Our two WHOLE weeks of summer have come to a close, and I'm thinking about Christmas????

Sorry, it was just a little complaint. But honestly 2 weeks is about all we got. We had a nice 3 day vacation with my family in nearby Rome, Maine. My parents did all the cooking and meal clean up helped with the boys (forrest and Mike stayed home) so it was unexpectedly restful for me. I took a kayak ride with my sister, and even got some knitting done.

It's just about time for our first hard frost here in Maine. As sad as I am about our non existing summer, and my barely existing garden. I am very much looking forward to fall. The Common Ground Fair is coming right up, an Organic Maine Tradition. Columbus Day will bring our trip up Sugarloaf Mountain to see the amazing fall view of the mountains and hopefully our Christmas picture. And we are planning another "grown-up" vacation. I know the last one didn't actually happen, but i have a plan this time! We will be going with our good friends Sarah and Andy. Now other people are depending on us to pull through, so Mike can't talk me out of it. We are swapping houses with my parents (oh ya, they get 4 boys and 2 puppies with mine ha ha!) and site seeing in Boston and on Cape Cod. Kind of funny since I grew up there, but I have never done the FREEDOM TRAIL or biked the Canal at the Cape. It's going to be a great time!

Our school year starts Monday. I have made up the boys schedules and posted them on the fridge. Forrest has been excepted into a half day(every other day) technical school as a "Bio-Tech" student. He is sooooooo excited. It's going to be a little crazy trying to work "school" back into our school day. Luckily they are going to let him take the bus and drop him down the street on their way back to the regular high school. This will save me close to two hours of driving time daily. His days will be busy if he wants to complete all the courses he has started but i know he can do it. Sometimes I find, the busier you are, the more you get done.

Gaynor will be continuing with his Oak Meadow (Waldorf based) curriculum and Math-U-See plus Rosetta Stone French. Harland will be playing and working on his reading and writing. He has stared writing phonetically on his own, making lists of characters from books and movies.I am still amazed to see this child, who has never been exposed to a traditional school model, learning all he needs to learn, basically on his own. My older ones were not this way when I took them out of school. They still feel they need a curriculum and "work" and that is fine, it is just very different for Harland. I am secretly looking forward to a more scheduled day. Although, I am quite sure Indigo has other plans.

My house is slowly coming back to me. The play room looks awesome. I got rid of tons of toys. Our school area is more organized, there is still work to be done though. I have lots still to do but I am happy with the results so far.

I have all ready started holiday knitting. I am hoping for a homemade/local Christmas. We have not followed through on this plan yet, maybe this will be the year. It really is totally mental for me. I need to get over the idea of my boys having tons of gifts to open. Quality not quantity. It just continues to be harder than expected to wrap my brain around this change. Sarah has convinced me to work on developing new traditions for the season and the big day. Maybe if I start planning now I can accomplish this goal. Got any advice for me? Bring it on! What type of non gift traditions do you have for Christmas day? Games? Meals? I would love to hear what you are doing. Yes, I realize it's still August.

Beach Compromise and plans to "get it under control"

Yesterday Sarah and I headed for the beach with my three youngest. We had originally planned for the ocean, but alas, common sense got the best of me. It's no longer a free day of fun when We have to drive around two hours to get there and two to get back. Have you seen the price of GAS????

So, Instead Sarah suggested Dummer's Beach or "Dummahs Beach" if you are a true Mainer. I am an ocean girl, but as far as fresh water goes, it was lovely! It's at a campground so we payed $5 to get in. It is a small but sandy beach and the lake is big enough to produce some little waves, but shallow enough to walk way WAY out and still stand. Plus you really can't beat the view!






Indigo, my fearless child, ran right out into the water several times ending up under water before I could grab him. He didn't care in the least! I finally convinced him to stay on the shore and dig in the sand. Plenty of Snacks and sandwiches with homemade bread and homemade jam alah Sarah made the day complete. And only a 20 minute drive! We might even get back before our very very short summer is over.

New Plans on the home front. I am kicking the FLYLADY thing into high gear this week. Sarah is trying it out too. So I decided to post a little about the system, my thoughts on it, and my progress over the next few weeks. It is, after all, almost fall and I need to get this place under control before we start up school work again. For the real deal though, go to www.flylady.net. let me know if you get on board.

Baby steps is what this is all about. Starting with a shiny sink. I have been down this road before and when i think back to what my life was like while full on FLYING I have visions of peaceful days full of fun, yummy dinners prepared on time and waking up to a clean kitchen, coffee made, breakfast dishes laid out. I need this back!

Shining your sink is where it all begins. Mine has been truly shining for 3 days now. It really is amazing how just a clean sink can change you attitude. Flylady gives full instructions on how to get really clean and you don't even have to wash all those nasty dishes first!

Day two of baby steps is dressing to lace up shoes! I fought this one big time my first time around. I hated the look of sneakers. 6 years later, this is pretty much all I wear. Her theories have proven true. You won't kick them off and you will truly get more accomplished. My feet thank her every day. As far as just getting dressed. It can be tough as a stay-at-home mom especially in the winter when i have no place to go. But, pj's equal lounging and I am a professional! The simple act of putting on clothes, even fresh clean work out type clothes (not frumpy sweats) help me to treat my life more like a job that needs to be done and done properly. It has also saved me many times from running to my bedroom when someone shows up on my doorstep unannounced.

This is where I am at so far. yup, just day two. But I all ready feel better. It's like when I was a kid and my mom would send me to "clean my room" I would cry and even fall asleep there with out doing a thing. I just litterally had NO idea where to start. i am simply not a BO (Born Organized) or even close. I need it broken down and then it is no problem.

The most interesting thing, I think, about the Flylady system is that it is not just about cleaning your house. it's about taking care of yourself first! FLY stands for "finally loving yourself" it's not implying that your a depressed or needy but let's face it. As mom's we often, VERY often put ourselves last. She compares FLYing to putting on your oxygen mask before your children's. Makes sense right? Trust me, give this a try with me! You will love it!

Settling in to a Maine Winter

I wonder if i will continue to enjoy winter. So far So good. I have lots of sun and a toasty stove. Seems to make a huge difference. Today I moved the extra rocking chair over by the stove. I plan to set the sewing machine up here as well. Must be toasty whilst i create. The boys are love loving the snow. Especially Harland! They were all out for hours yesterday. They did an awesome job getting wood from the barn and stacking it in the porch. It is a lot of work because the barn is far away, but they took some sleds and made an assembly line of sorts, it worked great. They will be at it again today because it is best to get it done when it is not 5 degrees outside.




Mike is working again today. They had a major ice over snow mess at the mountain and needed some extra help so he has been at it all weekend. He did have Wednesday and Thursday off, but now he will work 7 days in a row. YUCK! he never complains, and we need the money. What a guy.
I was recently considering a parenting mistake i have made. "Why have I raised my kids to expect so much at Christmas???" Now please understand my boys are not spoiled, by any means. But I am trying to downsize this holiday considerably. I really think they will be fine. to be honest they couldn't even come up with things they wanted....AGAIN! But still, they are used to opening great and grand amounts of things. I will fully admit it is my own fault. I just hope they aren't disappointed. I guess it's all in what you make of it. I mean really, they are getting ski passes! Any way, less is more, right? I know i don't need any more STUFF to find places for!
Harland and Indigo had a little camping trip in the play room. Too cute. They love these darn blankets! (thanx gram) I just bought some Thomas fleece to make bigger one's for them for Christmas. How can i not they are so stinkin easy to make. I'm planning to make a tiny one as well for Indigo to take in the car. He was with me when i bought the fabric and he had to hold it the whole time we were in the store. I know he will love it!