Whether good or bad, planned or unplanned, I can confidently say there are very few amongst us who do not have a relationship with debt. We've got it, our parents have it, and before you know our kids will too. Debt and discussions of debt are everywhere... on Oprah, and NPR, in the newspapers, and on the news. People are making good money and yet they just aren't making it. They are losing their homes at record rates. It's a scary world out there... financially speaking.
We've got our own debt story but ours is maybe a bit unusual, as it was completely preventable, had pride and wishful thinking not gotten in the way. Mr F has a good heart but poor time management and possibly even worse financial management skills. We learned this the hard way. Had there been an open dialogue about money in our relationship it would never have needed to get to the point it did. Three years later we are (outside of our mortgage) completely debt free. That's saying something.
While we aren't sinking in a pool of debt we aren't exactly saving any money either. In fact with the housing market the way it is here in Michigan what should have been our biggest asset has lost over $100,000 in value in the last few years. If the market doesn't change soon we may find ourselves owing more on our house than it is worth! And until we start spending less than we earn... or earning more than we spend... we can't ensure that we'll stay debt free for long.
I'm going to be spending the next few months trying to reorganize our spending and find ways to take more control over our finances. Like many of you I feel very overwhelmed and completely uninformed about money. I'm hoping to post weekly about our progress and what I've been learning along the way. Please feel free to share your debt story (post anonymously if you'd like) and tips... your triumphs and your short comings in the comments as we go along. You are surely not alone and we can all learn from one another's mistakes and successes.
Showing posts with label come one come all. Show all posts
Showing posts with label come one come all. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Calling All Homeschoolers
Some of you may know that I am thinking (quite seriously) about homeschooling Kid this next year. Kid is epileptic and will reach two years seizure free (hopefully) this fall, at which point she will start weaning off her seizure medication. The weaning process, and the following six months, is when she will be most likely to suffer a recurrence as her brain will be more vulnerable during this transition period. Our school system does not have full time nurses in the schools and since Kid's seizures are life threatening I am most likely going to decide to keep her home next year. This means that I will be homeschooling her.
Kid would be entering Kindergarten this fall as a "red shirted" student already... so even though I believe Kindergarten should be much less regimented and more nurturing and playful experience than it has become.. I'm also nervous about having her keep up with the school system's program. Mostly because we have learned that she is a very self conscious student who is easily discouraged when she is behind the other students (hence the initial decision to hold her back). She has a late birthday and we had to choose for her to either be the youngest or the oldest and after watching her blossom as the oldest in preschool this year we knew holding her back was the right decision. But now I feel even more pressure. Because if she does end up attending our local school for first grade I don't want her to be both the oldest and also the least prepared.
So this is where I am at:
Kid loves school. She likes going to school and loves the strong relationships she has with her teachers. She tends to be shy and has a harder time engaging kids (although she is well liked). She is definitely not outgoing by any means. I worry about socializing her and getting her involved in something that allows for the kids to have kid directed activities (not just dance & swimming, etc). I'm really worried about taking a step backward in her social development. I also don't want to only have her socializing with girls!
Kid can be a homebody who prefers to sit in a chair reading all day. That could be a positive and I do think she will be easy to homeschool because of that. But my point is that she is a pretty independent thinker/doer, I guess I'd say she's introverted. She has always been a reader (as in looks at books) and will spend several hours a day quietly "reading" to herself. Kid does not like to be tested. She does not preform well under pressure. She won't practice things. She will do things (like write, draw, count, etc) when she is confident that she can and will proudly show you her work. She will not even try if she isn't sure she'll be right.
In some ways I think she will be better served not having to follow the State's curriculum. She is a very interesting young kid with a strong imagination and a passion for in depth learning. Kid will sit and be read to for 5 straight hours actively listening and absorbing every minute fact. She can't read and isn't a strong writer BUT she knows all about Greek Mythology, Laura Ingalls entire life, Pompei, natural disasters... and I mean ALL about that stuff.
If I thought we'd homeschool indefinitely I wouldn't worry too much about meeting or exceeding the State's curriculum... but if she is going back then I need to.
There is so much information out there. Right off the bat I am drawn to the Charlotte Mason Approach and it seems like a good fit for her. But I'd appreciate any suggestions.
Most importantly... how do you not want to kill your spouse when you are doing everything you were doing and now you are teaching full time to boot?!?
How did you adjust to the first year?
How intimidating is it to inform the authorities of your plans?
How did you/do you deal with having children of varying ages in the house (obviously Baby will not be homeschooling and I don't want to take away from what I would have been doing with her!)?
Oh and Kid loves science experiments... any good recommendations for that?
Kid would be entering Kindergarten this fall as a "red shirted" student already... so even though I believe Kindergarten should be much less regimented and more nurturing and playful experience than it has become.. I'm also nervous about having her keep up with the school system's program. Mostly because we have learned that she is a very self conscious student who is easily discouraged when she is behind the other students (hence the initial decision to hold her back). She has a late birthday and we had to choose for her to either be the youngest or the oldest and after watching her blossom as the oldest in preschool this year we knew holding her back was the right decision. But now I feel even more pressure. Because if she does end up attending our local school for first grade I don't want her to be both the oldest and also the least prepared.
So this is where I am at:
Kid loves school. She likes going to school and loves the strong relationships she has with her teachers. She tends to be shy and has a harder time engaging kids (although she is well liked). She is definitely not outgoing by any means. I worry about socializing her and getting her involved in something that allows for the kids to have kid directed activities (not just dance & swimming, etc). I'm really worried about taking a step backward in her social development. I also don't want to only have her socializing with girls!
Kid can be a homebody who prefers to sit in a chair reading all day. That could be a positive and I do think she will be easy to homeschool because of that. But my point is that she is a pretty independent thinker/doer, I guess I'd say she's introverted. She has always been a reader (as in looks at books) and will spend several hours a day quietly "reading" to herself. Kid does not like to be tested. She does not preform well under pressure. She won't practice things. She will do things (like write, draw, count, etc) when she is confident that she can and will proudly show you her work. She will not even try if she isn't sure she'll be right.
In some ways I think she will be better served not having to follow the State's curriculum. She is a very interesting young kid with a strong imagination and a passion for in depth learning. Kid will sit and be read to for 5 straight hours actively listening and absorbing every minute fact. She can't read and isn't a strong writer BUT she knows all about Greek Mythology, Laura Ingalls entire life, Pompei, natural disasters... and I mean ALL about that stuff.
If I thought we'd homeschool indefinitely I wouldn't worry too much about meeting or exceeding the State's curriculum... but if she is going back then I need to.
There is so much information out there. Right off the bat I am drawn to the Charlotte Mason Approach and it seems like a good fit for her. But I'd appreciate any suggestions.
Most importantly... how do you not want to kill your spouse when you are doing everything you were doing and now you are teaching full time to boot?!?
How did you adjust to the first year?
How intimidating is it to inform the authorities of your plans?
How did you/do you deal with having children of varying ages in the house (obviously Baby will not be homeschooling and I don't want to take away from what I would have been doing with her!)?
Oh and Kid loves science experiments... any good recommendations for that?
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Darkened Room Anyone?
Ten points if you guessed today's topic.... yes.... migraines!
This is something I've been thinking a lot about this week. I don't personally suffer from migraines but I know a lot of women who do. I think this is one of those things that is a very misunderstood and underestimated (if not under diagnosed and treated) problem. As someone who has only ever had a mild headache I can't even imagine what it must be like to literally have blinding pain. My best friend suffers from fairly frequent and debilitating migraines and I can't imagine how I would parent, or how anyone can, when they are going through one. I don't know how many of you are affected by this, either directly or through a loved one, but I imagine that the ramifications of having a seemingly invisible ailment (and I can relate to that) is stressful and frustrating.
I was listening to an NPR story the other day where people were describing their experiences and I thought that maybe this would be a useful and interesting topic. You can find the NPR story HERE. I have no idea what type of treatments are out there, or what you all may have tried, but maybe some of you could benefit from another's experience.... if not a little validation never hurt anyone. So what do you do when one hits? Has anything helped? Have you figured out your triggers? You never know what might help someone else so please do share your story in the comments.
This is something I've been thinking a lot about this week. I don't personally suffer from migraines but I know a lot of women who do. I think this is one of those things that is a very misunderstood and underestimated (if not under diagnosed and treated) problem. As someone who has only ever had a mild headache I can't even imagine what it must be like to literally have blinding pain. My best friend suffers from fairly frequent and debilitating migraines and I can't imagine how I would parent, or how anyone can, when they are going through one. I don't know how many of you are affected by this, either directly or through a loved one, but I imagine that the ramifications of having a seemingly invisible ailment (and I can relate to that) is stressful and frustrating.
I was listening to an NPR story the other day where people were describing their experiences and I thought that maybe this would be a useful and interesting topic. You can find the NPR story HERE. I have no idea what type of treatments are out there, or what you all may have tried, but maybe some of you could benefit from another's experience.... if not a little validation never hurt anyone. So what do you do when one hits? Has anything helped? Have you figured out your triggers? You never know what might help someone else so please do share your story in the comments.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
FYI
I am opening up my Food Diary blog. Anyone who is interested can check it out HERE and let me know if this is a tool that they would like to use.
I used this format with great success during my weight loss phase.
My intention was to have it available to my friends and family who were interested in tracking their food and/or exercise intake. You will see that the last post was back in October. I'm going to be starting back up and anyone who might want to post their food journals as a way to stay motivated and accountable are welcome to do so.
You can use this tool in whatever way is helpful and motivating to you. You do not have to be counting calories, what you want to track and post is up to you.
Send me an email or give me yours in the comments of the Welcome post and I'll be able to set you up as an author.
Oh and on a completely unrelated note here I am....
Talking right to YOU
I used this format with great success during my weight loss phase.
My intention was to have it available to my friends and family who were interested in tracking their food and/or exercise intake. You will see that the last post was back in October. I'm going to be starting back up and anyone who might want to post their food journals as a way to stay motivated and accountable are welcome to do so.
You can use this tool in whatever way is helpful and motivating to you. You do not have to be counting calories, what you want to track and post is up to you.
Send me an email or give me yours in the comments of the Welcome post and I'll be able to set you up as an author.
Oh and on a completely unrelated note here I am....
Talking right to YOU
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