Big Change Number Two

After six years pf homeschooling, the girls are attending private school this year. It's been a big adjustment for all of us, and, like most big changes, has not been without its trials.

So why did we make this change?

Well. It's a bit of a story.

Miss Priss has been interested in this particular school for about two years. One of the girls' best friends attends, and some other friends from their drama group do, too. I've always put the kibosh on the idea because I love Ambleside Online, I love the homeschooling lifestyle, and I loved what AO held for us in upcoming years.

However, one day when I was at the library in Maine, looking for houses online, I had a thought: It doesn't hurt to look at the school's website.

Whenever I have thoughts that are different (or, in this case, completely opposite) from my mindset at the time, I go along with them because my thoughts are not your thoughts.

And emblazoned across the top of one of the pages: Still accepting applications for eighth grade.

Of course they were! And this meant I had to explore further.

And thus began the application process. In Maine. With no internet access except in the library. And no fax machine. Or scanner. I had to use the fax machine in the copy center ($1 per page!). Everything I printed out at the library cost me 25 cents per page! And we were on RUSH time. If she were to be accepted, Miss Priss would be starting school after the first day.

Not to mention the fact that we were negotiating a house offer.

After that, everything went like clockwork. It turns out they even had an opening for Tiny Girl in seventh grade.

So we lived in a residence hotel for a week while we closed on our new house AND the girls started school. We had to do their schoolwork at the library even after we moved in because we had to wait for the cable company to install our internet, phone, and TV service. To say we were frazzled is putting it mildly. But everything worked out fine.

The girls' school holds classes two days a week, and the other three days they have assignments to do at home. There are lots of quizzes, some projects, tests, and other school-like stuff that's new to my daughters. Studying for a test is a new concept for them. Lots of new required skills to learn, study questions to answer, worksheets to do. You know. School.

Now, they are getting more into the swing of it. They don't require my constant presence or assistance any longer. They are feeling more confident about their abilities. It's good.

I have to be honest, though. When I think about everything they will miss from Ambleside Online's later years, my heart hurts. So many wonderful books! And I also miss the freedom of homeschooling.

Everything has its drawbacks and benefits, right?

On the other hand, the teachers at the new school are committed Christians who they love the students. And that means a lot to me.

Hello, Stranger! Big Change Number One: Our New House

Big things have been happening in our lives. If you've been here before, you know that we were gearing up for a move this past summer. Himself had the unenviable job of picking out our new home without me. Most of my friends thought I was crazy to leave him with such a responsibility, but our agent and my dear friend, Becky, was on the job with him, so I felt okay. Also, Himself rose to the occasion and picked out a winner.

This photo crops out the garage, which is to the left, and sports new, fancy garage doors. Oh, and the sparkling new driveway is lovely, too.

Honestly, I love it.

However. The interior is nothing like the exterior. Almost everything needs to be updated.

The first week after closing, we all lived in the (finished) basement while we had the floors redone. We put hardwoods everywhere except for three of the bedrooms and the bonus room, which is the schoolroom/study. We put hardwoods in the master. There's nothing like the pervasive odor of polyurethane to make sleeping a challenge.

After we moved in, Himself painted the dining room and the living room. (Photos to follow. Soon.) I started painting the kitchen cabinets in ASCP Old White. This has turned out to be a much bigger job than I thought. My kitchen cabinet doors and drawers have multiplied, it seems. Also, I tried an antiquing treatment that failed miserably, so I had to repaint some of what I'd already painted. Live and learn.

Of course we suffered your garden-variety moving disasters, which no one escapes:

- Our lovely vintage secretary desk cracked down the side and needs repairing.
- A drain on the water heater clogged, causing water to flood into the basement storage room, where we were temporarily storing all our rugs. Our gorgeous wool dining room rug --which we'd had for years -- was ruined.
- The piano seriously needs to be tuned.
- A few items broke, including a coin bank Himself had received as a gift when he was a child.

And now the dishwasher is spewing water all over the floor.

Strangely enough, I'm still happy.

I've been perusing decorating blogs for weeks now, because I need inspiration and help. I know what I like but have trouble making it happen. Our new house needs real help. I'm excited about the prospect, but have unrealistic expectations, like wanting everything done NOW.

Check me out on Pinterest to see what I've been pinning. I've been really busy on my Gorgeous Home board. You might see something you like, too!

We are still living amid boxes and general disarray. Funny how life goes marching on, isn't it, whether you're ready or not.

And in the middle of all this, we also underwent a major lifestyle change, which I'll tell you about in a couple of days. Hang tight.

She Is Too Fond of Books: My Summer Reading

I haven’t read as much as I typically do this summer. I’ve had other things on my mind.

In fact, I have not been able to settle into summer this year, and I feel the loss of it. Instead of enjoying the moments here at the cabin, I've continually looked into the future, to our return trip and a new house.

While I was peering anxiously ahead, the future crept up behind me. We leave tomorrow.

I still fit in some reading and have a few noteworthy titles I can pass along to you:

• Illuminations: A Novel of Hildegard von Bingen, by Mary Sharratt
• The Last Runaway, by Tracy Chevalier
• A Man of Means and A Damsel in Distress, both by P.G. Wodehouse
• The Charming Quirks of Others, by Alexander McCall Smith
• And the Mountains Echoed, by Khaled Hosseini
• The Storyteller, by Jodi Picoult

Two books I attempted to read and just couldn’t (nothing against the books; it was just me):

• The Casual Vacancy, by J.K. Rowling
• The Burgess Boys, by Elizabeth Strout, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Olive Kitteridge

Mostly, though, I’ve been perusing decorating magazines and ripping out pages that appeal to me. I have a whole house renovation awaiting me when I get back home. To the home I’ve never seen, that is.

Perhaps that’s why I haven’t been able to focus on reading for pleasure this summer. Duh.

Ambleside Online: The Perfect Fit for Our Family

I love a literary-based education, and Ambleside Online fills the bill for our family. Read my review of Ambleside Online and why we use it for our foundational curriculum at Curriculum Choice!