My husband said I needed to write something

"Honey, I keep checking your blog and you haven't written anything in well over a month!"

Sad, but true.

So I will start again.

Can I say how much I love Jen Fulwiler? OK, it's not like I actually KNOW her, but somehow she writes just what I need to hear. Like her post on 21 Tips for Survival Mode.

 I'm not in that (what I call) "year of isolation" with a newborn, but my phase of life calls for "survival mode" as well. And it was such a blessing to read, laugh, and know that I'm not the only one going through all this!

 I am currently trying to get myself ready to start school in a week, and am prepping myself to teach 7 children while dealing with an overly adventurous 3 yr old.

 Some moms can create this magical learning environment where everyone is studying the same things, but at different levels. For example, the whole family may be learning about ancient Rome, so the older kids might be reading Plutarch and Caesar's Gallic Wars while the younger ones are reading a book on Pompeii. And somehow all the other subjects go together with this history spine, and it's an amazing learning experience for the entire family. I have read so many blogs, and so many suggestions, from moms who are living that sort of homeschooling experience.

 I am not one of those moms.

 I tried... for 6 years... and failed miserably.

 Finally, very pregnant with baby #7, I waddled into our chapel and lost it. I told the Lord that I just couldn't do this anymore, and if He wanted me to homeschool I needed to hear how He wanted me to do it. And in that quiet moment, I thought I heard:

"Teach them all separately."

*blink, blink*
*pause*
*burst into laughter*

I said, "OK, that is either the dumbest idea I've ever had, or that came from You."

Either way, I gave it a go, and so far it has seemed to be a better solution for our family... I can't say it's been EASY, but at least I felt like we were covering more and doing it better.

So what's the problem?

I have kept Grace and Marie (my youngest girls) more together in their schooling, but now, as Marie is going into 3rd grade, I feel like I need to focus more on "1st grade stuff" for Grace and "3rd grade stuff" for Marie.

Which means more on my plate.

7 children X 8 subjects apiece = teaching until 5 o'clock every day.

So, I've been at my computer, surrounded by books, trying to whittle down what we're going to try to accomplish. I'm making progress and, as long as there is no problem transferring the spreadsheets I've created into the program my husband made for me (which automatically carries over any assignments that weren't completed so I don't have to re-type the whole syllabus and drive myself insane!) I will have their entire school year planned out.

But in the meantime, my kids have spent more time in front of Netflix than I care to admit... Lunches have been of the "if you see it, you can eat it" variety (and believe me, 5 yr olds can get awfully creative when given that sort of direction)... housework has been less than stellar... and a French Connection has been a mighty nice companion on those evenings when I've been up 'til 1:00 am trying to finish up another week's worth of planning.

One more week... just one more... and then hopefully all this work will pay off, and I will be able to "relax" and start homeschooling..... bwahahahahahahaha!