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In my life this week…
I returned home from Nashville late Sunday night and have been struggling to find my center ever since.
I actually unpacked my ENTIRE suitcase yesterday and I’m considering it a personal victory, since my luggage rarely finds its way back into storage less than a week after I return home from a trip.
Hazah!
The Blissdom blogging conference was incredibly fun and I took away several good pieces of information to help me with my online endeavors, but to be completely honest with you, it was all just a bit overwhelming for me at the same time.
I’m actually wondering if maybe I should have made my first blogging conference a bit smaller in size than attempting to take on big ol’ Blissdom right out of the gate.
There were just soooooo many women swarming around at any given time, I found it hard to really connect with many of them in a very meaningful way, but maybe that was because of the frenzied, busy environment that we were in. You think?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad that I went and that I was able to meet up with several of wonderful homeschool bloggers in real life that I hang out with online and may even consider going to another blogging conference again in the future, but I think that I’d take a different mindset with me next time.
In our homeschool this week…
Now if I’m really being honest, I must admit that I didn’t take my son to his Classical Conversations tutorial class on Monday morning because…well… I just didn’t feel like it.
When you wake up and feel like you’ve just gotten off of an insane whip-you-around roller coaster, you need a moment to pause near the trash can for a second before you run off to the next ride. If you know what I mean.
Does that make sense? No? — Well, it did to me on Monday morning when I told my son that I was taking him out for a fun breakfast instead of dropping him off at his homeschool class to take a Latin test.
In other news….
I was just crowned “Best Mom Ever”, by my 13 year old son!
Unfortunately, my reign may not last long when my son finds out that he still has to take that Latin test next week.
Oh well.
I’ll take whatever I can get.
Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…
With that said, I’ve learned that it’s OK to step away from homeschooling on days when you just need to regroup.
Balance is important, and not always following the dictates of your homeschool planner is a good thing.
After taking a little time to regroup Monday morning, I felt refreshed and ready to go home and be a better homeschool teacher than I would have been if I would have allowed my weird funk to fester.
My favorite thing this week was…
A pretzel bagel and a large cup of coffee with my little man on Monday morning.
(A spontaneous occasion I plan to repeat again sometime soon!)
Questions/thoughts I have…
Have you ever called a “time out” on your homeschool day and left the house with the kiddos to go do something out of the ordinary?
I’m reading…
Author, Jon Acuff blessed me (& 749 other women) with an autographed copy of his book, Quitter this past weekend after his opening keynote address.
I read it cover to cover on my almost 4 hour flight home and really enjoyed it.
It’s Jon’s story of dreaming God-sized dreams for himself and ultimately quitting his day job to become an author and motivational speaker.
While I don’t relate to the “day job” part of his story, I still found several nuggets of encouragement and inspiration throughout his book.
A good read, for sure!
A photo, video, link, or quote to share…
Here are just a few of the lovely homeschool bloggy mamas that I met up with at the conference.
Do you recognize any of them???
Happy Homeschooling,
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what a GREAT group photo girl!
Thanks for sharing! 
and yes i agree! Even with my 3 year old only! its somedays we have to still play "hookie" from school! 
Those spontaneous moments are needed sometimes I think
.
Love your advice, it mirrors what is going on in my head too.
I look forward to calling time-outs on the day and just enjoying the day instead. I am striving to get to the point I can do it a little more often. I think both my son and I need it.
what a fun experience though! you are a brave, brave lady!
Thank you for sharing your week. I can so relate ! Me unpack I think NOT definately not within the first few days anyway. So well done.
Yes we do shelve the school day if there is a better life experience to be had !!
Can't wait to hear more about what you learned at conference.
Yes mam I take that time
LOL Love calling time outs. We took one last week and went to Busch Gardens 
We were still learning about animals but having fun together. 
Love all the pictures!
I've been to Relevant twice – and I still can't imagine the size of Blissdom. But it's always fun to get together with those people we've formed online relationships with.
I've been looking at everyone's pictures from the conference and I am. so. jealous. You all look fantastic and I bet the experience was incredible!
I wondered what Blissdom would be like. I've been to daycare conferences that felt that way. Good information, but challenging to find connections.
Congratulations on "Best Mom Ever". I know it's temporary, but really, it's the most coveted award out there! lol…
The book Quitter sounds really great. I think I'm going to have to look into that one!
Have a great weekend1
I completely agree that some days you just have to let go of the plan and regain some direction.
The only reason we make it to ever CC tutoring group is because I am the tutor.
Have a blessed week,
Rebecca
[...] week you can find us at the homeschool blog link-up called “The Homeschool Mother’s Journal” hosted by The Homeschool [...]
I'm with you . . . when you need a break, you NEED a break. I've been sick most of this week, but just kept plugging along and keeping the kids on track. This morning I slept in, we lazed around all morning, and then at lunch time my husband said, "Aren't you going to do school with the kids?" "No, it's Saturday," I calmly replied. The whole family in unison said, "Mom, it's FRIDAY." All I could say was, "Well, I need it to be Saturday, so it's Saturday." They cheered.
Yes, when you need to take time, take time. My kids sometimes get hung up on all they have to do, but that's OK; they can keep on going on their own.
It sounds like the Blissdom was a bit much; still, I'm hoping you'll tell more about it.
Enjoy a peaceful weekend at home!
I do have to call fun days, actually. We sort of did that Friday. I stayed away from the computer and we read/played the day away. I find that if I really need a break, the HS scene is not pretty anyway
I can relate to needing time off.