now that he's 19.  My goodness, every time I look at him he seems to be getting taller and eating more and more.  When the heck do boys stop growing?  I'm good with his current height and weight, so any time he wants to dial back the growing legs and feet is fine with me.  We had a great big family get together party, but the photos are on Mom #2's phone, so I'll have to upload them later.

Speaking of Baby Boy, he's been very busy with school.  His classes seem to be exponentially more difficult this semester than they have been in the past, so it looks like it'll be touch and go right up to the finish.  Please keep him in your thoughts.  He's also going through the certification process in order to be a volunteer at our local hospital.  There are lots of hoops to jump through with meetings, training, paperwork, and immunizations.  Hopefully he'll get through that pretty soon.   

Other than Mom #2's work keeping her busy-busy-busy, that's about all we have going on with us right now.


Until next time . . .
 

Settling in FAIRY Well

We've been oh-so-busy with three new little fairies fluttering about.  I think everyone is finally starting to settle in and find a rhythm.  The fairies are on a pretty strict schedule, which brings me peace.  I don't do very well with surprises or the unknown.  Regularity and predictability are my very best friends . . . I don't know why I can't seem to blog with any sort of regularity or predictability . . . but I do like regularity in all the other areas of my life.  It's very Virgo of me, I guess. 

Our first order of business was to get everyone acclimated and feeling safe and secure.  That's my favorite part because it includes lots of hugs, kisses, and lap-sitting!  We'll be keeping that as a permanent fixture around here :).  The second order of business was to get everyone potty trained.  Which they finally are!  This past week we had ZERO accidents including after nap time and over night.  Now everyone is wearing big-girl panties (except for Baby Boy who would have no part of it ;-). 

I have been doing some gentle "learning-time" with the fairies.  We are learning to recognize the letters of the alphabet, numbers, shapes, and colors.  It's been frantic, fun, and frustrating, but rewarding.  They have a long way to go, but fortunately we have nothing but time to get them where they need to be.  I have to admit that I have a whole new appreciation for those who choose to have big families.  My goodness, everything is immensely more complex when you have to do it three times rather than one.  I didn't realize how easy Baby Boy and I had it, LOL.  As for myself, I'm learning to be humble, patient, and most of all, optimistic.  Those values are being reinforced in me every. single. day.  

As an added bonus, the fairies are excellent for my diet as I barely have time to eat anymore and my pedometer gets well above Dr. Oz's recommended 10,000 steps almost every single day. 

Insanity has its benefits!



Until next time . . .

It's a GIRL! It's a GIRL! It's a GIRL!

It's a loooonnnnnngggggg story, and not really mine to tell, so I'll keep it brief. 

The three fairies have been staying here off and on for the past few weeks and since their parents are unable  to care for them right now, they'll be staying at Two Moms' Homeschool for the foreseeable future.

They are just soooooo  precious and really deserve a positive start in life.  I hope that Mom #2, Baby Boy, Baby Doggy, and I can give them that.  I also hope their parents wake up and see what they are missing out on very soon.  That second hope is that one that's really on my mind lately. Either way, we've chosen to celebrate the new additions to our family. 

To give you just a glimpse of our new lives, we are being treated to regular serenades such as this one:

There's nothing like three pint-sized bundles of energy to keep you young!  At least that's what I keep telling myself, LOL. 

Have a great weekend!

Until next time . . .

30 Day Countdown & A Fairy Good Visit

The fall 2011 semester is nearing the home stretch, as the penultimate exams have been archived and the amount of work is steadily decreasing.  

My progress in the classes have been on a steady high note the last few weeks and I am determined to come out of it all with the best grades possible.  In addition to this, I have already registered for another onslaught of classes for the upcoming spring 2012 semester. It makes the small break between the two seem like the calm before the ultimate storm. . . 

It is a bit too soon to worry myself with the details of spring, my energy must be fully focused on ending on a high note for the task at hand!



As of today, there are officially 30 days left in the semester. We're in the Home Stretch!  I don't know where the heck Baby Boy is going to school, because my classes are getting increasingly difficult and they are demanding more work at the end of the semester than they ever did at the beginning.  Don't even talk to me about finals . . . the horror!

I'm beginning to accept that I won't be getting straight As this semester.  I'm working like a runaway slave just to keep a B in statistics and I seem to be headed for a B in astronomy as well.  I might get an A in Spanish, but I still don't seem to speak Spanish.  I read and write Spanish well enough, but I was hoping I'd actually learn to speak Spanish.  I'm not that fond of my Spanish professor this semester.  She's a very nice lady, but her teaching style (lecture) and my learning style (lots of participation) don't jive.  I'm going to make sure to steer clear of her for Spanish IV.  I have to give a full-fledged presentation in Spanish in a couple of weeks in front of my considerable-sized class.  My whole body goes into a dry heave just thinking about it.  I don't do well speaking in front of groups.  *SIGH*  I'm not sure, but I'm almost positive I don't do well speaking in Spanish in front of groups, LOL.  We'll see.

Anyway, I'm on a tangent, as usual.  Mostly I'm looking forward to Winter Break and getting into the Holiday swing.

Did I mention that three beautiful little fairies came to visit us for Halloween?  Well, they did. Aren't they precious?

Well, of course, they flew in only to sit in front on the television and watch the Shrek Halloween Special

But they'd never begrudge their *ahem* grandma a smile 

(the g-word applies to Mom #2, not me)

Now they're flying out to get all the neighbors' candy! 
Too cute! 

So, needless to say, I'm trying not to obsess too much over school and enjoy the other joys of life.



Until next time . . .

The Day in Which Baby Boy Becomes a Man . . . or . . . Happy Birthday, Baby Boy

 This weekend we took a break from the medical drama (and there is SO MUCH MORE to tell) to celebrate Baby Boy's 18th Birthday. 

We decided to have a big family style barbecue at home so that everyone would feel comfortable.  One of Mom #2's brothers couldn't get off work, but otherwise everyone stopped by to celebrate Baby Boy's most momentous occasion. 

I set up a "photo booth" so that we would never forget the great time we all had.

My Mom is always the first to show up.  

She likes to get the party started!

Here we are Striking a Pose!

Auntie and Cousin

Grandpa 

 

Family Fun!

Family Love

Crazy Friends

Special Friends

Mom #2's Family 

Wishing for a Bright Future

 You'll Be a Man, My Son *SIGH*

I have so many sappy things I could say right now, but I'm sure all you Moms of big kids know how it is.  If you open that gate, it's definitely a flood, not a trickle.   

 It was so much fun to put our worries in our rear view for a while and it's been so much fun watching Baby Boy grow up into a fantastic young man.  We're so proud of him.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!


Until next time . . .

Is It That Time Again Already?

Well it appears I'll be starting off 2011 with a bang.

Yesterday my sister called and let me know that she's been getting letters and phone calls from bill collectors looking for my Mom.  Apparently Mom has fallen behind on paying some bills.  Why did my sister call me instead of Mom?  Because I'm Mom's payee for her disability benefits and I'm supposed to make sure she isn't mis-managing her funds.

Well, obviously I'm falling a little short on that job.  *insert shameful downcast eyes here*

I did get all of her finances in order when she got her own place (Did I tell y'all she's in her own place now?  It's a very recent development.)  and fixed her up on a working budget that left her plenty of extra spending money in addition to paying for all of her needs.  I tried to give her a little responsibility of her own so she wouldn't feel like I was sassing her.  Moms don't stand for sass here in the South, believe me.

She gets a nice disability check, plus my Dad, who's still very much in love with her even though they're divorced, gives her generous guilt money, please come back to me money, can you cook me dinner money, spousal support.  She is not impoverished in any way. 

I'm very concerned because little idiosyncrasies like this always creep up right before her schizo-affective disorder breaks out for another run.  Retail therapy has always been one of her pre-relapse symptoms.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a reprieve, but not holding my breath.

So this weekend, I have the unnatural and awkward task of going to Mom's house and auditing her finances to see where all of her money is going.   The hardest part is that she will not cooperate freely and it's going to be a painful power struggle, but it's a struggle I have to win.  I'm considering taking full responsibility for paying her bills and setting her up on an allowance instead of just trusting her to follow through on the budget I've created for her.  We're not talking about a senile old lady; Mom's in her mid-fifties and very strong willed.  So sad.   

Sometimes it's such a chore being the oldest child.   

Wish me luck!

Until next time . . .