Average August
We are officially back to school again. This year is a brand new adventure because S started kindergarten. I haven't had time alone at home by myself during the day since before M was born.
It's very strange.
I didn't think life would change much (for all that people kept asking me what I was going to do with myself) but I did have some tiny hope that I would be able to catch up on housework for the first time in ages. Or that I would really be able to crack down on my writing and finish up the fifth novel. Or that I would be able to get back into family history again.
But so far, I haven't felt like I've had any extra time at all. The reality of course is that S being home didn't stop me from doing all that I wanted to. The lack of enough hours in the day was that problem, and that hasn't changed at all.
The one thing that did open up is the opportunity to go to the temple with Terence. Now THAT'S something new and awesome! We went together last Friday after dropping the kids off at school. It was an amazing experience, especially for Terence, since he was able to do some work for his own family members.
As far as school goes, the homework part hasn't been too bad. Possibly because S's homework is still pretty easy (and a novelty to her) and K hasn't had any homework yet. That will change this week, but fingers crossed that now that K's in 3rd grade homework won't be a daily two hour battle of wills. Hopefully. I'm struggling to keep on top of who needs what and when and what I as a parent am supposed to be aware of. Five students means at least five teachers sending me emails and papers and such. (Actually, five teachers is not accurate at all. There are sixteen teachers between my kids. Not all of them contact me, but it really a bit overwhelming, especially when I try to remember which kid has Mrs. So-and-so and for which class.)
The good news is that our van is fixed again (the a/c went out) and at least in all my school driving I have cool air blowing in my face. We did two days of driving with no a/c, and let me tell you, waiting in a pickup line at school on a summer afternoon in the desert is like being stuck in an oven on top of a boiling pan of water. You're kind of being roasted, and kind of being steamed, while sweat trickles down your back and into your eyes, and if you try to stick your arm out the open window to try to get a modicum of relief you burn your skin on the metal door frame. Miserable.
In other summer related news, we are in full swing of the 2017 monsoon season, and like always, we have had a couple of major storms. We still haven't lost any trees (though our neighbors next door and across the street both did). But at the moment we are in the stage of swampy water in retention basins everywhere which means flocks of mosquitoes. Ugh. And they will be around for a loooong time yet. It won't get cold enough to really kill them til November.
Happy August, everyone! May you be surrounded by an anti-mosquito force field!
It's very strange.
I didn't think life would change much (for all that people kept asking me what I was going to do with myself) but I did have some tiny hope that I would be able to catch up on housework for the first time in ages. Or that I would really be able to crack down on my writing and finish up the fifth novel. Or that I would be able to get back into family history again.
But so far, I haven't felt like I've had any extra time at all. The reality of course is that S being home didn't stop me from doing all that I wanted to. The lack of enough hours in the day was that problem, and that hasn't changed at all.
The one thing that did open up is the opportunity to go to the temple with Terence. Now THAT'S something new and awesome! We went together last Friday after dropping the kids off at school. It was an amazing experience, especially for Terence, since he was able to do some work for his own family members.
As far as school goes, the homework part hasn't been too bad. Possibly because S's homework is still pretty easy (and a novelty to her) and K hasn't had any homework yet. That will change this week, but fingers crossed that now that K's in 3rd grade homework won't be a daily two hour battle of wills. Hopefully. I'm struggling to keep on top of who needs what and when and what I as a parent am supposed to be aware of. Five students means at least five teachers sending me emails and papers and such. (Actually, five teachers is not accurate at all. There are sixteen teachers between my kids. Not all of them contact me, but it really a bit overwhelming, especially when I try to remember which kid has Mrs. So-and-so and for which class.)
The good news is that our van is fixed again (the a/c went out) and at least in all my school driving I have cool air blowing in my face. We did two days of driving with no a/c, and let me tell you, waiting in a pickup line at school on a summer afternoon in the desert is like being stuck in an oven on top of a boiling pan of water. You're kind of being roasted, and kind of being steamed, while sweat trickles down your back and into your eyes, and if you try to stick your arm out the open window to try to get a modicum of relief you burn your skin on the metal door frame. Miserable.
In other summer related news, we are in full swing of the 2017 monsoon season, and like always, we have had a couple of major storms. We still haven't lost any trees (though our neighbors next door and across the street both did). But at the moment we are in the stage of swampy water in retention basins everywhere which means flocks of mosquitoes. Ugh. And they will be around for a loooong time yet. It won't get cold enough to really kill them til November.
Happy August, everyone! May you be surrounded by an anti-mosquito force field!
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