Friday, July 3, 2009

What the heck is going on?

So, I have barely been posting and I'm sorry for that. I have not felt too inspired with the entire month of June being a wash out....Literally! 1 day(and not even a full one) of sun in over 3 weeks. My house is a mess, my kids are being rotten, the puppies are stir-crazy and I am sick, and of course cranky. I am actually feeling better today. trying to dig out from taking two days to lay on the couch. The sun is not out, but....it's not raining so that is making me feel better. So I though I would let you know what has been going on.

My vacation to P-town....didn't happen. Those who know me will not be surprised. My husband is self employed and work was slow which means no extra money and careful budgeting in case no more work comes. Also, our friend the tattoo artist had a lot going on that weekend so we have opted for better planning and a fall trip instead. I was sad, but I am over it.

My garden, tons of snap peas, about 10 strawberries (not bad) and lots lots more coming. Ya, I'm sticking with the positive as to not cry here!



Mike got word on work that should last through the summer. The rain is causing some problems (its outdoor work) but at least we know it is there.

Forrest has some great things happening! He is no longer working at the farmer's market(just wasn't working out) but he has been back at Marble Family Farms helping out when needed. He is very happy there. We also just learned our local technical school accepts home school students. They work with the local high schools (quite a few) but are a technical school only. This means the students do their academics at their own school and travel there every other day for technical school. They are offering two new awesome programs, bio-technology and alternative energy. So, we are filling out applications and he will be going for tours and an interview. It is just what I had always hoped for but never though would happen. Maine seems to be much friendlier to homeschoolers than Massachusetts. We also discovered Maine has a "free laptop" program for children enrolled part or full time in participating schools so he may qualify. Which is awesome since his second computer from overstock.com just broke and is being returned AGAIN! poor kid. He would be getting a Mac Book if he qualifies...I'm soooooooooo jealous! Forrest has also been putting some hours in at the house mike is working at and is saving for a car......can't even go there right now......Seriously! wasn't he just born? yikes!!!! He also joined a book club for kids his age at our local book store and has most likely already finished all 5 books he is supposed to read over the summer. he kills me!
His school work seems to get done in spurts. The rain has helped him get a bunch done as there isn't much else to do. He should be finishing his bio course this month, so far, looks like an A! good boy!

Gaynor is loving his new curriculum. We went with Oak Meadow, a Waldorf inspired curriculum. This will cover all subjects except math where we are sticking with Math-U-see. The curriculum is planned out by the week and involves lots of creative projects. This is perfect for our little artist. He has made cave paintings, a coil pot, he is drawing a free hand map of the world one step at time, he is making an ancient Egyptian game and he is only into week 4. He will be learning all about different religions and ancient civilizations. lots of creative thinking and writing and very little-to no busy work. Just what he needs. Gaynor will be hopefully volunteering at Marble Family Farms one day per week for the summer. It is an awesome experience and S&A and are such great mentors and friends I couldn't ask for a better place for him to be. He will likely be spending 2 weeks at summer camp up by Sugarloaf Mt. It's an outdoor adventure camp they all attended last year. Awesome times for a super reasonable price. He is looking forward to it.

Harland is in Massachusetts for a week visiting with my family. He was a little sad before he left. He was really going to miss........the dogs! Gotta love him. so far he has been there for two nights and has spoken about 8 words to me as he is far to busy to talk on the phone! I miss him more than I expected.....it is startlingly quiet here. Harland will also be attending Adventure camp for at least a week. He has also made a great friend in the land owner's son and we are hoping to see them more this summer. I am considering the Oak Meadow curriculum for Harland this fall. We would be starting him in their 1st grade curriculum as he is beginning to read. It is pricey so we are waiting to make sure we truly love their product with Gaynor. Harland has enjoyed the rain the most i think. He will get all his gear on and play in the puddles for hours at a time. Thank Goodness!!!!

I am posting this pic because I think it is hysterical! move over Tom Cruise! I can handle the fact that my house is clearly beyond trashed here and that mike is going to kill me for posting it. Not his best photo, but, just yell out, "just take those old records off the shelf!" and pretend you can't see the back ground! love it!


This cabinet usually holds our 50lb bag of oats. We ran out.....what fun!




Indigo, I can't believe he is almost 2! He is talking like crazy. He seems so happy that we all understand what he says and what he wants. He has taken to repeating everything. He yelled "LIMA BEANS!" all through the market last week causing him mom and brothers to hysterically laugh the entire time and causing everyone else to think we were completely crazy! He needs a hair cut but i am stalling. i love the little curl in the back. He is sleeping through the night most nights and now i just have to worry about the dogs. I am hoping to do some potty time this summer (feeling ambitious) and mike is sure we should loose the binky like NOW but me and my "full nights of sleep" are fighting this one to the end!

Stella and Donovan are getting HUGE! and it's not even close to being done growing! We are having some minor behavior issues and are having a trainer out this weekend. Mostly cat chasing and car lunging (Donovan) and counter/highchair jumping (Stella) I just want to have them listening well before the can pull me off my feet which will likely be soon. I still think we are doing remarkably well for having two puppies, especially with all this freaking rain!!!I'll let you know how the training goes.

We did manage to go straweberry picking on the one day of sun this month. We pick 15 1/2 pounds of berries and ate them in 4 days! We just went again with auntie and picked another 15 /12 pounds but the flavor is not as good. i think we will make jam this week.