More Random Thoughts

NO, I have not yet determined the secret ingredients for Chef Mark!

I do believe I used very poor timing in this whole secret ingredient thing. I wasn't able to get to it this past week. I could now, but we already have enough groceries in the house to make it through the week, so it seems a waste to throw in more ingredients to go buy. And...next weekend we have a guest here. Hmmm...I wonder if she would like to be on the receiving end of Chef Mark's Mealtime Challenge? I suppose it would be nice to have an extra judge. I'll have to give that some thought.

Our mysterious house guest--and possible second judge? One of my dearest friends from boarding school! I have not seen her in 10 years. I can't wait to see her! She has been over a year without her husband as he has been serving in Iraq. He's back now. I'm so happy for her! Since she plans to begin homeschooling next year, the SE Homeschool Expo here in Hotlanta caught her eye. She asked me if it's worth it to attend such a thing.

"Worth it?!" I exclaimed. "Of course."

"Could you go with me?" she asked.

Ummm...well. I've sorta, kinda been banned from the SE Homeschool Expo. By my husband. I mean, I know I have my next school year planned by May or June. And I know I have all of my curriculum ordered and in hand by May or June. And I know I start school the first Monday of August, and the SE Homeschool Expo does not occur until the weekend before the first Monday of August. But that does not mean I don't NEED all the things I buy at the SE Homeschool Expo. I really could use some more understanding in this house.

Anyway, what is a caring friend like me to do? I mean, here is someone in need. I'm nothing if I'm not helpful. So I happily reluctantly agreed to accompany her to the Expo. Someone's gotta do it, I guess.

I have promised my husband I will go and leave with not a penny spent. Ahem.

My boarding school friend is not the first one to ask me to go to the SE Homeschool Expo this year. My blog friend Linda is an exhibitor at the Expo, and she suggested that we meet face-to-face for the first time. She was the first one to throw temptation my way, and with great strength, I resisted it. After all, I knew she would be busy working. Plus, she is a veteran homeschooler and does not require my guidance and great wisdom. I promised her that this year I would squirrel away some money so that I could go next year, meet her, and do the Expo right.

But now...since I am such a helpful friend, I will also get to see Linda!! She will be my first blog friend I've met face-to-face!

I had my appointment with the real doctor. He has all but concluded that I do indeed have fibromyalgia. He did have me go to the lab to give blood in order to rule out any other anomalies. I gave just about all of the blood I own. And it took forever. The phlebotomist (I've always wanted to use that word in a blog post) didn't know what she was doing and tied the band around my arm like a decoration instead of a tourniquet; the blood merely drip-dropped into the 5 huge tubes I had to fill.

Anyway, even if there is no cure, I'm happy to have sort of a diagnosis as that is a weight off my mind. The doc offered me some dietary suggestions, told me to take more vitamins, get a little exercise, and get more sleep.

The sleep thing is really the hardest thing for me. I'm a night owl and love using my evening and night time to get Stuff done. And I don't get that much of an opportunity to sleep in with a house full of kids (and a puppy). So when the doctor asked me if I was getting 7 1/2 - 8 hours of sleep, I just kind of gave him a blank stare. When I told him I get, at most, 6 hours, he said, "You really must do something about that. It's important."

So...OK. Well, the puppy at least is being very cooperative in me getting more sleep. She went from 11:30-6:00 last night! And I may up her bedtime to 11:00 as 6:00, even for a night owl, is an optimal time for a homeschooling mother to rise if she wishes to be organized and ready for the day ahead.

So if I gave Daisy an earlier bedtime, that would mean a whole 7 hours of sleep. Of course, that doesn't really mean that because it generally takes me at least an hour to fall asleep. So then we're back to 6 hours. So I've made another change. In order to clear/settle my mind, I am forcing myself to turn off the computer at 10:00 and just relax until bedtime. It has worked the last couple of nights because I have fallen asleep much more quickly.

And so I don't risk putting all of you to sleep, I shall ramble no more...

Random Thoughts

No, I have not yet determined the secret ingredients for Chef Mark.

What have I been doing? Taking the kids to and from sports camps, trying to entertain the Princess, planning the next school year, taking care of puppy, wishing I could take a nap.

I've never been so well-planned for a school year. Usually, I just make my Master Plan spreadsheet and wing it from there, but this year, inspired by Tisha, I have made all the copies I will need for every single lesson, which means I will not have to spend 2 hours every Sunday getting ready for Monday.

I'm tired. Not so much because of the puppy, though I do get up once per night with her. My neck/back does not let me sleep much.

I'm going to a real doctor today. As much as I used to think it was a fake disease, based on the type of back/neck pain I have coupled with the many other things that haven't been "quite right" over the years, I suspect I have fibromyalgia. We'll see what the doctor says.

The other day I was floating peacefully (well, as peacefully as one can with Great Mayhem occurring on all sides by the likes of 4 children) on a raft. I was quite comfy. Do you think I should try sleeping there one night? Bet it would be the best sleep ever.

After having seen Daisy's mom "great with milk", the kids all think that when we get Daisy spayed, she will have her nipples cut off.

This is our new dog skin rug:

Daisy Update

You're probably wondering how Life with Daisy is going. Or not. I'll tell you anyway. She's a great little puppy. And once I'm not so tired, I will enjoy her even more. She's actually doing great at night; it's just me and my poor sleeping habits that are bringing on the fatigue.

The first night she was home she cried all night, and I'm not sure I slept at all. Not because her crying was keeping me awake; we put her and her crate in a back room. I was awake most of the night worrying that she was keeping everyone else awake.

They all slept soundly.

The next night not a peep from her. I didn't sleep much. I lay there waiting for her to wake up and start crying so I could begin worrying about her keeping everyone else awake even though they were all sleeping soundly.

She's been great at night since then, and I've been catching a few more winks; however, I am still setting an alarm to get up once during the night to take her out. Waking up at 3am wouldn't be so bad if I would go to bed before midnight. Of course the waking up at 6:30 isn't helping, but I would have to do that puppy or no puppy because I am being Responsible now and trying to get the kids off to basketball camp on time.

But sleeping patterns--Daisy's and mine--aside, she is doing great. Best thing I did was purchase some baby gates to confine her to the kitchen. That way I do not have to spend my entire day following her around to make sure she is not looking for a potty. I just moved my office (translation: my computer) into the kitchen, and we all basically live in here. She has had only 2 accidents and already tries her best to tell me when she needs to go. She knows her name and how to sit. Not bad for less than a week!

She does not like her crate, but hopefully she will get used to it over time because there's no way she is going to have free range of the house--or even just the kitchen--while we are away. That would certainly be cause for more worries than I already have lying in bed while everyone else is soundly sleeping.

She's Heeere!

Don't worry, I'm not fooled.

I realize we haven't had one single potty accident in the house today. No not one. But I'm not fooled. I know better than to believe that that will last.

So far she's been a great little puppy who does an awful lot of sleeping. But I'm not fooled. I know she'll wake up soon into a little, giant ball of mischief.

We're awfully glad to have her home, though.

Daisy

We went to meet the puppies today

expecting to fall in love with one of the little chocolate girls,

but who should be the first to come up to us wagging her little tail?

Our little Daisy.

She immediately began tasting Michael's knee.

And stealing our hearts.

We hated to leave her.


But at least she's enjoying a few more weeks with her mommy and siblings.