Summer Projects

Summer is finally starting to show up here in Maine. It's been a long, cold winter and a cold, wet spring. I had a field trip scheduled last month and had to cancel it due to snow in the forecast! In May! We are finally getting beautiful spring weather, in June, just as summer should be upon us. I'm really not complaining as spring is my second favorite season after fall.

We finished up our homeschool last month as well. Our middle son is completely done and will be starting college in the fall. That leaves me with just one kiddo in high school and in our homeschool. I almost said one kiddo left at home. However, both my older boys are commuting to college so they are both still home. I'm good with it...for now. I'm simply going to enjoy having them around a bit longer.

I decided today that unless I put together a specific list of things I'd like to get done this summer, I have the potential to let the days slip away without anything to show. So here is my summer 2019 project list:

• Participate in a yard sale - I am signed up to be part of the Franklin County Humane Society yard sale being held at the Farmington Fairgrounds next weekend. I'm using it as a way to not only declutter the house, but to also earn some money to put towards savings. A win-win!
• Rearrange my den. This is the area of the house that holds our piano(s) (electric and traditional), the two younger boys computer desks, my computer desk, a large bookshelf from IKEA, and a couple filing cabinets. I rarely use my desk anymore so I will be taking that out once I figure out where to put everything that is in it and on it somewhere else. I have an idea of how I want to rearrange everything and once my large desk is taken out, there should be plenty of room to accomplish it. 
• Successfully complete the event I'm hosting next month on homeschooling. The state of Maine has now made all vaccinations mandatory for children in public education effective 2021 with no exemptions allowed. This has increased the number of people interested in homeschooling. I'm hosting a day of workshops that will go over the basics of homeschooling in Maine, scheduling, and homeschooling high school. The response thus far has been amazing. I'm looking forward to supporting new and veteran homeschoolers alike. 
• I've already started working on another summer goal and that is to blog more consistently. My goal is to share something here at least twice a week. It will be just like me - eclectic content. 
• I also want to go visiting! I have a trip planned to go visit relatives in Massachusetts next month. I haven't been for a couple years and it's long overdue! I'll also be connecting with a friend of mine who lives down there. 
• I also get to go visit Anne! Anne Shirley that is! My hubby and I are planning a trip to Prince Edward Island and I'm beyond excited. It was even his idea! He scored some major marriage bank points with that one!
• This next one is a rather large goal for me. I've participated in NaNoWriMo now for a few years. Way back in 2013 I finished my first draft of my first ever novel for NaNoWriMo and I've been doing nothing with it since then. I have a wonderful friend who is also a very successful author. Seriously, check out the newest book by my friend Robin. It's awesome! She has given me an assignment of finally getting that dang thing published! So that is my goal for this summer...publish my first book. I'll definitely be sharing about that when it happens!

• That goal leads to the next one...start writing book two. Yes, I actually do have other books in progress, but I have one kicking around my head that may demand to come out first. But more books are on the horizon for me. 
• In the midst of all of these other goals, I need to get next year's homeschool planned and scheduled. I'm sure my youngest would be happy for me to forget or to put it off for all of these other great goals, but he'll be disappointed. I'm determined to have it all in place by mid-August so we can start the year nice and strong.
• Lastly, I am currently working on becoming an accredited teacher for Institute for Excellence in Writing. It's a writing program often used with homeschool students. I've used it with my boys and I really like the program. It doesn't cost anything extra to become accredited because I already own the materials needed. I'm not sure what I'll do with the accreditation but potentially teach online writing classes for homeschool students at some point.

Some of these items won't take long and have deadlines built in, like the yard sale next weekend and my trips, which have already been scheduled. Others I'll need to make sure I stay self-motivated or they won't occur, like the book project!

I'll be back in September with an update! 

Imaginary Friends

Did you ever have an imaginary friend when you were small? Someone you talked to but never really saw in person?

With the advent of the internet, many of us started having more and more "imaginary" friends. You know, people we would chat with online either via Yahoo Groups (before Facebook) or via Messenger.

Back around probably 2002, I entered the online world. Yes, for those of you young folks out there, there was life before the internet. It wasn't until my second child was born that I joined the online world...via dial-up! Keeping it real here. Keeping it real.

It was at this time in my life that I went from a full-time working mom to a stay-at-home-mom with two young children. I needed some adult conversation. I craved talking with people other than my infant and four year old, who was speech delayed so didn't really talk much at that point! My poor hubby was all for it as he was talked out by the time he arrived home each day from work.

This is when I discovered Yahoo Groups. Think Facebook Groups but via email. We would sometimes have live chats though. They were based on likes and dislikes, hobbies, everything and anything you could imagine, you could find a group for it.

One of the first ones I joined was called Christian Scrapbooking Friends. Hey, this was the early 2000s when scrapbooking was huge and I had jumped in with both feet when my oldest was only 18 months old. I have the albums and supplies still to prove it.

I enjoyed that little group immensely and I made some lifelong friends through it - women I still keep in touch with, now on Facebook mostly. I exchange Christmas cards with some every year. I chat online with them, but most of them I have never, ever met in person.

Earlier this year one such friend contacted me. I met Kay through that little scrapbooking group years ago, before my youngest was born and before her (I think) four youngest were born. The chances of Kay and I meeting had always been pretty slim since I lived here in Maine and she lived way out in the mid-west in Minnesota. However, she was going to be in New Hamsphire and Maine for about a week while her husband was at a work conference. Could we meet?

That's when I looked at my calendar and realized I had one day I could see her as she was arriving the week we were going to be gone on vacation. And I would need to drive to New Hampshire to do it. A three hour drive versus a cross-country drive is a no-brainer in my book and we began to plan our visit.

Kay and her family were staying at a cute little cottage on a lake in New Hampshire. We spent quite an enjoyable afternoon chatting and visiting in real life for the first time ever. I'm hoping at some point we can do it again, but who knows. I was so great to not only get to see her but to also meet her children and her husband.

Sometimes imaginary friends are the best ones.

Visiting the Titanic

There is a great new place in Portland (well, it's been there about a year I think) called the Portland Science Center. They have exhibits that come in and stay for a few months so something new is always there. The first one they ever did (that I heard about) was Body Worlds. The first one we went to, back in April, was one about space and robots. At that exhibit, we were told the next one would be about the Titanic. I was pretty excited about checking it out when it came in.

When we arrived, we were all given a boarding pass. The pass contained information about a real person on the Titanic. At the end of the exhibit, they had lists of all the passengers who survived and those who didn't. It was a great way to make this whole exhibit a bit more real to those of us going through it. 

Throughout the exhibit, we could see the differences between the classes. This was also true at the end when we saw who survived and who didn't. Here are the differences in the menus for each class. 

And even in accommodations...

First class

Third class

Water Fun

I've seen these balloons and heard from others who have used it. They seemed like the perfect solution for a hot summer day. We seem to be having quite a few of those this summer. 

We had a "bonus boy" over today. That's the name I give to the boys I watch from time to time. It typically is boys. Go figure says the mom to three of those creatures. 

They really seemed to have a good time. The balloons were okay. The color filled ones didn't really leave a mark except for when filling them. We didn't get all to fill. You can see in the bucket photo above how some didn't work. Our biggest issue, however, was that they didn't seem to burst on impact. And a full water balloon hurts when it hits. Overall they seemed to have a good time although they didn't get as wet as we had thought. 

Ready, Aim, Fire!

A few days so far this summer, I've had an extra boy or two for the day. I've been trying to find something to keep them all occupied outside or away from video/TV as much as I can. Last week I found these at a local box store...

I was a bit leery when I first saw these but a local friend had shared their experience with them on Facebook so I opted to give it a try. They are a bit pricey but an occasional fun event I think. 

We had a few that didn't inflate and a couple with holes right off the bat, but overall the boys had a good lot to work with. We had quite a few that bounced right off the kids though (and hurt!) before breaking on the ground. And the color ones didn't mark the clothes much as all so I don't think that will be a concern for most. 

Filling them up. 

Getting ready to go!

A New Year Begins

I'm on the fast track to being the shortest person in my house. 

Only one boy left to reach that milestone!

I have to tell you that it has been one busy but fun summer around here. I'm a bit sad to see it end. We started back to our homeschooling last week. It's hard to believe that this is the start of my 13th year! I've been blessed to educate all my boys from the start right here at home. These are the only two I have left. My oldest graduated last year. 

My oldest is still home, however, He's finishing up a few things and working on taking CLEP tests this year to earn some college credit. He is looking at creative writing programs. That was a huge shift so he is taking a gap year to regroup and figure things out. 

I have to admit, I'd be happy if he got a hair cut. 

We've done so many things that I just simply haven't had time to record them here. Watch out though! I'm working on a new schedule that will allow me some set blogging time. Yeah!

I want to share photos of the day I spent in Rockland with some of my best friends. 

I need to share about our vacation to Massachusetts. We spent a whole week with my aunt and uncle on the beach. It was glorious!

I was only home for about 48 hours before I turned around and headed back out to enjoy SoulFest. It's a three day Christian musical festival held in New Hampshire on Gunstock Mountain. I've enjoyed it so much I thought this was my fifth or sixth year attending. It was only my fourth. 

We checked out a lighthouse and a museum (school field trip!)...

So there is a lot to catch up on amongst all the getting started hoopla. So please be patient. I promise to get some details up soon!

A Beautiful Day Near the Water

For more years than I care to admit, I've been getting together with these two ladies every month. We used to scrapbook together every time, but now we often work on computer projects, go shopping, or go on other outings. Today we headed to the coast and enjoyed a great day together.

This is called the Rockland Breakwater. It's a about a mile long walk along the granite block to the lighthouse one way. It took us just over an hour today to walk out, explore the lighthouse (which was open) and walk back. 

It's an interesting walk because you can go at a slow pace (although people do jog along the rocks) and you have to watch your footing. It's also deceptive since it doesn't seem as long as it really is. In fact, I thought it was only half of a mile until I looked up information about it!

It had been drizzling and rainy most of the morning. When we had almost reached the coast, the sun came out. It turned out to be a perfect day to spend near the water.