J had dance again yesterday. The groups went over almost all their numbers and are just about ready for this year's competition season. Their first one is in a few weeks, in Manhattan. Then there's one or 2 every month though May. I'm so happy that these competitions are incredibly family-friendly and all of us have a great time at them. There's always food and other stuff to buy and so many kids that my 3 are never bored. There is so much excitement with all the costumes, makeup, rushing around, anticipation, cheering, screaming, awards, etc. My parents and sisters usually meet us there and always find it to be a blast. I used to worry that maybe K was feeling left out, but she totally involves herself, helping everyone out with everything.

My sister drove in from Long Island last night and we went out to a Greek restaurant and to a karaoke bar. It was a much needed night out for me since I hadn't been out since March. We did a lot of singing and laughed all night. I got home about 2am and just felt really good. Not drunk good, just happy good. At the bar, we saw my mom's friend who asked me about the kids, and school, which led to the whole story of how we came into homeschooling. She was so impressed and amazed at the fact that I took the time to realize what J needed and wow that must be so hard. I told her it wasn't really hard at all and we both enjoy it so much. She had a ds who could have benefitted from homeschooling but she never thought of that and says she probably wouldn't have had it in her to try it anyway.

So at home, I was telling B about the night and all about what she said. I mentioned again that I'd love to have W homeschooling as well. B agrees that homeschooling is the best thing and has no worries about how the kids will turn out. So I asked him what's with all the hesitation and "well, I don't know"s when I bring it up. He said the reason was that since we've been homeschooling the apartment has been messier and not much is getting done with cleaning, laundry, or cooking. Also, he thought I could maybe get a job so we could have more money so we could maybe move out of this apartment. Oh. Well that put a lot into perspective for me. This whole time I thought it was the actual homeschooling he had a problem with.

I thought about that a lot last night and admit, he's right, and I feel bad about it. So basically I plan to start doing 45 minutes of cleaning/laundry every morning and 30-45 minutes every evening, do 5-minute clutter pick-ups throughout the day, and get back into being a Mary Kay consultant. My friend, M, ordered me some new catalogs and I'll begin again with the house parties. I usually make about $200-$300 per party - which would only be on evenings or weekends. It's fun, I love it, it gets me out of the house, and I'll be raking in the cash! I'm glad that B finally said something. And I'm glad it's the new year where new beginnings can happen!

Link of the day:
http://members.tripod.com/~sandy_buns/index-2.html