Saturday, December 8, 2007

No grand announcements here

We're still discussing (ad nauseum) the move to Texas. There are so many things to consider, not the least of which is our parents. My mom is basically distraught. GH's mom is kinda quiet about it...to us. The Princess was over at her great-aunt's house (who is mother-in-law's sister) a few days ago. Auntie told the Princess that g-ma said, "If Gearhead (she said his real name FYI) goes, I go." We shall see. That certainly would make things easier, to have some family there. The friends we have there are definitely on par with family, but you know what I mean.

I've been checking on some message boards where you can ask advice from people who live in the areas you want to live in. The one thing that stands out about Texas versus California is the weather. We know it's hot and humid in the summer, but we figure that's what air conditioning is for. And they do have snow maybe two days a year, which would actually be kinda fun!

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On to more interesting things: The Princess will be performing in "A Christmas Carol" for seven shows this coming week, with rehearsals on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thankfully, one of the women from the show lives near us, and will pick up and drop off The Princess for me, thus saving hours of driving and a lot of gas!


What else? *tapping finger on edge of desk* Oh, I had a lovely time today with some friends from our homeschool group. It was "Mom's Night Out," which was actually, Mom's Entire Day Out. We made tea sandwiches and desserts and had hot tea (several varieties), and here's the best part...we watched the 6 hour miniseries of "Pride & Prejudice!" Oh, my, it was so much better than the movie version - and oh, so romantic.

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On the homeschooling front: The Princess hasn't been accomplishing much, school-wise, for the past few days. However, after more than a year of her yearning for babysitting to earn money, she has hit pay-dirt! A lovely couple with three little boys has her come to their home each Friday morning to watch their littlest one, along with several other young kids, while their mothers do a "Dream Dinners" type thing. They cook, then split the food up between the families. They have been paying her really well, and now one of the other moms asked her to come over this morning, AND her friend asked her to help with a babysitting job last night! She made $65 in two days! And she' s 13!!! I babysat my heart out at her age and older, and I don't think I ever made that much. She loves to buy everyone Christmas gifts, so she's a happy girl.

The Prince sold Christmas wreaths with a company called "Wreaths of Maine" and made about $41.00, the check for which should be arriving the end of the week. He also works for our very nice neighbors, when they need help with yard work.

Both kids have learned a lot through doing jobs for money. They both give 10% to church. I have to work with the girl on saving, since she spends every dime in no time. She's her mother's daughter, I'm afraid. The Prince is quite frugal (though he loves to treat me to a coffee at Starbucks), and has a little savings.

The Prince is taking a reading class with a local homeschool - um - school. It's a school for homeschoolers; you can take your kids two days a week for a variety of classes, or just pick and choose. Anyway, he has a lot of homework, which we've been working at each day, and he's been reading to me everyday. I can already see an improvement, and he's only had two classes. He's somewhat resistant to going to the class, but he's had a good attitude doing the work.

Okay, long post here. I want to post about my weight loss, and about other stuff, but I'm about to fall asleep, so I'd better sign off.

May God richly bless you.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh girl, the A&E version of Pride and Prejudice is soooooooooooooooooo awesome!!!!!!!! Can you tell I love it? (I think that's the one you're talking about...its 6 hours and was shown as a miniseries and has Colin Firth in it.) Heavens---the way he walks! It blows the movie with Kiera Knightly away!! I mean, there's no comparison! It's my favorite movie of all time. Rog got me the video version first, then when the DVD came out, he got that for me for Christmas. He knows how much I love it and will even sit through it with me occasionally.
Your kids are lucky to have such cool opportunities to make money and I'm glad things are going well with the Prince.

9milemom said...

check out www.houstonmama.com

Lots of resources for moms in the area. There is a forum where you can ask questions of other mamas and an event calendar that lists things happening for moms and families in the area.

If that's the area you are considering they even have a handbook you can order.

Not sure where in Texas you are considering, but maybe that will help.

Claire said...

Sniz, I KNOW!!! I spent nearly six hours in heaven, let me tell you. Every time they showed a long shot of Colin Firth, I swooned! As Pioneer Woman says, "Lawsie mercy!!"

If I ever make it out your way, we'll have to plan a P&P tea. There's nothing like munching on tea sandwiches, sipping Earl Grey, and hanging with your girlfriends. :-)

Thank you, spokanemama!!! I'll check that out. We wouldn't be moving to the Houston area; it'd be more like Dallas area. I have found tons of resources there, already! Texas is a lot like California with homeschooling.

Christine said...

Thanks so much for your kind comment. It's been a tough week for me - and its so nice to check my blog and see such caring people. I very much appreciate you checking out my blog. Take care this holiday season.

Unknown said...

I love the idea of having a P&P tea!!! I really want to do that someday!
Also, I forgot to ask you, does Gearhead have any siblings and where do they live? If his mom said she'd be willing to move to Texas if he did, that got me wondering. And are the kids the same closeness to both set of parents? Any news on that front?

Naturally Blessed said...

hey, look! its me! lol...

i'm determined to do better 'bout visiting my bloggy friends.

keep praying....and praying and praying......He will let you know when the timing is right.

and whoa! the Princess is racking up isn't she? i was stuck with the job of watching my 3 little brothers coming up. originally i was supposed to get $30 a week....but often my mom would pay me and my dad would pay me....thus resulting in a $60 payday.....ahhh....the good ole days......

$65 in 2 days is major, lol....