Just Another Day

Today started out really well. As you can see Rachel and Hannah were working at the table and Gabe was helping me keep Dan occupied. A little while later the phone rang. I don't always answer the phone, but it was Brian. As he was giving me some info on tax and insurance stuff, the children wandered away. So much for our nice quiet morning. Soon, this one and that one were arguing over some toy. The other one didn't want to come back and do school and some wanted to eat, even though it was only 10am and so it went. The only one who stayed on task was Bessie who was working in the other room on her math and DIVE cd. Of course, once the arguing started, that disturbed her! Oh well...such is the life of a homeschooler...at least this one.

We did manage to get everyone calmed back down, separated enough to keep the peace and those that needed to, back to the table to finish their seat work.

A peaceful scene

Bessie works on her math

After lunch, Gabe, Rachel and I headed out for a walk. Rachel wanted to go and I decided I thought she could bundle up enough to stay warm. Hannah and Dan have to ride for part of the walk, so I didn't think they would be able to stay warm enough. We had a nice walk and having Rachel along kept Gabe better occupied and he didn't complain about being tired. We counted bird's nest on the way back. It is amazing how many there were.

We went to a friend's birthday party after dinner. Cake, ice cream, presents and friends...a great combination.

Overall it was a good day.

Same old, same old

Our days seem to meld from one into another right now. There is really not much going on in our household.

We had a good morning with our school. We have hit a groove right now and I hope it holds for a bit. I'm sure as soon as we get any type of good weather, the kids will be chomping at the bit to get outside, but for right now, we are getting a good full morning of studies in.

Gabe and I headed out walking again. It is still too cold for the Littles. They get cold in the house! Hopefully it will moderate some soon.

Interesting ice in the river

Bessie had her piano lesson this afternoon. Brian picked her up on his way home and they made a stop at Michael's. I needed some embroidery floss and Bess wanted to pick up some jewelry supplies.

We had chicken vegetable soup and garlic bread for dinner.

Gabe taking a snooze in the van under "white"

Gabe has had this blanket since he was a baby. It was white and that is what he calls it. As you can see from the photo, it is anything but white anymore. He likes to bring it everywhere and is his favorite comfort item. I saw him dozing off today on the way home from dropping Bessie off. I had the camera with me and without even stopping, I was able to point and click and get the shot. I just love digital! NY has a no hand held cell phone use while driving law...wonder if they have a no picture taking while driving law?

Odds and Ends

We had a quiet weekend. Brian had his drill weekend, so the kids and I just hung out. It stormed overnight Friday, so we had about 3-4 inches of fresh snow on Saturday morning. The HV Athletic Association was having sign-ups for this years sports, but I really didn't feel like venturing out. They will have them again this Saturday, so I'll catch it then.

Mom and Dad came over in the afternoon and stayed for a nice visit. They had dinner with us.

Dan and Dad enjoy their ice cream (especially Dan)

Saturday we recieved a wonderful package in the mail from a cyber friend (thank you so much, Kristine!). It had lots of fun children's software and a very cool thing that hooks to the keyboard. It basically looks like a truck dashboard. It goes with one of the CDs...Tonka Rigs and Digs. That was a major hit with everyone! I even caught Brian taking a try at it. Boys never really grow up...do they?

Gabe shows Dan how to work the "big rig"

Caught!

After church and Sunday school, we had a quiet afternoon. Bessie stayed at church for a special Super Bowl youth activity. They had a speaker, who talked on relating football and life. Bessie said he had a very good message. They had pizza and soda and watched "Facing the Giants". She enjoyed herself.

Hannah enjoys a quiet moment

We didn't watch the Super Bowl. I guess we are pretty odd in that respect (well in lots of other ways too!). It was a nice quiet evening.

Bible Quiz

Fun quiz. Not too tough, mostly "trivia" type questions. Now, ask me some really tough ones and I'm sure I would not do as well.

You know the Bible 100%!

Wow! You are awesome! You are a true Biblical scholar, not just a hearer but a personal reader! The books, the characters, the events, the verses - you know it all! You are fantastic!

Ultimate Bible Quiz
Create MySpace Quizzes

Walking

I have been walking on and off for a few months now. Last week I walked everyday and began to notice a huge difference in how I was feeling. I'm sure part of it is the physical aspect of it, but this time of year, I think more of it has to do with getting outside and the sunshine...or at least outside light.

The weather has turned very, very cold and very windy. I didn't get to walk over the weekend and didn't want to skip again today, so...I braved the weather and went for my walk. I have a two mile route that I enjoy. It only takes me 30 minutes and is a good mix of up and down. The scenery is nice and the road isn't heavily traveled.

Gabe wanted to go along (as he always does), so I made sure he was bundled up well. When we left, the temp was 17 with a windchill of -18. It was very cold. We headed out and had a wonderful walk. I was pleasantly surprised at how warm I really was and Gabe never complained about being cold. We didn't encounter any cars while we were out.

Gabe would stop every so often, plop down on the ground and make a snow angel. I couldn't help thinking that if anyone else walked by they might get a smile out of seeing all those snow angels along the road.

Gabe making one of his many snow angels

Leaving a trail of snow angels

We made our two mile route and I am now determined more than every to continue with my walking...even if the weather seems a bit inhospitable. We had a great time and the rest of the day seemed brighter.

I'm all bundled up and ready to go

My walking companion

Peter Pan

We just finished Peter Pan by J.M Barrie. It was a fun read and Gabe loved it.

I am sort of a stickler about reading the unabridged version of books, but some of the parts were a bit strange...at least for me, like when Mr. Darling isn't sure they can keep the children because they are expensive. Explaining this idea to a child who is himself adopted, was a bit difficult, although I'm not sure Gabe understood the implications to his early life.

I am also always on the lookout for some moral discussion and couldn't come up with many except that Peter was so very naughty most of the time!

It was a very fun read and enjoyed by both of us.

We inadvertently picked up a Children's Illustrated Classic version of this, which was abridged, so I set it aside. This has turned out to be a good mistake as Gabe can read it on his own and loves going back over certain parts and noting the differences.

Friday At Last

We had another good morning today with our schoolwork. That makes five days in a row...a record for us this year! LOL The girls are making slow progress, but moving ahead. I'm really starting to see improvement.

The temperature made it up into the 30s today, but the skies were gray. We are suppose to get snow later.

After lunch we went out for another walk. After yesterdays adventure, I wasn't sure how it would go, but we forged ahead. We brought one of the strollers this time. It went some better, although at one point Dan had a minor tantrum over a stick and hitting and plopped himself right down in the road! Oh well. They all did pretty well, but Hannah complained of a sore foot and Dan just gets bored, so on the way back, Bessie pushed them both in the stroller. It isn't really made for two, but they are pretty small.

Hannah and Dan get a ride from big sister

The river meanders along the road we live on. It cuts back into the woods in several places and then it comes out again close to the road. We go over two narrow bridges as the river hooks back on itself. It is always pretty no matter the season, but I love the way the ice and water make it look in the winter.

You can see animal tracks if you

look closely on the ice near the water's edge

At one point in the river, there are wonderful falls that tumble down some ledges. The falls themselves are frozen now, although you can see and hear the water flowing under the ice. My pictures don't show it well, but there is so much texture to the way the falls have frozen.

We had a quiet afternoon after our walk. Bessie finished up some schoolwork and the youngers played nicely. Once high point of taking everyone walking is they are much calmer afterward.

Sun At Last

Today was a pretty good day. We have had a good week of getting our basic studies done. I finally decided to work with Gabe, Rachel and Hannah seperately for a space of time. This is working out much better than trying to do two or more together. Bessie or I try and do something with Dan sometime or other in there.

Bessie made this little doll a cape and

Dan decided it was now "Super Dolly"

This week I've been trying to get out and walk at least a little bit everyday. The weather at the beginning of the week was quite cold and windy, so I only was able to do a mile in on couple of days.

I had the great idea that everyone should go out today. It was warmer and the sun was shining nicely. Things went rather well on the way out. Everyone was energetic and enjoying the outing. After the first mile, Dan and Hannah decided it was pretty boring just walking. They certainly had steam left. I've seen them run miles and miles in the house everyday. I finally had to carry Dan while Bessie ran home and got the stroller. He was not walking another step. I got an extra workout carrying him on my shoulders!

When we got home Dan said "Wa (walk) NO". He decided that walking just for fun....wasn't! Hannah also made her own announcement..."I'll stay home with Daddy next time."

The troops head down the road

We took a break by the river

Ice formation near the river

After the walk, we had a quiet afternoon. The kids watched "Cyber Chase", I worked on my zoo on Zoo Tycoon and Bessie finished up some schoolwork.

As Brian came home tonight, he said I had to go check out the moon. It wasn't dark yet, but the moon was up. It was a lovely shade of pink orange as it shone through the light cloud cover. It was so lovely.

Moonglow

We had a light dinner and I went to choir. It is always fun to spend time with my singing friends.

Week in review

This is the "uncooperative" corner. This has been our solution for disciplinary issues. Dan seems to spend a lot of time there on some days. The poor little guy doesn't mean to misbehave and is very quick to say "norry (sorry)". He is making progress and some days he doesn't have to visit the corner at all.

We've had some very cold days this week, with temps in the negative and single numbers. On nights when it is this cold, I pull down the blinds to hold in some of the heat. When I pull up the blinds in the morning, the windows will be covered with the most beautiful patterns of frost.

Dan, Bessie and Hannah

Big sister fixes hair

Sir Daniel, ready to slay the dragon

Everything becomes a weapon when they are doing
battle...even linking cubes and train whistles.

Victory

Dino Attack

GI Joe gets a ride from the triceratops

Update

Life seems to have settled into a quiet period for us right now. Not a whole lot is happening. We get into a hibernation mode from mid-January to mid-March, spending a lot of time at home. This is often the time of year we get the most schoolwork done.

Our choir did another performance of Stars and Stripes for a local nursing home on Saturday afternoon. I took a quick run over to Michael's to pick up floss and fabric for my next cross-stitch project. I picked up Chinese food on the way home.

Brian and the kids went to the library and Agway while I was out.

Sunday was our usual of Sunday school and church and then a quiet afternoon at home.

Monday we had a good morning with our schooling. Gabe, Gracie the dog and I took a walk, but it was very, very cold. The temp was only 21 and the wind chill was 4. The wind really cut through you. I like to go two miles, but we only did one. It was still nice to get outside and enjoy the brisk air and a bit of sunshine.

Today...another good morning with our schooling. I've been spending about an hour with each of the younger schoolers. This works out well for getting the basics in. We do history and science in the afternoon, but not everyday. I try and slip in some time with Dan to do a few things and touch bases with Bessie to make sure she is doing okay.

After lunch, Gabe, Gracie and I went for a walk...we made the two miles today. It was warmer, around 30 and very little wind.

Bessie had piano this afternoon. Brain picked her up on his way home from work. We had a light dinner.

I'll post some photos from the last week.