Caz
As if the last three months haven't been FILLED with them already. Strider has finally gotten a full pay check from his new job.. and oh boy, was it NOT what we were hoping/expecting/NEEDING! We're talking literally half of his previous paychecks... and then once tax comes out, and over 100bucks a week fuel (which is clearly required to drive parcels around)... the amount left is barely twice our rent :S I've looked, and applied for jobs hoping to find something for nights and weekends.. with no luck. I have applied for night fill jobs with supermarkets, no luck yet. Clearly something has got to give.

And sadly, homeschooling is going to have to be it. At least for now :( It's nearly the end of the school year here (about 6wks to go I think) so we are going to TRY to limp along until the new year starts in Feb (Goddess help us, I don't know how!?!) and then my little men... at least 2 of them... will be off for their first 'school' experience. We've talked about it with them.. and surprisingly they don't seem bothered by it. They both have lots of questions and I'm going to try to arrange to visit the school they will most likely be attending so they can get a feel for it. Mr. Sam and I will spend this time really hammering reading.. he seems MUCH more interested (and seems to retain more!) lately.. so I'm taking advantage of that. Frodo's focus will be getting those multiplication facts down. There will still be other bits & peices, but Frodo is way ahead in all things language... and Sam is a slow starter at reading.. so those are the two priorities for the next few months.

On to job hunting... it sucks! I have looked at all kinds of positions in my most recent field (disability care) and they require 2-3 sleep overs a week PLUS day work (one place even does 24hr shifts, with paid sleepover time... like I want to spend 24hrs away from home at a time?) The shifts are sometimes starting at 630am... others not ending till 530pm. Great for traffic... not so much so for picking up kids from school at 245pm! I started thinking that they were going to be at school from the time they woke up, until dinner... that's just not acceptable.

Then came the idea... I have, in the past, been licensed as a Family Day Care provider in several states (in the US).. why not look into that here? So at this point in time, I'm awaiting permission from my landlord, and I'm booked into an info session next week. I gave thought to trying to do this AND keep the boys at home... but in all honesty, I am admitting my limitations.. it would just be too much. And someone would end up missing out, and that would end up being the boys in the dept of homeschooling I'm sure. And I would rather them have an education at school (although we'll still read cool books, go to neat places on weekends etc) than a home education with a mum that's too busy, too harried, and just plain too overwhelmed.

So as much as my heart wants to keep them with me to learn full time, I'm accepting that 6hours a day is not the end of the world. This option will at least give me the ability to meet them to walk home with a smiling face, and have afternoon tea with them as they tell me all about their day. My head has just been forced to admit that it's just the way it is going to have to be... at least for now.

In a year, after I'm settled into a 'work' routine I may offer them the chance to home school again if they would like. Or.. I could win big in the lotto on the 30th.. one never knows!


*I'll definitely still post here occasionally during this transition time. After all I WILL still be home schooling until then ;) And I'm considering starting a new blog for my new adventures with little people next year. So I'm not goin' anywhere!
Caz
Fancy meeting you here! And not a moment too soon, I must say. So far Octoer has been rainy.. all 2 days of it... but I know it will be better than September (really... it HAS to be LOL). Today I saw this:

Ok.. not that *exact* tree... but I saw a Jacaranda in full bloom. It was spectacular, if a little early! I am fairly sure that Jacaranda season is normally in November... which means the local Jacaranda festival may not actually HAVE blooming trees to match it's name this year. Unless of course the organizers are paying attention like I was ;)

Here's to a wonderful October, friends! I've added a button to Mrs. B's 31 days of Halloween again this year.. so if you're inclined, pop over for some October fun!

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