What Have I accomplished this past Month

Well it has been a full month and my husband and I are reunited with our children after they have spent a month with their grandparents!  They had an amazing time and I learned to relaxed and reclaim myself as something other than just a Mom, homeschool teacher and wife.   It is amazing how much you can lose yourself while raising a family, not that I would give up my family for anything in the world.  It was nice to reclaim some of my past enjoyments, pre kids, and really spend time connecting with my dear husband and realizing that there is really no one else in the world for me but him.

So what have I accomplished in this past month:

A.  Unpacked and started up my long lost hobby of stain glass and completed four projects.  I have two more projects lined up and intend to teach my kids this hobby so we can enjoy it together:)

B.  Learned to be at peace with just myself, alone.  Really I had forgotten how to do that.  I read books, watched TV, took long hot baths, and even went window shopping all by myself.  I had time to think and it wasn't always about the children, family or the house.

C.  I spent some amazing time with my dear husband and we became a couple again like when we first dated.  Yes I know we are a couple but this time was spent on us talking about our future without the kids, what our personal goals are, what our dreams are once the kids are gone.  It is so wonderful to know that when my children do leave the nest, while I will be sad, I have an amazing partner and that we will still have things to talk out, share and go on amazing adventures together and we are both looking forward to that day.

D.  School planning..ok didn't spend nearly as much time here as I had planned but I did put together a general plan for our history and science lessons.  I am not much for writing daily plans, usually going with just a rough outline/list of topics I wish to cover for the year.  I have ordered the rest of the  school curriculum so we will gradually begin our school year August 1st.

E.  Housework..blech who am I kidding, I did the bare minimum here:)  But it is amazing how much cleaner a house is when there is just two people to mess it up.  :)

F.  Gourmet meals this was my husband's request while the kids were away.  I had to ask him what constituted gourmet meal in his mind as I had no idea.  Basically he wanted meals cooked from scratched that we haven't tried before and didn't come out of a box.  SO there were three nights out of the past month where I planned and cooked three meals that met his approval:)  Yes there probably should have been a few more nights like this, but hey I didn't want to go crazy on this in case he starts to expect it:)!!!  In case you are wondering the meals were Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo with steam apparatus, Crab cakes with corn on the cob and salad, and Steak au Poivre with roasted potatoes and steam veggies.

Now that my children are back home it is time to get everyone back into our routines and that includes me:)  It is so nice to have the volume turned up in the house again, children's laughter and yes even the fighting makes me smile but I am sure that will change shortly:)