As I was getting ready this morning, I overheard my son say to his sister, "I'm going to tell everyone at school that you still have nightmares!"

I'm thinking, "That’s supposed to be an insult? Does this kid think that nightmares are for babies or something?"

So, I walk out and I inform him, "I have nightmares... Nightmares aren't just for babies." And I realize the absurdity in what's coming from my mouth.

"Oh, and by the way," I say, "Do NOT go to school and bad-mouth each other!"

So, the homeschooling thing is taking a back seat for now. Turns out my son qualifies for some special education services from the school for emotional behaviors and was also accepted into the Gifted and Talented program.

The roommate and her kids left and my house has returned to a bit of normalcy... outside of the usual sibling squabbling, of course. My bed is now mine again although I typically wake up to a child who managed to sneak under the covers in the middle of night. The hardest part is realizing this when I take an unexpected elbow to the face!

This post is all over the place... but so is my mind right now. Guess I'll try to write later.

Four more people moved into my little apartment. Yep... Eight of us. The kids outnumber the adults 3 to 1.

At any given time in this house, when everyone is home, you might see one kid tending his pet frog, one playing a video game, one complaining that "there's NOTHING to do in this HOUSE", one making little car noises as he pushes his car along his Step 2 Action Train Table, one licking the bottom of her shoe and one throwing chicken bits off the side of her high chair. This is on a good day!

The noise level in this house on a Saturday morning exceeds the television with laughs, cries, screams of excitement, coughs and sneezes, fights, and the clanking of cereal bowls.

At times, it's downright comical... At others, it's like slowly being pecked to death by chickens. Peck... peck... peck.

How did this come to be you might ask? Well, my former step daughter and her three kidlets needed a place to live... So, I opened up my place to them. In two weeks, however, they will be on their way to Tampa to live with family. I'm going to miss them tremendously...

But at this moment, as I sit back and drink my coffee surrounded by the continuous childlike anarchy, I will patiently wait for nap-time. Theirs AND mine!

Well, I just might be embarking on a whole new journey with my youngest son.

Homeschooling.

Yes, it's one of those things I said I could probably NEVER do... but I'm thinking twice about that idea.

My son has been having some difficulties this year (he's very bright and simply not challenged enough) and I think it might be time to take some more serious action and find an alternative that could improve things.

So, the real question is how to juggle a full time job and homeschooling all by myself... I know it can be done according to some articles I've been reading. What I need to consider is what I'm going to do with my son during the day while I'm working.

Decisions... decisions...

My eldest DS has, or should I say had, two frogs. Yesterday, when he returned home from school, he found that one of the frogs had turned quite pale and was breathing in a labored fashion. He was quite upset and called me.

DS: "Mom, he did something to her."
Me: "What? What are you talking about?"
DS: "The frog, Mom. Something happened to Sweetie. I think HE attacked her."

("He" is the other frog)

Me: "Oh, no... I'll check it out when I get home. See you in a few minutes."

So, as soon as I walked in the door, I was ushered back to the bedroom to find a pathetic little frog holding onto the edge of her water bowl with her hind legs spread backward in a lazy position. She was unwilling to eat the cricket I dangled in front of her in a vain attempt to get her better, even knowing she was likely dying.

Me: "I think she's going to die, honey. I'm sorry... "

At this point, my DS stormed out of his room. At that moment, sweetie flipped herself backward into the water and began to flail about. Should I rescue her? She'll drown if I don't flip her back over! Or, perhaps this is better because the suffering won't be as long and labored... ?

DS came back into the room to see his flailing frog... "What happened?! What did you do to her?"

With a near sense of guilt, I quickly explained, "She did it herself!"

Eventually, Sweetie met her watery demise. DS scooped her out of her water bowl and asked everyone to join him around the toilet for her "funeral service".

There we stood peering over a belly-up frog who'd sunk to the bottom of the porcelain bowl. I softly hummed "Taps" as the lid was lowered and then, "FLUSH!"

Down.
       She.
            Went.

... Followed by a moment of silence.

RIP, Sweetie.

Being a single parent has never been easy. And, the easier I expect it to get, the more difficult it becomes. Sometimes things get so chaotic and dramatic, I have to just laugh... to keep myself from crying.

Yes, I've cried... a lot. But when I step back, I realize just how many stories we'll be able to tell years from now, when my kids have kids "just like them".

This blog is my journey through the trials of motherhood... and life in general.

So, bring your tea, or coffee (or a beer) and laugh along with me!