Wednesday, June 25, 2008

To hire help or not to hire help

My husband and I were fortunate enough to attend our states home school conference this weekend. It was filled with lots of books that inspired projects and excitement of next years new adventures. We picked out a new math program all together that I am super jazzed about and found some great catholic fiction for the kids to read ( I can't seem to keep enough books in the house for them at any given time)
There were some awesome speakers at the conference as well. I was hoping to attend all of them but only made it to two. I find that listening to speakers is always a source of great inspiration for me. It's great to get a fresh perspective on things and a bit of a kick start. One of the talks was Laura Birquest on Homeschooling from toddlers to teens. It was surprising to hear her say that the age group I am schooling is the most challenging. I don't know why I was surprised but it was weird to hear somebody say that. My kids are newborn to 9 years six in all.
This talk full of some pretty good ideas complied with both my husband and dad giving me the run down on how I need to hire help around the house has left me at a loss. I still feel like I should be able, with the help of my children , to take care of my house and other responsibilities. I have yet to read a book or a blog for that matter of a homeschooling mom that has hired help. For me I can't help but think its a lack of order in my life that has put me in the boat I'm in. Granted I have been trying to dock this boat various ways for 9 years but hey when you have kids as fast as I have life changes quickly. I am so conflicted.
Any feed back would be appreciated on this one girls. Especially by fellow homeschoolers that are or have dealt with this scenario.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

He has arrived!!!!!

Hello Everyone!!
Baby Ethan arrived this morning at 6:04 am at 8lbs 6oz 20 in. with brown hair and blue eyes.
Pictures will be posted when I get home from the hospital.

Praise be to God!!!!

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Expectations

I have been blessed with a group of women in my life that have taught me a great deal about God. Most importantly how my relationship with God is so apart of all the aspects of my life. We all have had struggles to fulfill our parts in said relationship but use each others experiences to learn and grow from them.
At my best (from my perspective) I spent my mornings with God. I would rise early, sit on my porch read the daily readings and reflections from my little book and spend quiet time in prayer and conversation with Our Lord. That was like two years ago. Ever since I have struggled to find some type of daily prayer and meditation that I could hold on to in my crazy schedule.
Strike that. I haven't made myself make that time a priority in my life.
Self discipline has always been a problem for me granted I have improved over the years but, there is still so much room for improvement. What I am really trying to accomplish is finding the line between realistic and unrealistic expectations of what I should be capable of.
Example...... is it realistic to expect myself to do a load of laundry every day. Now to some of you this is a no brainer, in either direction. Some would say duh, you have six kids how do not do a load or 4 everyday. Others may say duh, you have six kids how can you expect to have time to do a load everyday. This is a conversation I have had with nearly every person I know. I always get a different response but the one I receive most often is, "Kelli, your being to hard on yourself, you already have so much to do in your day its not realistic." or one of my mothers favorites is " you need to hire someone to help you out around here."
No I don't!!!! OK sure every mom says" if only I had another pair of hands around here.'
But when it comes down to it my friends this is my domain and I'm just to pig headed to let anybody in to mess up my (somewhat faulted) system. I know that everyone is just trying to be supportive and kind and really who wants to hear that " Yep, your right your a lazy bum." but come on.
So in short I am forever trying to find that balance that makes my life work best for my family and maybe by the time this little baby ( who has yet to come out) is a teen I will have found an answer to my riddle. What are realistic expectations for a homeschooling mother of six?