Catch Up

Earlier this week while out on a date with my big squeeze I bought 2 pair of $6 sunglasses at Big Lots. They are exactly 6 times as extravagant as every pair I've previously owned. It made me feel all grown up and fancy. Because everyone knows, Big Lots trumps Dollar Tree on all 7 of the days that end with a Y.

Speaking of the Life of Luxury I effortlessly lead, you may or may not remember all that pitiful pining I whined about over a minivan to call my very own. 6 years of pumping gas by the hogshed and parking the maxi van beyond the outer rim of civilization to ensure I could pull in and out without scraping the side of some luckier woman's sleek and tiny minivan was plenteous enough. I've tasted life driving The Big Dog Vehicle. And though I could peer over your head and watch you pick what you thought no one could see from my nosebleed vantage point, (which may have served to feed some sick pleasure deep within) there were no other advantages to lugging the monstrosity around for every little errand I run. Especially now that I don't necessarily take each one of my charges everywhichwhere I go. Now, dear friends, you may dig away in those nostrils resting assuredly in the certainty that I can not observe because Mama Has A Minivan! (Holla!) My Honda Odyssey seats 8 so as long as we leave big daddy behind the chiltlins and I can cruise town all sexy like. It's recycled so to speak - once totaled then repaired which makes my green crunchy self jump up and down all over the refurbished seats. I love it so much, I openly covet. When a friend posted a photo of her Ferrari I scoffed and shook my head. Honey, what choo got aint no minivan....

Summer has kept us all kinds of crazy busy recreating the way we lavish Deutsch people do. You know, staying in MOtels with actual OUTdoor swimming pools, camping in tents, playing in lake water and calling it "bath time," spending $50 in yogurt to claim our free library reading program prizes, etc. It's basically been a blast and then all these people come around rushing me everyhwere. Like messages in my inbox, ONLY 5 WEEKS OF SUMMER LEFT and the school supplies rudely shoving their way onto the shelves once filled with blow up rafts for sparkly pools. Um, premature much? To that I say, Shut the Full Cup. We aren't ready. The sun is shining. The air is warm. The days are lazy and fun and free and spontaneous and school can go, go, go away.

Which reminds me of the kids' testing results we received at the end of last year. Now, I never claimed to be teacher of the year by even the most flexible stretch of the wildest of imaginations. But let me say this to all the naysayers who wonder how in the H*E double hockey sticks we manage to pull this gig off. Our kids, they did well. Very well. With zero actual preparation with regard for what would actually be on the tests, because I had zero idea what would actually be on the actual tests. They swished it, all of them, even our most academically challenged child scored on par with national standards while the rest were far above. They did it spending a mere fraction of the time they would in a conventional school environment with oodles of hours to pursue interests of their choosing. My heart, it was full and happy and validated. Personally, I'm a kind of massive fan of folks being able to choose their own paths according to their individual belief systems, situations, aptitudes, goals and desires, so long as they are not hurting anyone else in the process. In educational opportunities....and elsewhere. At this juncture, homeschooling is pretty much a rock star at our house. It's almost as big as the little minivan...