The week from hell

This was the week from hell for me. I was on the go so much I didn't know whether I was coming or going. Three scouting events, doctor appointment -- physical, eww --, mammogram, early-morning lab appointment and I'm so not an early morning person, dentist appointments for Thomas and I, vet appointment for the dog, three meetings, Christmas shopping, shopping for scouts, chat with a neighbor, two unplanned play dates for Thomas, massive grocery store run.

Remind me again, what is school? It was school-lite this week with tons of reading, a little math, some DVDs, and science through the TV. Thank goodness there is a science channel and that Thomas loves it.

Yeah, I know, most of you probably have weeks like this every week, but not me. I just can't handle all that going. How did I manage when I worked??? Oh yeah, I was 10+ years younger then.

On a good note, if you have problems with your lipids, like I do, start taking fish oil. I started taking it on a regular basis instead of hit and miss, twice a day, and my cholesterol was 175 -- the lowest it's been in my adult life. My triglycerides were cut in half. Amazing!!! All from about two months of remembering to take them.

Right now, after 3 in the afternoon, I am sitting in my nightgown and loving it. This was my day to catch up with bills, house cleaning, etc. I'm happy as a clam, although a little on the smelly side -- soon to be remedied.

Earlier today, however, I was bawling. Why? Because dumb a$ me forgot to pay bills in November. Forgot. Who on earth can forget to pay the bills? November was such a hard month and we were gone almost two weeks of the month. But still! I was horrified and I think the stress of the week caught up with me and I sat at the kitchen table and bawled. Then my husband had unfortunate timing by showing up for lunch during the middle of my tantrum/crying episode. Poor guy. Yes, we had a fight.

All ended well, though, after he left. Thomas came and gave me the biggest hug -- the kind that melts a mom's heart. Amazing how much better you feel after a heart-felt hug. Then he went to the bookshelf and got a book I bought years ago but have never used. The Budget Kit by Judy Lawrence.

Cute kid that he is said, "Mom, let's turn this into school. Teach me how to do this stuff." Okay. So we looked through the book. Then I showed him how I managed my bills. I showed him my Excel worksheet that I made for monthly bills, I showed him the bills, and I showed him the checkbook. He's seen the checkbook before and we've gone over bills in a unit study we did last year or the year before, but this was a good refresher. I showed him our income. I showed him our house payment, our car payment, our credit card bills -- everything. My parents sheltered me from that stuff and was I shocked when I got into the real world. I won't do that to Thomas. And while I don't want to tell the world my husband's salary, our expenses, etc., I think sharing it with Thomas is a good thing.

Then we went into a brain-storming session on how to save money, cut expenses, do more fun things. All good in theory but doubtful we'd ever be able to accomplish our ideas.

I then actually paid the bills and Thomas stuffed the envelopes, put the stamps and return addresses on and sealed the envelopes.

I think it's time to revisit money and do another unit. We still have our checks and check register left from the kit I bought him at Classroom Direct. I think we'll play our game again in January where I have him get a job and apartment out of the newspaper, set up his household expenses sheet, and go from there. The last time we did that he learned the value of a good education and well-paying job. I think it will further drive home the point. I always tell him that you're not done with school until you have at least a bachelor's degree.

Next week will be a big Christmas unit study. I have tons of things printed and ready to start. But first I have to clean the house, catch up on the laundry, wrap the presents, ... lol

One thing I noticed this week was I am not as dependent on the computer as I thought I was. I quit over half my yahoo groups, and I didn't even read messages from those I kept this week. Aside from one group in particular, I didn't miss it. Hmmm. I did read a few blogs, but actually I only sat down at the computer for 10 minutes at a time. That was liberating. So I think that I'm going to give up my computer addiction, only sit down for 10-15 minutes two times a day and call it good. I won't admit how much computer time I log in on a daily basis.

And now I have things to do, such as take a shower and put on a clean nightgown. lol