Diary of a Homeschool Dad - Week 36

Another week is in the books, and this one made it feel like we're starting to wind down the school year activities as the kids start preparing for their final events.  Oh, and we had lots of birthdays!

Sunday - One week after Easter Sunday, and while the crowd was a bit smaller than on the "big day" it's quite obvious that more and more folks are feeling comfortable coming around.  After grabbing Italian food for lunch we all decided it was a perfect time for a gelato dessert.  During the evening, Curly participated in the Association level of Bible Drill, which was still held on our church campus.  I was really proud of all the kids that competed, and all of them scored well enough to advance on to the State level in a few weeks.  To celebrate, we all headed outside for some ice cream - hooray for two frozen dairy desserts in a single day!

     

Monday - It was back to school for everyone except Girly, who hadn't been feeling quite up to par.  She spent the better part of the morning trying to sleep off whatever was ailing her, and then came outside of her room to watch me homeschool Whirly for a little while.  I figured that either meant she was still spaced out or she was well on her way to recovery but was just bored.  Just before noon we all headed over to a local pizza joint that was holding a fundraiser for the black belt candidates at our martial arts school, which the girls ate while I worked on cleaning out a few more boxes from our old house.  Fortunately Girly was feeling much better after lunch and didn't have to miss her weekly cello lesson (which, as usual, included driving practice).  We got some frustrating news that my dad's transfer to Houston for better medical treatment was in doubt, which was not a very nice birthday present for my mom, but before the day was over she was at least able to get the ball rolling for some confirmation tests that would clear up any remaining hurdles.

Tuesday - With everybody feeling better we were able to get back into our usual routine.  Whirly and I got some running in during our martial arts class, which is something we both need to practice in advance of testing for purple belt - the beginning of phase 2 on the long path to becoming black belts and the first one that requires us to meet certain exercise standards, such as running a sub-10:00 mile.  Curly had an unusual lesson schedule planned up due to a make-up class with her piano teacher.  She had consecutive virtual private lessons, starting with piano and followed up by clarinet.  Unfortunately, we discovered just before her second login that she had left her last two reeds at school, and therefore had to cancel.  Her teacher was understanding and bumped the lesson to Friday. 

Wednesday - Curly has always enjoyed singing, and it seems like each year she's taken the opportunity to sing at one or two chapel services that their school has each week.  She had to wait pretty late to make it happen this year, but finally got to sing "What a Beautiful Name".  Very soon thereafter, we got the terrific news that my dad had been cleared to get his transfer as soon as a bed opened up for him.  That meant my mom needed to bring some of his paperwork into town, so I was able to see her as she came to our house shortly after Mrs. Geographist took off for church activities with the younger two.  Girly was still home, as she was going to dinner with her boyfriend's family to celebrate his birthday, so we gave her a birthday present and a quick tour of the house (which she hadn't gotten a chance to see beforehand).  Once she said goodbye and I was left home alone, I got to log on to a virtual trivia night hosted by my office, and in addition to getting some dinner out of the arrangement I placed well enough to get a second place gift card worth $50.  Not a bad prize for the effort!

Thursday - Have you ever checked your bank balance in the morning and noticed something is wrong?  By the time I'd eaten breakfast, it came to my attention that something was amiss with my checking account, as my bank had added more than 20 identical deposits to my balance and I had well over $6,000 extra.  I knew better than to touch it, however, and called the bank to alert them of the situation.  By the time Whirly and I finished our martial arts class everything was back to normal.  Curly had her "real" piano lesson after school, and I was able to take her for the first time in a few weeks.  We all met up for dinner at a restaurant just outside our local mall, followed by a quick shopping run for me and the girls while mom headed home for her virtual D-group meeting.  And by quick, I mean we were split up and running around to get it all done before stores started shutting their doors!  Girly and I were in one store grabbing her an outfit for a friend's weekend birthday party, and when we were heading to check out I sent Curly and Whirly to the candy store so our youngest princess could pick out a treat with some of her leftover birthday money.  By the time I caught up with them, Whirly still hadn't made up her mind, so I stayed with her and sent Girly with Curly to get a new refill for the air freshener in her room.  We all wrapped up the mad scramble with less than two minutes to spare before the mall's listed closing time!  Unfortunately, however, a huge work request hit and I wound up working late into the night to handle the short fuse.

Friday - After not getting to bed until the wee hours of morning, I wasn't up for hammering out a full day without any rest.  So once the older two girls had been dropped off at school, I told Whirly she was free to amuse herself for a bit while I got a little extra sleep.  She only had a little bit of school left to handle, so the little interruption in her schedule didn't bother her at all.  Eventually I was sufficiently rested and we got to work, none the worse for the adjusted schedule.  Curly finally got to have her clarinet lesson with a fresh pack of reeds, and we polished off the day with some burgers - the first time we'd been able to grill at the new house.  Bring on the weekend!

Saturday - It was a very busy day for Girly!  Waking up early, we headed out for a recital rehearsal at her cello teacher's house.  While on the road we found out that a bed had opened up for my dad and he was getting ready to get into an ambulance to finally come to Houston for treatment.  Once we made it home from the cello rehearsal, Girly and Mrs. Geo both got dressed up for a fancy birthday party (Sweet 16!) and lunch for one of Girly's oldest and closest friends.  I stayed home with the younger two and caught up on the latest superhero series while taking care of a few chores around the house.  It's amazing how hanging pictures can make it feel like a move is finally nearing completion!  We wrapped up the day with Girly's boyfriend at the nearby driving range, taking time to have some fun and get to know the young man a little better.  A fun time was had by all!

With only 5 weeks of school remaining, we're approaching the time of year where we'll start doing more concerts, recitals, and other end-of-semester or end-of-schoolyear shows.  That, in addition to my dad's return to Houston for treatment, means we've got a lot of irons in the proverbial fire.  Stay tuned to find out where we'll wind up next!