Row Row Row Your Boat

Grey.  That is the best way to describe the recent weather.  Oh and wet.  Grey, wet and humid.  I am beginning to think that bright orb in the sky will never return. An entire weekend of plans have been scrapped and suddenly I am left at odds.  

I enjoy weather and I love a good storm but there is a limit to my enjoyment of rain.  I think I have now found it. I don’t remember when we had our last sunny day.  My indoor plants are crying for some sun.  

My poor indoor/outdoor cats are climbing the walls, they miss their time outside.  Hell even my son and I (both lovers of the indoors) miss the ability to go outside and enjoy the fall.  80 and humid is not fall weather.  It’s just not.  Where are my crisp fall days?  Where are my chilly fall evenings?  I am sure they are somewhere.  Just not here.

Today is at least cooler.  I think it might call for a pot of chili to celebrate.  Today I will clean up the house so I can be ready to be gone all day tomorrow.  First I think I need another cup of coffee.

I Will Learn

I Will Learn...Someday

I am a grown woman and I know my limits. HA! Let's be real. I am a walking mess.

I have good days and bad days. On my good days I over do it… ALL THE TIME. It’s not like I don’t know I will pay for it.  It is more like I know I need to get it done “while the sun shines.” On a good day I try to do too much because I know it will not last long. Then I need to spend a week recovering.

I don’t know who I am trying to impress.  Except maybe to prove to myself that I can still do the things I need to do. Or maybe to make my husband proud? That can’t be right. I know he loves me, chronic pain or not.  So who knows why I feel the need to over do it when I know I will pay for it later.

That said, I usually feel accomplished on those days. It is a self-reinforcing problem. I push push push, over do and then crash. I am working on setting limits and doing things in small doses. This is so I can accomplish stuff more often and not just on good days.  

I know I am not alone; there are many who suffer from chronic pain have the same problems and deal with this never ending cycle.  I just wonder sometimes if there is some key to beat it that I don’t understand. Just maybe I will learn, someday.

It’s not a competition

We all are parents.  We all love our kids.  We all think our kids are the best kids ever.  So why do we make everything a competition?  From “my kid is smarter”, to “my kid is more active.”  Instead of building each other up, we tear each other down.

We all have faults and so do our children.  There are ways we can help each other and teach each other if only we could get down from our high tower and admit we need some advice.  I have recently been blessed to find some very amazing women who have taught me so much. Women who are real about their lives.  Women who don’t put on airs on Facebook about how fantastic their lives are.

I have been guilty of putting on a “show” for Facebook.  We all want to present our best and that is not always easy.  So we post the happy, and sit in despair, thinking we are alone with our imperfect lives.  

Maybe if we spent more time talking in person we would learn that sharing our lives with the real people, not the social media persona, is how to make real connections.  It’s how to make long term friendships.  Not to discount the connections I have made via social media, but there is something about being able to sit face to face for a discussion, or get a real hug when you need it.

I believe the age of social media has made parenthood a competition: who can post the nicest dinner, have the most friends, be in the most groups, and who can brag the most about every little accomplishment without really ever making any personal connections. In the end we feel isolated.  So put down the phone, walk away from the computer and tablet.  Go to the park and play with your kids.  Meet some people for coffee. Take time to enjoy the real life outside the internet.

 

Have a great day,

Heather

Out of the Club

I feel like I am going to get thrown out of a club or something. I feel like if I say “it” out loud, or put “it” in print, there will be serious repercussions. Who says I don’t live dangerously?

I do not like pumpkin coffee.

There, I said it. Now we wait and see. Will I get thrown out of the club?

Now, that is not to say I do not like a good slice of pumpkin bread, or even a good pumpkin muffin or a slice of pie. I do enjoy all of those things in moderation. I mean, I make a pretty good pumpkin pie with real whipped cream for the top, so what’s not to like?

That said, I will go ahead and say I also don’t wear yoga pants. I am pretty sure I don’t even own any- nor furry boots, nor puffy vests. Guess I have always walked to the beat of my own drummer. Who would want to add a puffy vest to an overweight middle aged woman anyway? Not I.

I do love fall, and enjoy days where I have to put on a sweater and where it is cool enough to enjoy an afternoon cup of tea or coffee. I love when it is cool enough to bake and the oven helps heat the house. I am blessed to watch the trees on our property change to a dazzling display of color.  Seeing the fall garden growing and harvesting our crops really increase my enjoyment of this season.

Yes, I love fall, but I will pass on the pumpkin spice latte.  

Overscheduled and Out of Spoons

I woke up and looked around my house. It looks like I have let it go again.  Time to down some coffee and make it presentable.  I have had, and will continue to have, a busy few weeks, so I need to get off my butt and get this house in shape.  I really can’t function with a mess around me.  It clutters my mind.

Why is it that stuff multiplies on every flat surface in my life?  It seems, when I clean it off, the next day it is full again.  In my next life I will not have cats; too much cat hair to sweep up (okay stop laughing)!  Someday, we will only use paper plates so I can keep up with the dishes.  How do people keep up with all of this?

I know I will tackle it and win for a day or two and then, a week later, I will wonder what happened again.  Guess I was not meant to live in a showroom-clean home.  At least I don’t have company very often.

My “do a little,sit a little” style keeps me moving and get’s things done. But some days, I feel I am losing the battle.  So more coffee and grab the broom.  Where did I put that duster? Things are getting done here at Casa G today come hell or high water.  Just one more cup of coffee.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year

 

It’s the most wonderful time of the year

The wind has changed. The weather is turning cooler. The leaves are starting to change color. Everything seems to be changing.  The days are getting shorter and the time change is almost upon us.  Soon we will not be working in the garden after dinner, and it will be time to break out the fire wood.

Anyone who has known me for anytime at all knows I am a fan of fall.  I love how the leaves change color; I love the cooler temps and the warm nights by the fire.   Having a reason to wear my sweaters and my fuzzy jammie pants are all things that make me a happy gal.

Now with the cooler temps comes fall co-op and my son’s birthday. How can it be that he will be 14 this November 1st.  It could not have been that long. Time is passing so fast.  I want to freeze this moment in time and enjoy it.  Starting “9th” grade is such an accomplishment.  I love seeing the spark stir into a fire when he is working out a difficult math problem or when he gets into a book and chatters about it excitedly.



Caleb on his rocking horse

 

That said this is our busy season so down time is at a premium and I will be taking full advantage of every second of it.  I enjoy are family dinners and date nights at home.   All of this is time for me to recharge for the busy homeschool times.  I am lucky to have a supportive husband who jumps in and helps when he can.  

Teamwork is key here at Casa G.  We have learned that when we pull together as a team we can accomplish just about anything.  We have moved mounds of dirt for our fall garden, we have overcome great math obstacles, and even slayed the dragon of time by stealing some for family dinners and movie night.

So bring on the fall- busy schedules and all. We can deal with it and come out better and stronger.  It’s just how we roll.

Heather

If you want to see the blog for the homeschool group blog click here.   

What A Ride

I have been so sporadic about keeping up my blog. If you are still following me then you get kudos in my book.  I have to share some of the amazing things going on here at Casa G.  

It seems hard to believe we have been in our house over a year.  As a homeschooling mom, I was glad to have moved during a down time in our “school year”; yet, before I knew it, I realized that Caleb and I had not had any activities outside of the house in a few months and I set out to find us some new friends with which to hang out.

After researching groups I found the amazing folks at Wake Forest Homeschoolers.  As usual, I jumped in with both feet and, after meeting and being accepted into the group, I was suddenly attending a co-op with Caleb and assisting in a class.  When the next co-op period came around I found myself teaching!  Next thing I know I am the Secretary for the group and Caleb and Tony were building a website.

Of course I am an overachiever and had to create a blog for this group.  So I have found myself writing again after such a long time.  It has been a bit crazy. I am now writing blogs, attending board meetings and teaching co-op classes. What a busy and fun time.  

Not to be outdone, my husband has become a volunteer fire fighter-even attending calls on holidays and such. He has been busy with training and building their website.

Caleb is taking a webmaster course online and has become the webmaster for the Wake Forest Homeschoolers website. I can’t believe we are starting 9th grade.  He has become such a bright and amazing kid.  He will be in his first community theater play this fall.  I know he is loath to admit it but I think he is enjoying the process.