Ten on Tuesday (random stuff)

A little catching up...

1. Asher started back to classes on the 3rd...just a couple classes at CEC this semester and then also homeschooling with me. Mostly, that's all going fine. Here's my question, though. What the heck is up with the Texas Instruments graphing calculators?! One, they're specifically required...so far both Noah and Asher have been required to have this specific brand and model, as it makes it easier for the teacher to instruct. (And, of course, Noah still needs his so we can't just pass one down, lol.) Two, they have been for decades! (Nathan and I remember having to have them in our own high school classes.) Three, they still cost practically as much as they did decades ago but have changed very little. What's up with that?!

2. I've officially finished the multitude of steps required for Micah's CEC enrollment to start as a full time 9th grader this coming fall. It's a little crazy that it's January, folks. (But, also, whew. Having been through this twice before, this time wasn't as daunting.)

3. Yay, us! We took advantage of the lovely weather to actually get all our Christmas decorations down the first weekend of January. Some years, they've stayed up for weeks and weeks, so it's nice to have that done and put away.

4. My mom celebrated her birthday last week with the stomach flu that's been going around. Boo! But, she says it brightened her celebration to open the gift I made her:

I painted a slat for each of us kids and our distance from mom's house. :) Please remind me not to try to paint the CSU logo again...at least not on that scale, lol. 

5. Nathan made a quick trip to New York for work last week. Feeling grateful that his travel went smoothly and that, so far, he's stayed healthy (knock on wood). 

6. Micah had his last official appointment with the orthodontist last week also...woohoo! Feels lovely to be done with all that and so appreciative of the fabulous care we experienced throughout both Asher and Micah getting braces on and off. 

7. I don't think I've mentioned it, but one of the gifts Asher got for Christmas was a new comforter. (Exciting, right? lol) It's actually one of those weighted blankets (this one) with a cover, and he's loving it. (We weren't sure how well it was going to work, but Asher's always been our most active sleeper and had been using an old sleeping bag as a comforter so we figured we'd give it a try. Hooray!)

8. Is it just me? January's only half way through and I've already been adding all sorts of appointments and meetings and events to our calendar...which is good (to get things scheduled) but also, whew.

9. We've been to the theater a couple times so far this month. The boys and I watched that animated "Spider-man: Into the Spider Verse" show, which was surprisingly fun. And then yesterday we all went to watch "On the Basis of Sex" about Ruth Bader Ginsberg...which was very well done.

10. Okay, I'll admit it. I'm one of the many who have watched the new Netflix series with Marie Kondo, "Tidying Up." :) Honestly, our home is already pretty organized and tidy, and I purge things fairly regularly. I'd already been planning another round for this first part of the year, and watching this show has just added inspiration. I'm not in a huge hurry, but I did actually make the big pile of clothes on my bed yesterday. It wasn't too bad (or big), and I got rid of three bags of things. Yay, me! Nathan has agreed to go through is part of the closet next weekend. I guarantee he'll have more bags of things to part with. ;) 

And now back to enjoying 2019...hope yours is going well!