Goodbye House; Hello, New Job!

I should be grading. (I should always be grading when I'm at the computer.) But we have some family updates I need to mention quickly:

1) We sold our home in Pocatello. When we tell people this, people ask how much money we got for the house. We confess that we ended up paying about $1600 to get rid of it. Plus a mortgage payment during July. Yes, we could have rented it for a few more years and potentially made a little money on the venture, but this felt like the right decision, and it is wonderful to owe so much less money! We are now down to one student loan (with a low interest plan worked out with Doug's mom) and one mortgage. It was fun to create the budget this month and only post one mortgage. So you have permission to feel sorry for us, but you don't need to. Paying a double mortgage for one month without receiving rent for that month was depressing; we still can't believe we are rid of our house!

2) Doug has not officially switched to the new law firm, but he has put his two weeks notice in with his current boss. They will part ways on good terms, which makes me happy. I'll post more about this after Doug has moved over to the new firm. He'll start on September 22nd.

3) School has started for my two oldest kiddos, along with football for Isaac and dance for Lucy. These new things are fodder for anxiety, I tell you.
I worry so much about Isaac's happiness and growth at school and in sports. He came home a few days last year sad because someone said he couldn't play with them, or someone said he was annoying, and it broke my heart. I love being with him, and I want him to be surrounded by friends who love him. His teacher, Mrs. Kimpson, seems terrific, and I know a few nice kids in his class, so I am hopeful. I think football is going pretty well, but I haven't seen a practice since a few weeks ago, thanks to a fantastic carpool system with three other moms. I hope he is having fun, and we will keep putting him in sports to help him gain confidence and discover his talents.
Lucy is doing well socially, which is no surprise, but I worry that she will always be so enmeshed in social aspects that she forgets to concentrate on learning. I am happy to say that after 7 weeks of workbooks with the kids and reading time with Lucy every day, she is progressing so well as a reader and writer. She is currently reading me 2-3 pages of "The Cat in the Hat" every day and doing really well with it. I can't believe it is finally happening.

4) There is more on the horizon: Isaac starts piano lessons next week, Brooklyn starts a little preschool for 1 1/2 hours once a week, and I will finish the summer term of teaching next week and begin teaching Fall classes a few days after that. Isaac will start scouts in October and be baptized at the start of November.

5) Also, my kids and I have had colds, and I have a sinus infection. We went on vacation to Island Park for Labor Day weekend, and Cason decided to stop sleeping through the night again while we were there. I am tired. And I need to grade 6 essays today.

We have a lot on our plates, and I always worry about over-scheduling my kids. The problem is that I would rather expose them to new things and help them see what they are good at than keep them at home when they're not at school. I love to be with them, and I love not having too much on my plate. But I grew up doing a sport every season and music throughout every school year, and I loved the variety in my life. I will praise my parents' names forever for being taxis drivers for us throughout our whole childhoods.

I feel worried about all the practicing and homework that is supposed to go along with all their activities. Both kids have homework from school, although they haven't had anything time consuming yet. Isaac will need to practice piano 20 minutes a day, Lucy needs to keep a daily practice chart for dance, Isaac is supposed to read for at least 20 minutes a day, and I struggle to keep up with all these expectations as the overseer. I am still having my kids do a little work in their workbooks every day, and I don't really want to stop that yet. So, lots going on, and lots of good in there!