I am back from the white sands of NJ (we had a great time) and tomorrow we head up to the cabin for one last trip before school starts. My mother-in-law is flying in on Saturday for a visit, but I have so much to do, I wont be staying up there for her entire visit.

I will head up tomorrow for a mammoth cleaning to the cabin, then head back Sunday to continue taking care of  the landscaping in the yard but mostly to embark on a maor closet re-org for my daughter, who has really outgrown the current configuration of her room. Over the next few months I hope to sell, donate, or toss out as much unneeded stuff in our closets and attic as possible.

Tonight I have a meeting at Church that, for some reason, is making me nervous. Perhaps because my friend/neighbor and I have decided to eschew the religious ed program the parish offers and instead try to partner together to create a homeschool (just for religion - our kids attend the local public school) program and teach our *class* twice a month. I dont plan to announce my personal plans to anyone but if they ask, I hope I dont become defensive. My friend and I have legitimate reasons for doing our own thing this year - some of which are as basic as logistics: the times the parish offers for classes conflict with our schedules. Plus its expensive. But...the reason she and I really investigated going on our own is that we felt the kids we not getting anywhere near enough content covered through the program they had last year. Our kids are both in the gifted programs at their school; thus, they enjoy being challeneged and can move through material at a fast pace. So instead of paying nearly $200 for a watered-down program, we will be using the classroom workbook and teacher guides that the parish used in their previous classroom setting for religious education.

I know my daughter and there is NO WAY she would ever allow just ME to homeschool her. However, having a peer and another adult in the mix should create a productive environment for all of us (fingers crossed.)