Friday, August 22, 2008

I hate summer. Have I mentioned that before? Well, I do. I didn't used to. I used to love summer, but that's another story. Mind you, there isn't really a season that I do like in this climate, but I really hate summer. Any guess what the temperature was at 11am this morning? 103. That's right, 103. And that doesn't account for the humidity and therefore the heat index, that was just the temperature. You can't even placate me with the knowledge that September and theoretically fall are on the way. It's a lie. Not the September part, the fall part. Why? Because there is literally no chance that the weather will become bearable, even temporarily, until late October at best. No, the reality is we will still be running the air conditioner in December.

I'm done complaining now. (To be fair, it is my blog.)

In other news, Jared figured out how to turn on the tv in the kitchen with the remote the other day. He thought it was basically the coolest trick ever, giggling all the way into the living room, where, sadly, the same trick didn't work on the tv there...

Alaina has decided she wants to be in a choir, which is, of course cool with me. Anyone know of a children's choir around here? She's also decided she wants to learn to play guitar and be in a band. That may have been slightly influenced by watching us play Guitar Hero...but I still told her to talk to Uncle Raj about it next time she sees him... (Yes, Guitar Hero. Yes, we are nerds. Our children had no chance.)

The Great Toy Standoff of '08 was merely the opening skirmish. It is, in fact, a war...of wills, of stubbornness, of control, of something. But it is decidedly a war. Jadyn literally fell asleep on the bench in the playroom last night because she refused to pick up toys and I refused to let her go to bed or do anything else until she picked them up. The sobering part is that I know this is not really about toys and that I have to win this particular war, for her sake. This parenthood thing is bar none the hardest thing I will ever do in my life.

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

getting there

This summer has been rough for me. So it is with a sense of relief that I welcome the month of August. I used to love summer. Of course, that was when I lived in a climate where summer was just another season rather than the prevailing weather pattern.

I will give that it could be entirely psychosomatic (August means summer will be ending and therefore things will be changing), but it's getting a little easier to do things. Doing small housework tasks no longer seem comparable to scaling a cliff. I still have next to no desire to cook anything, but I don't really expect that to resolve itself until November. (Nothing like Thanksgiving and the thought of pumpkin dessert month to motivate the cook/baker in me!)

I even feel like I'm getting a handle on the homeschooling thing. I didn't exactly jump into this particular pool completely unaware of the depth, but this has definitely been one of the bigger challenges I have ever taken on. The whole idea of no boundaries and no guidelines is a bit of a double-edged sword. The past nine months have definitely tested my perspective on the philosophy of learning in general.

All I can hope is that this breathing space lasts for a little while. I know it's going to come crashing down soon, but if I could have a couple of months to get things together, I would be doing really well.