Not Another Homeschool Blog

Hubby and I just spent a desperately needed week on vacation in Puerto Rico. The resort we went to last time, The Ritz Carlton was still under construction post-storm. We stayed at the next door resort, at the Marriot instead.  What can I say?  The room was good. The view was magnificent, the bed was hard, and the food was not the best. at all. Of course, all that was to be expected. We chose to stay in Puerto Rico because we knew that our vacation money was best spent in the land our administration has forgotten... and so we did. That was our decision.  And so, we grinned, bared through any discomforts, spent a ton on meals left unfinished, enjoyed the beach and each other. As is customary, we did venture off the resorts. We spent a day in Old San Juan, which while interesting, was difficult. The plan was to get a taxi to the old fort and tour that and the museum. The traffic there was bad, and the driver insisted he would drop us off close enough. Put us where we ...

As I worked this past weekend finishing up my costume project for a local middles school, I spent some time with some very dedicated public school parents.  The kind of parents who not only show up to see the show but who build the sets, purchase meals for the whole class, patrols the backstage area keeping kids out of trouble, and hugs any child who is clearly about to have a meltdown.  As parents do, they chatter. They wanted to know more about me, how I came to costuming a public school show and then asked about my own kids... and then... dun dun dun.... homeschooling. It's hard to talk about my kids without mentioning homeschooling, it is a large part of who they are.  It explains why my daughter is my business partner at 21 and not in college because she is done. I will tell you this though, the further homeschooling is in the past the easier it is to talk about.  Also, it seems that people are much, much more open to it. Even public school paren...

I have been literally under a pile of clothing, pretty much since I moved into the house the first of the year.  First, I updated a wedding dress for a bride.  Then I costumed Fahrenheit 451 for the Community Theatre.  Then I did a job for a school in Atlanta (the commute was a killer... based on the time of day I needed to be there it was 90 minutes each way.)  And now I am finishing up my main project for the season, Into The Woods, at a local middle school.  You can see some of our costumes here:  http://rs-costumes.blogspot.com/2018/04/costuming-with-my-daughter-projects.html In one week when this is done, I can get back to my store booth spaces.

3 months to go. This is going to be me!

When I was pregnant with my second child, first child in my lap, Columbine happened. I assured myself this was a freak incident and I eventually got over it. When my kids were growing up, and if you follow this blog, you know I homeschooled, I would tell myself that my kids were safe from these crazed shooters because I homeschooled... that was of course a lie. Movie theatres, malls, other drivers on the road, they are never truly "safe". Now as a former homeschooling parent who makes costumes for school children, I am worried sick about these beautiful souls and their parents to entrust their kids to a system that is supposed to educated and protect them... And I don't trust that system... at all.

My bed arrived.... adjustable type... with those new Purple mattresses...  they really do take the stress off of pressure points. My stools arrived.  Twice. They got lost in the mail the first time, then by the time they got found and got here they were mostly dented up.  Fortunately, there was one in excellent condition because the second set they sent had one dented stool, so between the two shipments, I got a set of 4 nice stools. My custom cabinets for each side of the fireplace arrived.  I had they custom made and may have a bench/shoe storage thing made for the mudroom.  I am happy with them, but the jury is out on how country they look.... do they throw my style off too much?  I can have the doors changed. Also, we are starting to put mirrors and artwork in place, not hung, just mostly in place.  I like the stuff here even better than at the old house because the walls are not as expansive for the sake of being dramatic, ...

This is our second weekend in the new house, and well, all of our things are IN the house, for the most part... and the basement, and the garage.  I think I will post photos of the first floor every week as things pull together. Great room from kitchen Dining room Kitchen from great room There are 3 main rooms on the first floor, plus my office (guest room) and his office.  I am seriously overwhelmed right now pulling all of this together.... and they will probably come together at the same time as they are kind of connected.  We shall see.  What is going well?  The pantry is on point!   more to see later.