Classic Hilton's

I see lots of posts and blogs and hear from other moms about how overwhelming homeschooling is. I have had moments, sure, but my over all experience has been so good. I even posted an update recently about how smooth things are going and wondering what am I doing wrong? It's too easy! But the truth has caught up to me at last. As it turns out, I am very much an overwhelmed homeschool mom, just not about the homeschool part.  Let me 'splain. I genuinely enjoy planning, preping, teaching, and even grading. Once I dug into planning and figured out how it was going to work (thank you - Amongst Lovely Things spiral notebooks !) I just loved it. I know it will get harder and more frustrating, but whatever. Right now it's my happy place. What overwhelms me - what has always overwhelmed me - is keeping up with the rest of the house. Dishes...laundry...clutter... shopping...cooking...again...again! ARGH! While I have made huge strides in my housekeeping skills over the last ten ye...

Crazy. Sometimes life is just crazy.  For example, yesterday Madi and Grayson came downstairs where I was making lunch to inform me that they had beans up their noses.  See, we have a sensory bin. It's a large, flat tub that I keep filled with things like dried beans, corn, or rice. We pull it out when we need a little extra fun and the kids can dig around and play. It's obnoxious to clean up, but otherwise a great activity. We have had it in our home for the last two years and have NEVER had an issue with it. I guess we were due.  So Grayson plugged up his nostril and blew his bean out, no problem. However, Madi, who is only three, did not quite understand the concept of "blow" being different from "suck". Even so, it almost came out, but then she sucked it back up into her nose. We called the doctor, packed up Brooklyn's school work and headed out. (I very nearly left the house with the stove on and my grilled cheese sandwich cooking, but remembe...

Things are going so well on the homeschool front, I can't help but think...am I doing something wrong? Not enough? Too much? I actually spent about 45 minutes today agonizing over a spelling program that is working fine but doesn't feel as cool as this other one I was considering. Ultimately I remembered that the program she is doing is perfectly respectable and not adding any stress to our work day so let's go ahead and keep it and maybe next year go in the different direction if I still want to. But seriously...45 minutes!  Is there not enough real drama in life to keep me busy that I must over analyze the program we have just started working through? Sheesh! We have been in school for about 65 days. We started co-op and Discovery Clubs at church. Brooklyn is in ballet, and most recently started rehearsals for a Christmas show and one of the local venues. We have a good routine going and have exercised our flexibility options without everything flying off the rails. A...