Barefoot Homeschooling

I am *so* over the 90+ degree temperatures, the 90% or better humidity, and the overall lack of rain. I am an Autumn person through and through and it's taking *forever* for it to roll around. I am ready to throw my windows wide and feel the cool breezes, to watch for migrating birds, to want coffee in the mornings (it's too hot for coffee now). I want it to cool off enough for me to work in the garden without getting heat stroke, darn it! Autumn can't get here soon enough.

I am a bad blogger. What's it been, three weeks? Too long. Where did I leave off? Our weekend in Atlanta was fun, the kids enjoyed the hotel immensely. We didn't get to try the pool due to thunderstorms, but it was otherwise great. Ikea was insanely crowded but we got Maggie's new loft bed, which she loves, plus desks and bookshelves.

Liam has started his Tae Kwon Do classes and absolutely adores them. The system that they have set up keeps the kids engaged and interested, and every 2-3 classes they earn a new stripe. After 3 stripes you move up a belt, and after I think 6 belts you graduate to the older kids' class. Liam is so focused and involved in his class and is eager to learn to count in Korean. He was counting to himself in the tub last night- he's so cute! Watching his class of 4 and 5 year olds practice is a bit like watching drunken monkeys practice- someone falls over about every third move, someone else ends up upside-down at some point in the proceedings, and the jumping jacks are truly something to behold. I love watching Liam and his class- the cute factor is through the roof and I am enchanted with the way they are all trying so seriously to get the moves down, and how excited they are when they succeed.

I have Maggie registered for her riding lessons, they've cashed my check, but I still don't have an equipment list or any other information yet. If I don't have something by Thursday I am going to call. Her first class will be on September 6th if I am understanding things, and I don't like leaving things till the last minute. If she needs specific things I need to know.

I finally found a Hindi language class that accepts adults. I knew the local Hindu temple had classes for kids, but it turns out that they will allow adults in as well. One of the moms in my co-op is a Hindu and attends the temple, and she told me about the classes and that she was enrolling her daughter and that she herself wanted to take classes. So we went and signed up last Sunday and had our first lessons. It's a hoot to take a class with a bunch of 5, 6 and 7 year olds- we grownups ended up sitting in the back so as not to disturb the kids (we were a bit of a novelty). There's another adult taking the class as well- she took Hindi as a second language in highschool but speaks Engligh and Telugu. She was really relieved not to be the only adult in class as well. So I am tickled pink to be able to learn it formally, because the book I have is pretty intimidating. Well, the whole thing is somewhat intimidating, because I'm having to learn a whole new alphabet with 12 vowels and 20 odd consonants. It's giving me a new respect for children that are learning to read- this stuff is hard!

I have also discovered bento boxes. Shan is really tired of cold foods and sandwiches and the like. After 7 months I would be, too! So I did a little digging and found an insulated bento box that will work perfectly for Shan's lunches. I want one, too, because we'll be pretty busy this fall and it'd be wonderful to be able to pack along good food rather than spend the extra money for buying junk out. So I ordered two Mr. Bento brand bento boxes from amazon, along with a set of extra inner bowls from Zojirushi to make packing lunches easier. Shan can take leftovers or I can whip something together relatively easily. I am loving the recipes and ideas at Cooking Cute - I'm geeking out on the idea of making anything that fun looking and yummy. I ordered some onigiri molds, too, so that there'll be more variety. We'll see how it goes.

Gosh, what else? I redid the guinea pig cage to make it easier to clean thoroughly, I finally uncovered the livingroom (it was our Ikea landing pad for all the stuff we bought), put together the kids desks and bookshelves, am in the process of reorganizing Maggie's bedroom, got the new table and it's in the diningroom (I LOVE IT!!!). A friend of mine hired the kids to cat-sit for her this week and they are having great fun doing that. They didn't know they were getting paid till they got there for their first day- they just thought it would be fun to do. So bonus surprise for them!

I'm still working on my weight loss and am down 35 pounds so far. I'm feeling great about it but still have a ways to go. It's getting to the point that I am going to need new clothes soon- I have two pairs of jeans and one denim capri that still fit, and all my shirts are very baggy but I'm managing. I'm doing a 2.5 mile Walk/Jog Walk Away the Pounds DVD 5 times a week and watching what I eat. So far, so good.

I will probably be heading to Portland, OR at the end of September to go see my brother. I haven't been up there in 6 years and am looking forwards to going. I'll be going solo, or maybe with my dad, but coming back with my brother. He's moving back to Alabama after 7 years out there. It'll be lovely to have him here. My kids love him and vice versa and they haven't had nearly enough time with him. He's a fun uncle to have.

I'm listening:

The soundtrack to Krrish

I'm reading:

Hindi Primer, vol. One