The Saturday "7"

1. I have very little to write about this week because I spent the past 7 days agonizing over whether or not to homeschool. I've been researching like crazy, Pinteresting like crazy, planning like crazy. And . . . drum roll please . . . We're jumping in with both feet and becoming homeschoolers!!

So many disclaimers:

• This is not an indictment on the girls' school. We love their school. I'm somewhat devastated to pull them out of it. I adore Lena's teacher and she'd have her again next year if not for this decision. That makes me really sad. But the cost has become so out of our reach. We need to take a couple years to save and re-assess. Which leads to the next disclaimer:
• I make no promises or declarations that this is a permanent decision. I might hate it. My kids might hate it. It might be a train wreck. I might have to be committed by November. So please don't laugh in my face when we enroll them back in school in December. Lol. Our ultimate goal is to have them back in their school. In my dream world, I'll be able to go back with them as the school librarian, but that's a pipe dream. I have 2-3 years before Levi will be ready for school. I'd love him to get his start at ACS so I don't have to be responsible for teaching him to read. Lol.
• In light of that, I've been intentional in choosing our curriculum. We'll use My Father's World for our main source - it weaves together Bible, History, and Science. But we're supplementing Language Arts and Math with the same curriculum that the girls' school uses, so it'll be what they're already used to using and it will keep them on track with their peers at school in case they do go back in the future. 
• I will admit that I'm slightly concerned I'm excited about the whole prospect just because it's a new "project." I'm bored. I've been a stay at home mom for 5 years now, and like I've said before, I don't have any career aspirations, and I don't want to be anywhere but here. But I'm itching for something new and exciting to do. I'm a planner. I love organization. I get a thrill out of re-arranging our dining room to make room for homeschool organization. I'm super-geeked about making a trip to Ikea to buy matching bins and boxes. I love love love planning. I'm not sure I'm going to love love love executing the plans. Lol.

2. I promise this isn't going to become a "homeschool blog." But it's all so fresh on my mind right now . . . I asked the girls this week what they would think of being homeschooled. They were both over-the-moon excited. Again, we'll see how they feel by about October. Haha. I know it will be really hard at times, but I'm also looking forward to so much:

• Not having to get all 3 up and out of the house before 8 am. 
• Flexibility in scheduling
• Collaborating with my homeschool friends
• Connecting with Lucy. I feel like our relationship has been damaged over the past few years. I'm too quick to shove her off to school and not deal with her attitude issues. It's going to be brutal, but I also think she'll benefit from the one-on-one time with me. 
• Planning and organizing! :-D 

I'm feeling slightly optimistic about the girls transitioning well. They've both had enough school to understand sitting still, listening, doing worksheets, etc. I'm also going to start working hard on integrating some life skills as well. They're going to learn to do laundry. They're going to have more chore responsibilities. They might even get an allowance for the first time. So feel free to pray for us all as we transition in the fall. 

3. Whew! Enough about that. We had a great time with Baby Nova last weekend. She didn't let me sleep quite as well the second night as the first, but went right back to sleep after a quick bottle. The girls loved having her here, entertained her endlessly and fought over who got to give her a bottle. I had fun dressing up a girl again!

Lena was so excited when I put Nova in that^ outfit because she has one that is almost identical.

But I will say it's been good in helping me decide whether or not to have another baby. Nova is a great baby. She's so happy and easy going. But even easy going babies are a lot of work. I'm realizing how much I like the independence I've been gaining little by little as Levi gets older. At the same time . . . I did another clothing overhaul this week. I packed away a bunch of Lena and Levi's outgrown stuff and asked myself, "Why am I saving this if I'm done having kids?" I just can't part with it!! Does that mean I subconsciously want another one or just that I'm a hoarder? Lol.

4. For real. I'm sorry but that's all I've got this week! A few more pictures.

Can you tell he has older sisters?

He can't even . . .

Lap full of kids

Cuties at Chuck E. Cheese

More cuties at Chuck E. Cheese