I feel like every time I post a Q&A it is the same questions but I have gained quite a bit of new followers and readers since the last time I posted. I hope that those of you who have been here for a while and have probably already read these don’t mind. I have lots of new content planned for after the holidays!
What is the meaning behind your blog name? Where did it come from?
Coming up with the name of my blog was by far the hardest part. When reading over the different topics that I planned to write about it sounded like a mess of shit then you add in everything that I currently have on my plate and you have chaos! And with that being said you have Our Chaotic Mess – a life that I am happily leading, messes and all! You will find that I blog about a little of everything – good and bad – and through this blog I have opened up a lot about things that I have gone through and my mental health. I chose to open up about these because if even ONE person reading those posts finds something they can relate with or sees something they think will help them then I am happy to share!
How is school going?
Well, if I am being honest.. not so well. This last semester kicked my ass. I signed up for five classes thinking that I would be able to handle it all and well, I couldn’t. I did end up surviving and finished the semester passing all of my classes, however.. I did not do as well as I wanted. I ended with 3 A’s and 2 C’s (almost a B). I am very hard on myself when it comes to my grades and I have been beating myself up over those two C’s. I haven’t gotten grades that low since I was put on bed rest with Autumn and my professors would not work with me even though I had a doctor’s note. I fell behind on a lot of things, including my blog. I had no choice. I had so many assignments for each class and I was incredibly overwhelmed. Next semester I have only enrolled in 3 classes because I know I can handle that. I am hoping that next semester will be nicer to me than this last one was.
I know you mentioned you are a psychology major now, are you still planning to work in hospice?
Yes, that is still my goal and plan! I am not ready to embark on my masters degree yet, so I figured that getting an associates in psychology I would gain even more knowledge on the brain, how people work, etc. and it would help me in the long run. Besides, psychology has always been interesting to me and I love learning about the different aspects of it.
What is one piece of advice you would give to new bloggers?
If I could give one piece of advice to new bloggers it would be to work your blog however you see fit! What I mean by this is that there is not a rule book that you must follow. You do not need to post everyday or every week. There are times when I post twice a week, once a week.. or once or twice a month. Life will happen, things will get in the way.. DO NOT STRESS IT. Another things is that you do not have to just blog about ONE topic. As you can see with my blog I am all over the place. If you want to blog about just one thing, that’s great! If you find that you are interested in covering multiple topics, go for it! Again, DO NOT STRESS IT! It will all come together and work out in the end. Trust me.
How hard is homeschooling your children?
There are many different ways that I can answer this question. Coming from a legal standpoint, it is not hard at all. We live in Virginia and we have very little regulation when it comes to homeschooling so the process of beginning homeschooling is fairly easy. The hardest part for us was figuring out their learning styles and what fit them best. The public school that Autumn attended did not give out homework, instead they did their “homework” daily in class after the teacher had finished the lesson plan. Once a month, maybe twice if we were lucky, she would bring home her homework folder that had the different worksheets that they had been working on since the last time they brought them home. This made it difficult for us to see how well she was doing, what she needed additional help with, and whether or not that learning style was best for her. The communication was lacking in more ways than one. We tried multiple styles before we landed on one that worked amazing. It has been a learning experience for all of us, that’s for sure!
Now, outside of the legal parts.. it can be draining. I am with my kids 24/7 unless they go to their grandparents on the weekends, or I get out of the house without them. It is mentally draining on me because of the lack of breaks. The girls have bad days where they fight to the end and I have to remind them over and over again that school is necessary whether that be homeschooling, public, or private. Not to mention doing all of this with a toddler. Even with the mental draining, I would not choose another route for our family. It has been the best for both of them and I do enjoy the extra time with them, though.
How long do you plan to homeschool? Will you be homeschooling your youngest as well?
We do not have a timeline for when/if we will stop. I will continue to homeschool until they choose otherwise. I won’t lie.. homeschooling in high school is intimidating but I know that with all of the resources out there everything will be just fine. Right now my plan is to homeschool Ellie, too. She is only 1 so right now but I do plan on incorporating her into the homeschool lessons as she gets older. When Ellie is ready to start Sophia will be more independent and Autumn will be in high school.
How long have you been homeschooling and what made you choose to do so?
We started our homeschool journey on November 28, 2016. It was right after the Thanksgiving break from Autumn’s third grade year in public. She is in sixth grade now. Long story short on why we chose to homeschool is because Autumn was being picked on and bullied in school and it was treated as a he said/she said situation and I was not about to let her experience that when I could do something to help her. She does so much better at home. She has excelled in her learning since we brought her home and she no longer had to worry about the bullies.
Thank you so much for sending in these questions and taking the time to read my response! I hope that you all have an amazing holiday season!
xoxo
lena ralene 