Seven Quick Takes Friday--volume 90

One.

Another week whizzing by like a comet!  I am happy to report that I am 98% done with my curriculum list for the coming school year.  Not having gone to the Homeschool Conference this year made the task so much more daunting, as I hate to order books without the benefit of looking through them.  So much more work to look for reviews and sample pages online!  Thankfully, I have a friend who does loads of research in this area and has saved me a lot of work.  I can ask her things like, "What do you know about this science program?", and she will tell me, "No, no...it is expensive and boring."  Thank you, Marilyn!

Two.

I am looking at the budget for schooling this year with the same trepidation with which I sometimes contemplate what my food bill will look like when my kids are all teenagers.  I thought I would be re-using all of Una's stuff for the boys, but not so.  Una is academically inclined and slogged through years of Saxon Math and Latin.  My boys would mutiny were I to give them Saxon Math, and Latin.  So here I am, selling used curriculum and buying new things for the boys.  I do hope that all four boys will be using the same stuff!

Three.

This is a really neat book.  Una and I are working together to make her a skirt, and the beauty of it is that it allows you to create your own patterns.  We are going to do an A-line skirt with an elastic waist, a three-tiered skirt, and then I am hoping to try an A-line skirt with a zipper at some point, as I have never put in a zipper--button-holes are daunting enough!

Four.

Tomorrow Bret is taking Sebastian and Gabe to see their first baseball game!  Yep, we are homeschoolers living in the sticks, and we don't get out much.  Una and I will be home with the little guys, but we are not lamenting.  The plan is to put on a video in the little boys' room for them, open up a half gallon of mint-chip ice cream, get cozy and watch Northanger Abbey...

Five.

This heatwave is supposed to break a bit next Wednesday, and I will be so very glad for a break, no matter how brief.  The heat index is at about 105, and the kids only go out in the morning until about 9 a.m.  After that, they have to be in the kiddie pool or under the sprinkler to be out.  Which means they are in most of the time, begging to watch videos or go on the computer.  I have a couple of craft ideas ready, but everything needs to be done when Gemma is napping...

Six. 

After two nights of Gemma getting through the night without nursing, I was relieved that she wanted to nurse in the middle of the night last night.  Relieved, mind you.  I guess I am not handling this baby's milestones all that well.  She is on the cusp of walking unaided, and I am less than thrilled.  She is still sleeping in a Pack n' Play in our bedroom, because I am reluctant to have her sleep in the crib in the little boys' room.  

Seven.

With the curriculum list out of the way, I now have to make a holiday gift list.  Since we are trying to cut costs as much as possible, we are looking at things we can sew, knit, or make.  This requires less money, but a lot more time, and I don't know if five months will be enough.  A good place for ideas, I find, are the Etsy shops. There are wonderful ideas there, and since Bret and I are fairly handy, we are often able to make our own version of something we see.  Gemma's birthday cart is an example.  Nova Naturals wants $119 for this one here.  Bret said that if he could find a good source for the wheels, he would sell them for $65 (um, if you happen to know of a good source, let us know!).  But the one he made Gemma was made from salvaged wheels and scrap material from his shop.

Well, that's it for now.  On to the pancakes for breakfast. 

For more Seven Quick Takes Friday, visit Jennifer at Conversion Diary.  And enjoy your weekend!