Home from my Friday gig Realized I made a very costly error last night -- placed an online order for some non-returnable items.....forgot to double check what size I take, and accidentally ordered the wrong size. 😞 I didnt' have a shipping notice yet, so emailed the help desk.....30 seconds later, the shipping notice hit my inbox. Dang it! I may *try* the other size and see, but I doubt it will work. We shall see. Dang it, dang it, dang it.

2nd grade is prepped, grabbing breakfast and heading out to my Friday gig checked in w/DS and he's on track with his school stuff

Good morning! Today I have: ...coffee ....2nd grade prep for next week ....go tutor my Friday kiddo ....make sure DS stays on top of his stuff ....draw his quilt figures (redraw) ...if time, start putting some of them into fabric ....nap probably? ....tonight, go out to dinner & a Q&A showing of Princess Bride w/friends (Cary Ewles will be doing a Q&A after the movie) - should be fun! ....come home, go to bed So, not a long list, but I need to stay diligent so I have time to get those applique's done - the background fabric is finally on the way here, and I'd like to have all of the figures onto their fabric and ready to go once it gets here (probably in a week?)

I absolutely love it. As far as I can tell, and I've not read super deeply on the topic, it's a more sustainable, and yes can be ethically sourced, textile option. I have several pieces now from Wool&, have loved every single one of them, and just dropped a small fortune to finish converting my under garments to their new merino blend items. I wear merino blend leggings & tees (and the aforementioned under things) for all my working out -- fencing 3x/week, "boot camp" style work out 1x/week, and assorted fencing tournaments (once every 6-8 wks or so? more or less?). One thing I love with that -- it's much more temperature regulating, so I don't feel overheated like when I wear synthetic work out clothes. Consdering all the synthetic layers I have to put on over my work-out gear for fencing, not overheating is vital; I won't wear anything else now. It's more moisture wicking, so I don't feel wet and gross. And I'm able to hang up, air out, and rewear my outfits for more than one use before needing to wash them. So that side of sustainability comes into play, too - less laundry. (I do NOT rewear underthings! one wear, into the wash bag). I wear it to sleep in, and haven't woken up from a hot flash since starting that. If I wear something else to bed, I still do. I find it to be a good all-season fabric, as well. Since discovering it, I've probably worn something merino every day, be it tees, long sleeves, dress shirts, pants, dresses, etc. I have some 100% merino as well, and personally I find it absolutely luscious. Some merino/linen blend stuff, some merino/tencel blend stuff, and some merino/nylon blend (for longevity). All are wonderful. Anyway, I'll let someone else talk, but yes, I love the stuff.

home from tutoring - that went well; need to do some good prep before next time, as older girl is still in the throws of STAAR testing (state standardized tests) so no homework. Also means the tutoring needs to be skills based, not too taxing, b/c, STAAR testing. Eating dinner, prepping for fencing, and heading out. Oh, and I made a list of "grad party prep stuff" to do, so that is taken care of.

Stopping there - I need some down time before I go tutor; 2nd grade can wait till tomorrow

DH says I don't need to make a side 1st Grade is prepped

prepped things for tutoring, so should be good to go there

Had a nap, having lunch, Kindergarten prep for next week is done

Hmm. I am a 2.5 -- that is, I drive with the flow of traffic/slightly faster maybe, but I get to the "2nd to left" lane and stay there where I can minimize my weaving, changing lanes, passing, etc. In the course of my driving, I am very much a 2, just minus the "stay in the right lane" part. That might be due to where I live (houston-ish) and the fact our interstates are a million miles wide, and each lane has it's *own* "flow of traffic" speed that's expected (and the right lane is pretty much all the people that drive exactly the speed limit, or maybe 5 over). (which is too slow). My DH is a 3 in style of driving, but also w/o the "return to the right lane" (b/c again, too slow over there). Some things that we have done to help us both accommodate each other: -I cannot control my automatic reactions, so I don't try, BUT he feels very torn down if I speak up, so I no longer do. -I did realize, after a few months of this arrangement (the me not speaking up), that part of my fears/reactions are 1 - his car is much lower to the ground than mine (he has a car, I drive a mini-van), so it *feels* more claustrophobic, more risky, and faster than it actually is & in comparison to my car; when he drives my car, I don't get quite as panicky on the passing. 2 - his car reacts faster than mine/isn't as heavy, so "late" braking in his car (what would be late in my van) is actually fine, and needn't cause a reaction in me. -I ask him to let me pick the music on long drives, and so I pick things that calm me and distract me. If I can pay more attention to the music, less to the driving, and also we engage in interesting conversation, then I am able to relax and not stay hyper focused on his driving. -I remind myself of a few things: in the rain, in a bad storm, in terrible weather, or in very crowded freeway/interstate conditions -- I would absolutely prefer him driving. No, he does not drive the way that I do. Yes, I am a competent driver. But also yes, I absolutely feel safer in "scary" settings with him behind the wheel. I remind myself of that, and remind myself that it's perhaps his style of driving which makes him the safer driver in those scary situations; I look at his accident record (none that have ever been remotely his fault, and 2 total only in the entirety of his driving), his ticket record (none in the US), etc. and remind myself - the bad things I fear will happen, most likely won't. -If we are on a long trip, and he is doing one thing over and over (like with the semis), I will speak up then and ask him "I know you are a great driver, but I get very nervous when.....because.....so even though I know it's not as dangerous as it feels to me, would you mind not doing .....? It just stresses me out, and I don't want to take it out on you...." He generally agrees, particularly when I make sure to word it in a way that lets him know it's a "me" thing and not a "him" thing. Hugs to you! I hope you find a solution!

remembered to wash my wool stuff checked on the assignment w/DS - it is for the music class, so went over it with him, and he'll focus on that class/those assignments this week. Luckily it falls at a time when he has a lot of time before the next psych stuff is due. did all of the various emails I needed to send, updated the files, etc. ate breakfast, may eat a bit more while I work on school prep

Across the 3 kids and all the years of college we've done so far (be that cc or uni), it's spanned the whole spectrum from beyond awful to above & beyond. It *does* seem to be mostly trending downwards lately, which is sad. Certainly we've had more "bad" syllabi/disorganized courses in post-covid years than before, almost like the "quick, we have to switch to online, ack!" emergency courses that were thrown together just became the measure of "good enough". I mean, they were barely good enough at the time, but 4 yrs later, no, we shouldn't still be using the same "ack, how do we move this online?" stuff that squeaked through the pandemic. I will say, I have *not* noticed a difference in the rate, ratio, percent, etc. of good courses to bad courses when comparing cc classes vs uni classes (we've got kids in all of them/have been in all of them for the last many years), so switching to uni may or may not solve it, other than the point mentioned by someone else, at least at uni, they'd be better prepared for how that uni works.

Good morning! Today DH is smoking pork butts for dinner & to take to fencing, so he'll be in & out (oh, the things that "work from home" affords us! This flexibility is the one thing keeping him in this job...that, and they are *finally* beginning to pay him enough for all he does....). So, on my list: ...coffee ....school prep for next week -- K, 1st, 2nd ...update my registrations for next year folder/file ...gather some info for a mom, for summer stuff, and email her with that ...send the one email reminder about payment to a family that hasn't paid yet ....redraw DS's quilt figures that I forgot to reverse ....get a list made of all the things I/we need to do around the house to make it "Graduation party ready" (boxes to the attic, etc.) ....prep some things for the older girl for tutoring - we finished all the homework last time, and she'll be fried b/c STAAR testing has been this week, so something light/fun/but still learning & working on skills she needs ...check w/DH if I need to make a side for dinner? ...check an assignment of DS's - I see an entry on the calendar, but have no idea what it is, so need to check on that, make sure he knows what it is....? ...check in w/Grandma, see about visiting next Tues ...get a nap! ...go tutor this afternoon ...come home, eat dinner, go to fencing ...come home, veg out I think that's it; squeeze in a walk with the kids if possible, before it gets too warm, but if we don't have time, that's okay too.

DS got an 89 on his test, despite only realizing last night that he had the test coming up. yay! Dinner was good; heading for a walk in a bit.

home from tutoring - everyone remembered their homework - yay! everyone did well - yay! DH cooked dinner, DS is taking his psychology test, so we're going to just sort of veg out.

Hugs, @ScoutTN. Sons are hard.

Okay, whew, got the printer to cooperate. :sigh: spent all afternoon messing with that, so got nothing else done and now I need to eat some real food before I go tutor.

ugh. my printer is not wanting to do anything,.

Home from PreK and running errands. Realized yes, the applique's will be backwards if I don't redraw them as mirror images. oops. Luckily I remembered before applying to fabric - that would have been *very* expensive! So, bought gobs more fusible stuff and will redraw, in reverse. (two are symmetrical and don't have to be redrawn) eating lunch and getting to that....

prepped, grabbing a bite and heading out

Well, we got a few glimpses of our partial eclipse, enough to delight the kiddos, so that was good. DH & the kids were able to see totality, despite a semi-overcast sky. They had a great spot at an outdoor restaurant with a really good view, got some decent photos, and had a good time. I don't know if it quite lived up to Oldest's expectations, but overall everyone was happy, so that's good. And they got home in just about the normal amount of time, which I find remarkable. So, today we have: ...coffee ...prep for/go do PreK with the PreK kid - we're doing once/month for April, May, June, July and then he'll be in my K class in the fall ...stop at Hobby Lobby on the way home to get more applique fusible stuff ...figure out if I do, or do not, need to redo the ones I did, b/c they will or won't be reversed when I put them on the quilt (I forgot about that) ...make sure DS studies for/takes his psychology test ...start redrawing the figures that will suffer reversals, and finish the ones I was missing (found some pics hiding, so missed more than the one I thought) ...prep a few extra things for my tutoring girls this afternoon, in case the youngest once again does not bring her homework ...go tutor this afternoon ...come home, eat dinner ...veg out Should be a good, albeit busy, day.

Prayers for you today, @mom31257, as you remember your mom.

coffee's been had, everything is loaded & ready, crock pot is turned on, heading to co-op.

good morning! I'm up early, having my coffee (DH left the pot all set up, ready to go, with a "Just press start" post-it note on top for me) before time to get going. Dishwasher is running, and I'll dump the food into the crockpot & turn it on right before I leave. today I'm at co-op all day, with all of the "look, above those clouds, an eclipse is happening! Yay! So here's what that means..." activities and crafts - should be a fun day, whether we see any of it or not. then, come home, finishing touches on dinner, and hope the guys made it home in time for us to turn around later and take Middle to class, and see who is showing up to fencing (or not). Happy Eclipse Day, everyone! May your skies be clear and your view be good!

It was absolute bliss. ❤️ I love my family - adore them - and I do get plenty of time to myself, but something about having the whole entire house empty, for the whole entire day/night, was just divine. I hope you get a day like that in your not-so-distant future!