Happy Friday, y’all! I hope you’ve all had a fantastic week! It’s been a quiet one around here since Josh and Megan left for camp on Monday. They’ll be back this afternoon. Yay!

Brianna came up to visit Monday night and stayed until Tuesday evening. The things that she didn’t pack up to take with her when she moved out were still scattered all over the basement from where Josh moved them out of her old room so he could move in.

Seriously, if we’d had a home invasion in the basement, we probably wouldn’t have noticed. So, she came up to help me sort through and box up her stuff to take with her, store, or sell/donate.

Thank y’all for helping with my reader survey. I got some great feedback that will be helpful in planning upcoming post topics.

I really enjoyed the question, “If we could chat in person, what is one thing you’d ask me?”

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect with that question. Some questions were serious and some were funny. I thought since the kids were at camp this week and not much went on around here, it would be fun to answer some of my favorites and some that I got asked a few times.

Ready? Here goes!

What is your favorite episode of Friends? That’s a tough one. I’ve given it a lot of thought and I can’t name a specific episode. I pretty much love all of the 9th and 10th seasons.

The two I tend to quote the most (besides “Pivot” which pretty much everyone quotes) are the one where Phoebe teaches Joey French (“Good job, little buddy.”) and the one where Phoebe has the babies.

Doctor: “Mr. Tribbiani, you have kidney stones.”

Joey: “What else could it be?”

Doctor: “It’s kidney stones.”

Joey: “Or…”

Doctor: “Kidney stones.”

I have no idea why, but I love that scene.

How did your blog get so popular? I have no idea. The name helped. Maybe it’s because I don’t try to sugarcoat homeschooling. I still distinctly remember the day I told a friend of mine that I was going to try to grow my blog because that sounded fun. It has been!

The screened-in porch is not the same as going outside, people.

What are you going to do when your youngest graduates? Wow. I mean, seriously, I have no idea. I think I’ll keep blogging because I love it. I’ve always wanted to write a book, so maybe I’ll give that a shot.

Who knows? Maybe they’ll be some grandkids to homeschool.

How do you stay so chill about your children leaving home? Honestly, there have been days when I’d have offered to supply the moving boxes and help them pack!

So, far it’s just been Brianna. She spent so much time at a friend’s house working on wedding stuff in the weeks leading up to the wedding that it wasn’t much different when she did move out. So far, she’s been great about coming home most weekends to visit.

Plus, we talk on the phone and FaceTime. I honestly probably talk to her more now than I did when she was living here, though, as she’s gotten adjusted, she’s quit calling as much.

Would your kid teach my kids guitar? He probably would. He was giving lessons until he started working 3rd shift. Maybe I should convince him to do some lessons on YouTube. He’s pretty amazing if I do say so myself.

Why are most of your Weekly Wrap-Ups not about homeschooling? Teenagers and high school. The kids have been working primarily independently for the last couple of years, so I feel like I don’t have much to say about what they’re doing other than when they come to me for help with something.

Plus, when they hit about middle school, kids start to have an aversion to their mom talking about them online a bunch. I try to respect that and find a balance that works for all of us.

What books do you love to read personally? I love romance. My new favorite author is Dani Pettrey and I’m eagerly awaiting her next release. I also love historical romance. My favorite authors are Julie Garwood and Judith McNaught.

I’m also not above some young adult novels. I devoured Harry Potter a couple of years ago after never having read them during the height of their popularity. Twilight was my guilty pleasure. I read the series all the way through multiple times. I also read all the Hunger Games books.

How is the cat? Oh, my goodness. Which one? We’re up to six now. {blushing} Megan’s cat, Sassy, who injured her ear somehow last week, had to go back to the vet yesterday. She was being stubborn about taking her meds so she had to have an antibiotic injection and get her ear cleaned out again.

The vet also put her in a cone so she’d leave her ear alone. She managed to pull it off in just over an hour the first time. Shockingly, she let me put it on her a second time. She purred the whole time. I texted Megan and told her Sassy was purring because she was already anticipating out-smarting me again.

Do I look mad? Well, guess what…

She had it off in less than five minutes the second time. I have declared her the winner for now.

The kittens are growing. They’d feisty, sweet, and spoiled rotten. We love them. Finn looks so much like Gus in the face sometimes it’s spooky.

The others are doing fine, as well. Chloe had been refusing to come in the house since we got the kittens, but this week we started making her stay in. She’s not fulltime outside kitty material. She’s way too dainty and prissy.

She’s still not 100% sure about the kittens, but she’s getting better.

The Q&A was fun! We’ll have to do that again sometime. I hope you all had an amazing week and enjoy your weekend!

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Happy Friday, y’all! Have you had a great week? I can’t complain. It was a birthday week and all. I really can’t believe how old I’m getting. {sigh}

The one thing I am going to complain about is the killer headaches I’ve had. If there are any guys reading, look away because I’m probably about to go a little TMI.

Belle really is a big, ol‘ softy.

Ladies, have any of you experienced headaches with {ahem} monthly hormonal fluctuations? These horrible headaches seem to be happening more predictably each month. I’m wondering if it’s a perimenopausal thing or something to do with hormones in general. If you have any tips, please let me know because nothing touches these headaches. Not OTC meds, not essential oils (at least not the ones I’ve tried), not sleep, not massage.

They’re not quite migraines, but they are sometimes bad enough to cause nausea and disrupt sleep. They’re pressure headaches in the temple and forehead area.

Okay, enough about my hormonal issues. Guys, you can come back now.

I’d love your help! I’m thinking about the direction I want to take my blog in the upcoming year and I’d love to know what you find helpful and what could make the site better. So, I’m conducting a reader survey that I’ll probably have running until Monday or so. If you’ve got 5 minutes, would you mind taking the survey? I really value your feedback and have found the responses I’ve gotten already super-helpful.

See?

American Learning Library is offering free access for students this summer. I haven’t tried it before, but they sent me an email – because, seriously, y’all, there is always somebody wanting me to tell all my readers about something. Most of these get deleted, but this one actually looked really cool. So, there you go. I told y’all about it. {grin}

Tuesday, we had to take Megan’s cat, Sassy to the vet. She’s mostly an indoor cat but likes to go outside during the day. Something happened to her ear while she was outside on Monday. It looked pretty banged up. I cleaned it up and put some Neosporin on it with the intention of watching it and doctoring it for a couple of days before deciding if it warranted a trip to the vet.

Tuesday morning, I took one look at it and called to make an appointment for later that afternoon. We’re still not sure what happened. The vet never did really see a wound, but it was abscessed. They wound up having to sedate her to clean it up.

She looks pitiful since they had to shave the area, but she’s on antibiotics and acting pretty much like her normal self. Just slightly subdued. I think she’s just mad that we won’t let her outside. She doesn’t really care that the vet said she should stay inside for a few days until her ear heals.

Finn (a.k.a. Little Gus) found everybody’s favorite sun spot.

Josh and Megan leave for camp next week. It used to be a huge change for them to be gone all week. Now, with Josh working third shift and sleeping all day and Megan working and hanging out with friends, it’s really not going to be much different than any other week.

Our church has made one change that I appreciate and the kids love. Camp is usually a no-phone zone. The kids aren’t allowed to bring phones and will get them confiscated if they do. This year, the leaders have decided to let the kids bring their phones but they’ll only be allowed to use them in certain areas and during certain times of the day.

I have honestly always understood and respected why the kids weren’t allowed to bring their phones, but I also hated being cut off from them all week. Until the last year or so, we never even got a “we got here safely” text. So, I am looking forward to still being able to send and receive texts from them this year.

So, I guess it’s date week for Brian and me next week. That’s always fun.

Y’all enjoy your weekend!

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Happy Friday, y’all! I hope you’ve had a great week. We kicked ours off with a graduation on Sunday. I have now graduated two homeschoolers. It doesn’t even seem real.

We just did a simple ceremony/party for Josh at my mom’s house with all the grandparents and a few friends. We played a little Pomp and Circumstance and presented Josh with his diploma.

It was perfect for us. There was food and swimming and a nifty graduation cake.

Brianna and Andrew came up on Saturday for her birthday and stayed until after the party on Sunday, so I got to spend time with all of my babies.

The rest of the week has been a quiet, rainy (sometimes stormy), catch-up week. Pretty much par for the course for the first week of summer break. I’ve really enjoyed it, though. I actually caught up. I’m not sure that part is par for the course. {grin}

Thursday, I took the kitty brothers for their next round of shots. They’ve gained about a pound and a half each and are perfectly healthy – and rather adorable if I do say so myself.

I’m looking forward to a low-key weekend this weekend after a busy one last week. I hope y’all have a great one!

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Happy Friday, y’all! Somebody pass me the tissues, please. Today is the official last day of school for Josh. How in the world did that happen?! We’re having a graduation party for him on Sunday. That’s when we’ll present him his diploma. That’s also probably when I’ll really need the tissues.

It might be time to make a Costco run.

I really think this photo needs to become a meme. I love it!

I mean, not only is he graduating, but he’s won all these honors. He’s valedictorian and he’s been voted most popular, most likely to succeed, best dressed, wittiest…{laughing out loud}

I’m entertaining the possibility of failing Megan this year. You know, so I don’t have to go through this again in two years. {grin}

Clearly, I use humor to deal with highly emotional situations.

It was kind of a stressful week for me because I managed to get very behind on both my personal to-do list and work-related deadlines. I was trying to figure out how I got so far behind, then I remembered.

Those sweet faces lured me away from other responsibilities the first week we got them. Thankfully, we’re all settling in. Finn and Oliver have adjusted well to the dogs and the other cats, and vice versa. Finally.

Because everyone is getting along well, the kittens have free run of the house, which means I can get more work done because they come to visit me. Finn likes to wedge himself between my back and my chair and sleep while I’m working. {heart eyes}

We still shut them in the guest bedroom when we have to leave. Belle is fine with them, but she doesn’t realize how big she is. I’m still afraid she might hurt them trying to play.

Megan’s cat, Sassy, is the most surprising. After spending the first week growling and making sounds that made us wonder if she was demon-possessed, she has become very tolerant of Finn and Oliver. She actually plays with them.

And, when she gets tired of or annoyed with them, she expresses it very gently. She usually pushes them away with her paw but no claws extended. What makes her behavior so surprising is that she tends to be pretty nasty with the other cats. Maybe she’s smitten with kitten cuteness, too.

It’s going to be a rather eventful weekend here. Brianna and Andrew are coming to visit because Brianna’s birthday is Saturday. Then, Josh’s graduation party is Sunday. I’m looking forward to it!

I hope you all enjoy your weekend.

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Happy Friday, y’all! And just like that, we’re down to our last week of school. How on earth did that happen? It’s unbelievable to me that Josh will be a homeschool graduate by this time next week.

He’s the first of my kids to be exclusively homeschooled. I would never have dreamed that the years would go by so quickly.

Poor Megan may have a rough final two years. I may be extra-clingy as I try to savor my last two years as a homeschooling mom. {sniff} Okay, probably not since I’m not really the clingy sort, but you never know.

Josh really amazes me sometimes. We went to breakfast on Tuesday and he was telling me all about his goals to get into real estate and rental properties with his best friend. He really has researched this because he was talking about things that I’d never have thought to address, like fair housing laws and…well, I don’t even remember half of it because he has learned so much.

It’s pretty cool seeing what your kids can do when they dig into their interests.

He’s also been training to be promoted to stock manager at his job. He’s only been there since December, so that’s really impressive.

I love that my kids have developed their dad’s strong work ethic. That’s a quality I’ve always admired in him. (Not that I don’t have a good work ethic myself, but after dating some guys who were happy to live off their parents or barely skate by on their jobs before I met Brian, that was something I was very aware of.)

I had a lovely, low-key Mother’s Day. After church, we went to lunch and followed that with a restful nap. Then, Brianna and Andrew came up to visit, and the six of us went out to dinner together.

Oliver and Finn are adjusting nicely to life with dogs and other cats. We have now given them free run of the house during the day as long as someone is around to make sure the dogs and other cats are behaving. The others do behave pretty well. We just have to keep an eye on Belle who tries to play but doesn’t realize how big she is.

It is so fun having two kittens! Even Brian, who could have lived without one, said he’s glad we got both of them. We love watching them play together and chase each other around the house. It’s nice that they can expend that energy with each other instead of finding stuff to get into.

Have a great weekend, y’all!

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