Randomness Again

I had every intention of blogging throughout this past week. It didn't happen though. Here is a quick recap of what we did:

1. I managed to turn in the first quarter's grades and work samples - an entire month early! I feel so much better now that it's done. For those of you who don't know, we homeschool through a local program. We receive money to spend on curriculum, supplies, and classes ($1800 for my oldest and $1600 each for my younger 2 daughters). In return, I have to turn in quarterly grades and work samples and the kids have to do state testing. I have been very happy with the program and have been able to put the kids in various classes (gymnastics, piano, ballet, TaeKwon-Do, etc. that I might not have otherwise been able to afford).

2. Andy returned to work this week. Nick had a hard time the first couple of days. When he woke up, he immediately asked where Daddy was. He was concerned that he had gone back to Iraq. I think we need to take him to Andy's office this week so that he can see where he goes every day. That should help him understand that he is just down the road. :)

3. As Andy headed to work, we headed back to school. It was a hard transition at first. When Andy was on leave, we were sleeping in quite late and the kids were just hanging out during the day. Waking up at 7 a.m. proved quite a shock. I find that we need to get up this early to get everything done though. We'll get used to it soon enough. Ellie has actually started getting up with Andy at 5:30 - crazy girl. :)

4. For some very strange reason, I scheduled a dentist appointment for the girls at 8:30 in the morning. What was I thinking?? Yes, we had been getting up at 7, but getting everyone dressed, fed, and out of the house by 7:45 was pushing it.

I realize that public schooled families do this every day, but I'm not sure how. I personally don't like to get completely dressed until I have to leave the house (which sometimes doesn't happen!).

So, we ended up doing schoolwork this afternoon - which I despise. If we don't get it done in the morning, then it's a chore. I have to remember to make all appointments in the afternoon from now on.

5. I have been spending a lot of my "free time" (what little of it I have) reading the manual to my new camera and trying to learn how to use it. I am kind of disappointed that the purchase of my camera has coincided with the recent change in weather/seasons. It's now in the teens outside and the ground is covered with snow. The days are getting darker and I no longer have many chances to do outdoor photography. There isn't much natural light indoors either, so I suppose I should learn some more about flash photography for the time being.

6. We sent out Christmas packages to Roza this week. I am beginning to think that they won't get there in time, but I'm sure that they will still be appreciated. We sent some picture books, a coloring book, stickers, a Christmas card, and postcards. I know that she won't be able to read the books, but I figured that she would appreciate the pictures.

7. Nick cracks me up. We were perusing the fall clearance aisle at JoAnn today and he spotted an Indiana Jones hat that he just HAD to have. He wore it all afternoon.

I'm going to try to get outside and take some pictures tomorrow - without kids so that I can take my time trying different settings. We are also going to attempt a family photo, because my remote control for the camera came in the mail. I want to get my Christmas cards ordered from Cardstore.com by tomorrow evening so that I can get the free shipping!!!!

I will post later this weekend on our studies from this past week. We are learning about daily life in the middle ages. I sure wish that they had Renaissance Faires in Alaska.