Not Another Homeschool Blog

Some people think I'm crazy, but I see no reason to have a 3000+ sq house (with a basement that is probably 1500 sf) with just my husband and myself.  We bought this house for our kids, to allow them a place to grow and enjoy and feel safe and entertain their friends, and honestly it hasn't even been used to its fullest potential.  Right now is probably the closest it has come to being utilized fully and that is because I have family members staying with me right now... So, our plan is to downsize. I not only want a smaller home, but I want to put an end to this sub-urban living.  After all, I am a city girl. I grew up in the city, and some of the best homes we have had were in the city... like our Corn Hill apartment in Rochester NY , or our warehouse apartment in New Orleans .  Those places really made us happy, and that is what we are looking for... but I know it is  not going to be easy. The good news is that house prices in our area are above what we pa...

I can tell you that the health club is taking up a lot of time that homeschooling used to... yay! I can also tell you that a certain contingent of health club life is just as annoying if not more so than the worst homeschool parent meeting where they are comparing curriculum and someone has decided to champion Math-U-See as if their life has depended on it... and woe to anyone who likes something else. So there is a large bunch of women (all of the same nationality) who like to take over the locker room with their saggy naked butts dangling about, sitting on the benches with nothing in between their Lee-la's and the benches that other people have to use.  The good news is that they have commandeered one of three sections of the locker room with vengeance, so at least we know that it might be safe to sit on the other two benches... but frankly, I'd rather stand in a pool of piranhas than put my tooshie anywhere near where they are all sitting nude as the day they were born. ...

I've decided that my doctor is an idiot. I was sent to her by the endocrinologist that is taking care of my daughter for PCOS and pre-diabetes.  I thought.. finally, some folks who know what they are doing, I want to go here... but NOOOOO  I needed a referral... go to this doctor first, and I landed in idiot town. So why is she an idiot? 1.  She looked me in the eye and said the only way to lose the weight is to gradually cut your calories to 1000 a day and stay on that for the rest of your life.  Uh-no.  Try typing that into Google, and you get a great big honking NO.  According to WebMD, Reducing calorie intake to 1,200 to 1,500 calories per day for women and 1,500 to 1,800 calories per day for men. Women should not restrict themselves to fewer than 1,000 calories per day and men to fewer than 1,200 calories per day without medical supervision. 2.  The lab techs after my ultrasound said that I had no ovaries.  I know I have ovaries, a...

So I had my call back mammogram today.  I tried to not think of it much since I got my tests back a few days ago and was told that I had an indeterminate asymmetry, or in other words, something was wonky with one of my breasts. So they warned my that the visit would be 2-4 hours, and it was. Another mammogram, this time the technician was much more grim than the last, and avoided eye contact... great. Then I went in for an ultrasound.   I had one ultrasound. Then I had another ultrasound. Then I waited in an exam room on a table alone for a half hour for the doctor who did another ultrasound. All the time, I was staring at a spot on the screen that definately showed that there was something in my breast that did not necessarily belong there.  In the final exam with the doctor,  after he probed my breast using a lot of pressure with the ultrasound machine, then he told me not to worry, it didn't look like cancer, but he just wanted to look at the photos mo...

Water Aerobics is one of the things that has been filling my time as of late, especially since my kids are all grown up and in college.  Gotta get the ole body in shape if I plan to keep on keeping on. Today's class caused an interesting observation. We had a substitute teacher who claims that she has taught water aerobics before.  However, she was up on the platform, doing a zumba routine, and pretty much giving no instruction.  Meanwhile, all of us down in the water were pretty much flopping around like dying fish. You see, movement under water is very different than movement on dry land. Water makes you weightless, taking the stress of exercise off your legs, feet, and knees, which is why many people, both large and/or elderly don't exercise... because our feet swell up and our knees ache.  So here we are, doing our darndest to keep up, but she's bouncing on dry land, two of these moves, a wiggle, two of those moves, and jump, and eventually many of us began to...

Everything you'll ever want to know about the current state of homeschooling Source: TopMastersInEducation.com

The internet is all abuzz because Jaden Smith, son of Will and Jada Smith, made tweeted that people would be more intelligent if they didn't go to school.  In usual adult fashion, he is being dismissed as a moody teen who doesn't like school. I have a different take on the issue, I think he is actually advocating for homeschooling or unschooling.

This goes out to you my fellow homeschoolers.  If you are homeschooling, you have probably realized that you are in for the fight of your life.  It is you against the world. Your friends will argue with you or turn on you.  Your parents will very likely disapprove.  You may even have a sibling call children services and report you for bad parenting.  You are truly in for a fight against their misconceptions and prejudices, but don't let the fear make you run.  Stand up tall and prepare to fight. This video is for you. But how do you fight? You can join the Home School Legal Defense Association.  I know I did.  Paying this organization $100 or so dollars a year, just in case I had to fight someone in court, gave me a bit of a sense of security... until I realized what I was funding.   Why I won't be HSLDA's Pansy   I feel like HSLDA is

I spoke to my son a few days ago.  He was stressed about some technology issues he was having at school, and during the course of our conversation, I could hear his stress melt away.  I did nothing to make the situation better.  I only gave him the opportunity to vent.  It made me glad that I was still of use to my son, and as the conversation wound down, I said, so I will talk to you soon, goodbye.  I initiated the end of the conversation with my son. I spoke to my daughter yesterday.  I texted her in the early afternoon that I needed to hear her voice.  I couldn't get my mind off her, and I just wanted to know she was fine   fill my personal need for a connection with her.  Not being able to reach her actually made me kind of frantic.  I began to have unfound worries.  I began to obsess.  I grew sad.  Finally she called me, and the weight lifted, but I wanted to stay on the phone with her forever. One might think tha...

On this 12th anniversary of 9-11, I am feeling traumatized by the media's insistence to replay footage.  Turning on the radio or the TV and seeing footage as if the planes are just not striking the building is very hard to digest.  I wish they would at least lower the original dialogue and talk over it so it doesn't feel like real time. I will never forget, but If this causes me to re-live it, what about the people who experienced this in person? In other news, here's a completely unrelated video clip that brought me joy today.

So I got railroaded into going to Zumba today. FYI.  I have no rhythm, but in the spirit of taking care of myself, I went. While most of the women were kinda keeping up, and other's were twerking, I was pretty much jerking around like I had a physical ailment. My personal performance reminded me of this "tweaking" (not really twerking) video

... And I thought teaching them was taxing. From dealing with son's financials, which are a mess due to late application and etc over the summer, and dealing with daughter's roommate issues, I am exhausted. Son's money is straight now and he will have his cash for the semester shortly.  Next year, I will just save up money over the summer and skip the loan.  I'd rather be broke for a minute than to be treated like I am trying to get a handout when I am still paying back the stinking loan, so that is that. Daughter's roommate moved out before you can say "hello, my name is..."  As a mom, I was pretty unhappy, seeing as they met last winter, hit it off, and decided to pair up.  But ex roomie wanted privacy, and they are still friendly, so that is that. Hopefully new roomie will be quieter than my kid suspects cause little homie has a scholarship and needs quiet study time.   On the plus side, my kids are having an easy time with academics so it's a...

I have seriously been neglecting my health. First, I was just sick of doctors telling me that losing weight was the answer to all my problems.  Second, there was always some homeschooling task or event more important and fun than a doctors appointment. There's that and the fact that it was hard to make doctors appointments while toting kids around and how the doctors staff used to glare at me for bringing them to appointments when they were younger.  When they were finally old enough to be left home, I missed a scheduled appointment and the self important doctor's office left me a message to not come back...  so... it's been about 5 years since seeing a Gyn and 3 years since seeing a general practitioner for anything So with no excuses left, I dragged my butt to the doctor yesterday.  I am not pleased. I decided to go because of a diagnosis my daughter got that I had been trying to get for myself for years (PCOS).  So I asked the endocrinologist if they ...