How's everyone's summer going?
We're pretty much having a stay-cation for the first time in a long time. No moola.
Although, the boys had 4 weeks of lacrosse camp and easy child had a week of art camp that just wrapped up last week, so now our days are pretty much wide open. We'd talked about going to the beach today, but none of the kids could manage to get out of bed before noon. So they got the pleasure of doing a bunch of chores instead!
I've been helping manage a weekly gourmet food truck fundraising event for the lacrosse booster club since March. Thankfully we are taking a hiatus starting mid-August. I've taught myself a LOT about social media marketing because of this event, made a lot of new contacts and am actually considering a foray into that type of marketing as a full-time career some time in the next year or so. A lot depends on the difficult children. And my ability to say "NO" more often to volunteering.
And speaking of difficult children...
difficult child 1 starts his senior year in September. He will FOR SURE have to start at a community college after graduation (please, Lord, let there be a graduation) thanks to his bumbling through the latter half of his junior year. I tried to push him to 1. Get his driver's license and 2. get a job this summer. Neither of which happened (yet) and his driver's permit actually EXPIRED yesterday. What teenager lets their permit expire without actually getting their license?! He did take his driving three weeks ago, but failed. He was required to wait two weeks before taking the test again, but neglected to act before the permit expired. So tomorrow he has to retake the written test to apply for the permit again, and then we'll try to get him scheduled for another attempt at the behind-the-wheel test.
difficult child 2 will be a sophomore this year. Overall he did fairly well last year and he's transitioning out of his study skills class, though he'll continue to receive social skills training outside of that environment. He decided he wants to try lacrosse this next year, so we're helping him give that a try. Though I made sure the coach understands that I do NOT expect ANY favors simply because I'm on the booster club board (and involved in his youth league business), and that if difficult child 2 doesn't make the cut for the team in January, then so be it. And I also made it clear to difficult child 2 that it's completely on him whether or not he makes this team. Not that my kids would expect special treatment, but I wanted to be sure there was no doubt in anyone's mind.
easy child starts 8th grade and her last year in middle school. She's really been pursuing her interest in art this year. I'm finding it frustrating that she rejects any suggestions I have about which high school might best serve her needs for art, college, and beyond. May have to solicit a secret ally to whisper in her ear for me
We lost the last of our four chickens in April (or was it March?) Then turned right around and got six more: 3 Americaunas (2 trad'l brown speckled, 1 white); 2 Black Australorps; 1 Barred Rock. Hope to know by Labor Day weekend or so whether any of them are NOT hens, in which case we'll have to find a new home for any rooster in the flock. We have not become nearly as attached to this bunch as we did to the last, which I think will be good for everyone in the long run. And these birds, because we haven't spent as much time handling them, are much more skittish, which makes it even easier to regard them with more detachment.
Let's see... what else is new?
The crazy drug dealer's house a few doors down finally sold! This is the place where one of the guy's "pals" died of an overdose last year while he was away serving 6 months in the county lockup. I'll venture to guess that I'm not the only resident who's delighted to see this loser go away for good!
That's about it in a nutshell!
