Happy New Year!

Yes, I am still horribly neglecting this blog.  Between lack of time due to two teenagers and their right not to have every little thing they do tooted over the internet I find updating challenging.  So here is a recap of the end of 2013 and the beginning of 2014.

Swimming.  Lots and lots of swimming.  Mister B is having a good year so far on the high school team.  Both Mister B and Little Miss M have shown improvement in their times.

Schoolwork continues to go fairly smoothly.  They are learning.  They even remember some things when asked.  Although for some reason Little Miss keeps forgetting The Pledge of Allegiance.  However, I just asked her to recite it and she remembered the whole thing.  Perhaps that hurdle has been conquered (to be replaced with her inability to remember the name of our National Anthem).

Mister B completed his first semester of the online writing class.  Considering how much he hates writing and how he has never taken an online class I think the B- he got is pretty good.  We have now gone over her comments and are working on strategy to bring the grade up.  Algebra seems to finally be sticking.  That is a relief.

We started back to school on January 2nd.  Only to have a snow day today, January 3d.  We got a good 8-10 inches.  Thank you to my neighbor who comes by with his blizzard grade snow blower and does most of the work for us.  I bake him cookies in return.  And then I get to feel like my mother by saying "Don't touch.  Those are Eric's cookies."  Okay she would say "Don't touch, those are for the holiday." but it is the same idea.

Did I mention the swimming?

Oh my! I have been horribly neglectful.

I realized today that it has been quite a while since I updated.  Life with teens has a funny way of cutting into my blogging time.

The big news here is that Mister B's PSAT scores arrived in the mail today.  Big sigh of relief-I have not ruined him for life and chances are he will get into a decent college.  He did just fine. Everything exactly where I expected it to be.  Now an action plan is being put in place for next year.  Never hurts to try for a National Merit Scholarship.

Mister B is having a busy school year.  His online writing class has been an exercise in time management.  Perhaps he will even master it by the end of the year.  In spite of his scheduling challenges the class is going well.  First there was the essay about him.  Then the persuasive essay.  Currently he is working on a short story.  He is doing well in the class but I don't think my main goal is being met.  I was hoping the class would help make the writing process easier for him but I don't think it is working.  Perhaps by the end of the year.

Little Miss M is also having a fine year.  Last year she loved all things science.  This year she told me she is enjoying her civics class more than science.  What is not to love about learning about our constitution and why we have ethics and civics.  She is also loving her rainbow loom. I think it is great that the loom entertains her for hours.  I certainly prefer stepping on little rubber bands instead over legos.

They are both still swimming and loving it.  Mister B is still swimming for the club team and the high school.  The high school season just started and Mister B is a little upset that the coach wants him to continue doing distance.  He prefers sprinting.  You want to sprint-get faster.  Little Miss continues to work hard and will be trying out for the high school team next year.

Happy Halloween!

This Halloween was a little bittersweet for me.  I don't have little kids anymore.  No more pumpkin crafts.  No more cute princess and pirate costumes.  No more trekking in the cold following my little munchkins (okay, I don't miss that). 

Mister B spent the afternoon at a friends house.  Little Miss M and her friend put on their zombie makeup and went out for what was likely their last trick or treat.

Sure, I still passed out candy and oohed and aahhed at the adorable little kids and faked horror at the scary older kids but it is not the same when you don't have one of your own.

It is almost Halloween

Oh, my! Halloween is already upon us.  Where in the world did October go?  These past few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity.  Swim practices, schoolwork, Hebrew High, laundry.  So much to do, so little time.

This past week we have been working on the Tennessee Williams play "The Glass Menagerie".  Mister B has been having an issue with the phrase "Gentlemen Callers".  He thinks it sounds weird.  I suppose it is a bit old fashioned but I think it needs to make a comeback.  A time of charm and grace and not honking and general rudeness.

I love the play.  Mister B and Little Miss M seem to have tolerated the play.  As I was explaining to them it is difficult to read a play.  It is meant to be performed, not read.  You have to pay attention to stage direction and picture it in your head.  Not an easy task.

This afternoon we watched the movie-with Katherine Hepburn. And I even recognized a young Sam Waterson.  Who knew, besides my mother, that he was more then a lawyer on Law and Order?  Okay, I knew that but I can't recall seeing him in anything else.  But, I digress.  My children's big observation.  "They didn't have the screen like in the play."  Very astute.

Totally Jinxed It

Remember when I said how great everything was going and I didn't want to say anything for fear of jinxing it.  Well, I jinxed it.  The last couple of weeks have been challenging to say the least but I think we are finally back on track. Whew!

Mister B was avoiding his writing class and handing things in late.  Not cool.  For some reason he did not think I would find out.  Delusional teen brain.  How many times can one say "I know you hate writing but it is a life skill. One day you will have a boss who will give you all the sucky reports he/she does not want to do and if you want to keep your job and get promoted to where you no longer have to do the sucky reports I suggest you learn to write well." Stubborn.  I can't imagine where he gets it from.

Little Miss M was also skating by in Civics.  Oops, did I forget to answer 5 of those 8 questions.  What do you mean I can't use "I don't like using "insert vocabulary word here" in a sentence as my sentence to show understanding of the meaning. 

Seriously, was mars in retrograde or something these past few weeks?

Mister B is taking the PSAT tomorrow.  That was a challenge and a half.  Well over a month of my phone calls and emails being ignored by the testing guy at the high school.  I was ready to go up to the high school and go apoplectic but decided to try one more phone call.  He was sweet as pie and so helpful.  Again-mars in retrograde anyone?

I gave Mister B a practice test yesterday and am ready to pop out the champagne that without any test prep he scored average in writing and critical thinking.  Math was below average-but I expected that.  He and I discussed prior to the practice exam that math was going to have to be more of a focus this year so that next year when he takes the PSAT as a Junior (when it counts) he will be prepared.

He kept asking why he had to take it this year if it didn't count.  I explained my reasoning.  He is taking it for the experience.  His score doesn't matter at all.  It is a diagnostic tool. From this test we will learn what to focus on for next year when he takes it as a Junior. 

Don't want to jinx it

I've got a secret.  I have been afraid to say anything for fear that putting it out there would ruin the magic.  My secret-The first week of school went incredibly well and week 2 is off to a great start, too.

To paraphrase what a friend of mine posted on facebook recently-in my head my school days look like me dancing and singing like Julie Andrews on the mountaintop aka The Sound of Music.  So not the reality  But this year, for me, something is different.  Things have not gelled this well since the year we started homeschooling.  Is it maturity (theirs and mine)?  The alignment of the planets?  A butterfly flapped it's wings in Africa? Just a magic moment in time?  I don't know and I don't want to look to hard because I am enjoying it. 

I am relishing this sweet spot in our homeschooling adventure. I am trying to live in the moment and not analyze what I am doing.  I know if I look to closely I will think "I can replicate this and make it happen every day."  I also know that there is no way I can make this happen over and over. It is a moment.  A moment that much sweeter because I know in my heart of hearts that it is fleeting and impossible to capture.

Happy New School Year

Today was the first day of our new school year.  Overall, one of our more successful beginnings.  Little Miss M followed directions, completed all assignments, and seemed to take joy in the start of the new year.  Mister B also has gone about his day with a renewed sense of purpose and dedication.  So nice to see.  On the other hand, does such a good beginning mean tomorrow will be a nightmare?

Here are the obligatory 1st day mug shots.

A moment of sibling love caught in the moment.  They were laughing together.

10th grade!  Seriously, can not believe it.

My baby girl! 8th grade, her last year before I have 2 high schoolers!