The Attic & The Reluctant Homeschooler

I did it. I registered the older two boys for public school last week.
No, we still haven't sold our house. No, we haven't moved. (yet.) We have a contract building a house in the new district so we can send the kids there before we physically move.
I'm nervous and relieved about it.

I ventured up into the attic last night, because half our stuff is packed away up there, to find their back packs.
You guys, it's a mess up there. There are empty boxes, full boxes, holiday decorations, extra "stuff" and just... it's a mess. It's not organized. It's not neatly stacked. It's FULL.
The house down here looks nice and neat all the time, but that attic is how our life really is right now. Chaos.
It's shoved where no one can see it, so as to make a prettier picture for the world.

I'm exhausted trying to sell this house. I'm so tired of being grumpy about the kids messing stuff up and so sick of losing my temper trying to get them to clean it up. I feel like the attic. Messy on the inside and in the dark corners. Chaotic. A disaster.
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I started this journey two + years ago as a very reluctant homeschooler. I've been both pleasantly surprised at how much I've enjoyed it and horrified at how much I wanted to stop doing it. Sometimes both in the same day.

D & O are doing off to public school this year and they are excited. I am excited, nervous and all the feelings rolled up into one. C (1st grade) & Miss L will still be at home this year, so it will be nice to have a little more time with them.

I hope they like it. I hope *I* like it.

Vacation, VBS, colds/hot

Our vacation was amazing! I enjoyed 7 full days of not worrying about cleaning this house. (We had zero showings while we were gone, unfortunately.) That happiness lasted about 12 hours after we got home - right up until the point we had to go out again.
Oh well. On the upside, we also enjoyed 7 full days of the beach and pool! It was lovely. Not too hot, not *quite* as crowded as it might have been and the kids had so much fun. We rented a house with another family, and we cooked every meal at home except for when we swapped date nights and the morning we left, so we saved a lot of money that way. It's so nice to have someone to watch your kids too, so that you can have a date night! I had *2* dates that week, and that's more than I've had all year up to this point! We celebrated our 12 yr anniversary while we were there and also D's 34th birthday. All in all, a lovely week.

Once we got home, it was back to the grind. We had VBS this week and although having to get the kids and house show ready and be gone by 8:30 AM every day was challenging, it was WORTH IT. I was kid free every day from 9-12. Of course, I ran errands, took the dogs to the vet, finally got my hair cut, etc, etc. However, I also went to Target (TWICE!) by myself. I was able to meet a friend for coffee! I even read a book! During the day! And no one bothered me!

Several of us are down with a summer cold right now, including me, so this week will probably be mostly staying at home until everyone is feeling better. Also, summer temps are here to stay. It was already in the mid 70's when we woke up at 6AM. We'll probably break out the water slide again soon.

Some vacation pictures:

Searching for shells was O's favorite.

The world is my sand box...

It rained several afternoons while we were there. It only really changed our plans once though, and it never lasted too long.

These two love riding the waves!

Shell Island

C was worn out after boating all day.

St. Andrew's State Park - my favorite of the places we went!

What's up

I can't begin to explain the frustration that is house selling. Our house went on the market at the end of January. We have had only 2 showings in all that time and the last one was well over a month ago. I am continuing to keep the house as clean as possible, and cleaning it to show-worthiness every time we leave to go somewhere, every day.
I am continuing to declutter, stage, and dang it... I miss my family pictures! I do not ever, ever, ever, want to move again and you know what? I haven't even started really packing yet. I just shoved a bunch of "extra" stuff in boxes and put it in the attic. I know someone will fall in love with our house, just like we did, when they see it but we have to get people in the door to even have a chance.

I can't WAIT to go on vacation, because that means a solid week of not having to clean my house. Oh, and the beach will be nice too.

In the meantime we decided to build a new house. We only get to move in if we sell this one though. That's not stressful at all...

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In other news, we've done some fun stuff too. Miss L's preschool is over for the year and we're kind of off and on done with homeschooling. We have lots of camps and classes scheduled for June. We'll pick up school again in July when it's too hot to go outside.

We went to the Hot Air Balloon Jubilee which has become an annual tradition for us.

We've had birthday celebrations, and a great Mother's Day as well.

We also went swimming...

... and hiking. (several different times. )

Last but not least, I'm not sure if I mentioned that O and Miss L were in a play, The Velveteen Rabbit, at the beginning of May. Boy, what an experience (and commitment) that was!

6!

On May 17th, this guy turned 6! I think I remember the day I found out I was pregnant with him more than I remember anything else about my pregnancy with him. What a crazy time it was the first few years. He's growing up now, and is sweet, sensitive and yet tough, loves to be with brothers and can read like a first grader. Happiest of birthdays buddy!!