Memorial Day Fun!

We spent our Memorial weekend swimming! One of our favorite exercises is swimming, thus how fishey ended up with his nickname. Our summer tans have a good start despite liberally applying sunscreen once an hour or more and my freckles shine like the stars on a clear night!

I'm beginning to list some of the larger items for sale on Craigslist. Between that and juggling lessons for fishey, I'm wiped out! I do go back to the doctor tomorrow to make sure that my wrist is healing after the whole baseball/tennis debacle ~ I definitely will NOT be combining sports again! LOL Hopefully I'll get a clean bill of health.

Right now we're planning on heading to Germany first, most likely Berlin. Last year, fishey read Number the Stars by Lois Lowry and it was one of the few books he really enjoyed so we're going to study WWII history and then head to Copenhagen and maybe Sweden before returning to Germany and heading back south. Of course, we may start out in Denmark/Sweden and then hit Germany; it's hard to say at this point. Being in the prep stage affords us time to make many changes and even while there we have the opportunity to make changes as we go. I never was one to have a set schedule. I'm more of a fly by the seat of my pants type of person.

I'd love to hear about spots along the way that shouldn't be missed if anyone knows some. Please drop a line or comment and make sure we don't miss some little known about gem!

Math & Sprinklers

My head has been in some random state perpetual motion, causing it to nearly careen off my neck several times a day for months now. I wonder if it's possible to have self-inflicted whiplash from a spinning head? Maybe I can somehow turn my wrist brace thing into something to stabilize my head so I don't hurt myself...hmm...I don't have time to think about it because my head can't handle something else added to my list of things I'm already not getting checked off!

Today we did have a terrific time with baseball outside and then we practiced multiplication tables with the super-soaker and in the sprinklers. I created the Sprinkler of Joy and the Sprinkler of Shame. Now before anyone freaks out about shaming my son, it must be said that we laughed about this the entire time. My son, for being so far behind with his studies and not having the best social graces which means he was not Mr. Popularity with his classmates, has a very healthy self-esteem (almost too much some days). Every time he missed an answer he had to stand in the Sprinkler of Shame, bow his head and say in a silly voice, (something like) "Oh Sprinkler of Shame, I am so sorry that I didn't know 7 X 8 was 56 and I promise to practice harder and know it next time!" We never made it through a Sprinkler of Shame moment without laughing, especially at the end of the 7s because he has a tough time with them and vowed to try really really hard to get them memorized. On the upside, when he got an entire number set correct we got to dance around the Sprinkler of Joy and sing and well, if you've seen me in a swimsuit you'd be frightened and pleased all of this took place in the fenced backyard! We had a blast though and math was joyously accomplished plus the foundation of the house was thoroughly soaked by the time we finished, as were we!

Now if I could be as successful selling off the rest of the items in the house, booking flights, selling off the  SUV, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc...

More Preparations!

So today was luggage buying day! The Container Store is having a sale on luggage (save 25%) and I ordered our Thule crossover backpacks, which will be here next week! So now we each have an Eagle Creek 28" Hovercraft Suitcase (mine is black and fishey's is blue) and it saved me $120.00 over the Thule luggage and a trip to Austin, TX to look at the stuff to see if I even liked it. The only place in the entire southern part of the United States that had it was in Austin. I did order the backpacks from there since they had free shipping though. One more "to do" item ticked of the list. Soon we need to have some type of estate sale in order to sell off the majority of our large belongings and all of the smaller items, too. That will be a production I'm sure.

First things first though. I need to list quite a few things on Craigslist...televisions, stereo equipment, miscellaneous computer peripherals, tables, chairs, more tables and chairs, etc. Let the fun begin! Oh wait, it already has and I am so loving it! I can't wait until the party really gets going! Sign me up for some cookies and cake and punch!

Educational Planning

Planning is boring. Going is fun. Doing is fun. Unfortunately when you're going to go do something for as long as we're going to you MUST plan, no matter how boring. You simply cannot get around it. We are selling just about everything we own and taking two suitcases and two backpacks (not each, that's for both of us together). Being the mom, and being who I am, most of the planning is falling on my shoulders but Fishey was given an education planning assignment that turned out to be a great lesson. He researched the twenty regions of Italy to find out historical, educational and fun things to do. It was terrific because it kept him busy while I was wrapped up planning other things (like getting passport paperwork in order and making spreadsheets for collections of items I'm selling off) and he learned all about Italy which is definitely one of the places we want to visit the most. It also helped him with his computer skills, which are sorely lacking for the average 13-year-old. He loves his new MacBook Pro and I'm trying to cut him a little slack with playing on it because I remember how fun it was getting a new computer and how easy it was to get caught up playing on it. I do drag him off it though and monitor the sites he visits. Poor kid. Having a mom with a computer degree isn't going to be so easy. At least having a mom who is fun and willing to travel the world with him might make up for it!

Getting Started

I suppose I had better get something posted in this thing before someone wonders if any dreams are indeed in the fathoming process or if it's just a clever ruse. My son and I are deep into the planning stages of a lengthy European roadschool trip. Neither of us have ever been outside of the United States and I have only just started to homeschool him at the age of thirteen. The No Child Left Behind program was leaving my child behind and I was not okay with that in any way whatsoever.

The intention of this blog is to allow us to document our travels, share what we see/do/experience with our family, friends and whoever might stumble upon us, and to show other people who might have some desire to do something they put off doing that it's never too late to grab the reins and start fathoming your dreams! Stay tuned, more to come! ~Ren