Almost another month has gone by - if you have hung in there, thank you for your patience. I just can't bring myself to post an entry that doesn't have anything to say...not that this one will either, but the guilt of neglecting this blog has gotten to me.

School this year has been fantastic - after 6 years of homeschooling, I really feel that we've gotten into a great routine. We also have the best families taking this journey with us - I wouldn't want to do it without them.

I did get to attend our first public school conference for Taylor's band class. I have to admit that it was really nice to hear another teacher say good things about your child and how well she does in class. Taylor is so lucky to be able take advantage of small group music lessons and large band practice, something she definitely wouldn't get at home.

We're getting close to the end of the swim team season. I'm ready to be done driving back & forth 3 days a week, but the girls will really miss it! They won't join the spring/summer session because they'll get enough swimming in at the cabin. (Plus, next fall will come soon enough.)

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, I have to show you what I got the girls. Actually, they're for the whole family, but they'll open them at breakfast on Thursday morning. I bought these at a home party...and I am not a home party person. If I want something from Pampered Chef, Tupperware, or another company, I call a local rep and place my order. But, this company had such neat stuff for families that I had to go & look....& buy.

The first thing I got was an "I love you" pillow.

It has little cards to put in the front pocket - you fill out the front of the card & write a personal message inside. You can show someone that you're thinking of them, that you're sorry, or just to cheer them up. Then you put the pillow somewhere for the person to discover later. I can't wait to see how the girls will use it - especially between each other.

The second thing I bought was a 'family fun box'.

After swim season is done, we will each put a couple of fun activities to do as a family into the box. One night a week we will pick a slip out of the box and announce which activity we'll enjoy over the weekend. Just 2 new little traditions to start with our family.

....and a Happy Valentine's Day to you too!

No words needed!

New Year's Resolutions

I don't usually make New Year's Resolutions - probably because I can't keep them for more than a month. BUT, this year I'm going to try a little harder.

My first resolution is to try and only use cloth grocery bags when I shop. I haven't been able to start this one yet because I just ordered my bags and they haven't come yet. So, I'll have to start this one next week. I'm worried that the people at Target are going to think I'm weird, but we'll see.

Second, I'm trying to get back into doing "once a month" cooking. Last Saturday, the girls were at a friend's house for a party and Tom was out ice fishing. They were all gone for 4 hours, so I spent that time making & freezing meals for the month. We'll use these meals on the nights that we're on a tight schedule. The grocery bill was HUGE, but I figure we'll save lots of money by not being tempted to order out.

Because we had church tonight, we ate one of our freezer meals - homemade chicken pot-pie. I'm not the Martha Stewart type, but I must admit it was really pretty...and it tasted great too.

Happy New Year!!!

I'm a little late on the 'Happy New Year' greeting, but you're in for a long post!

Our New Year's Eve was a quiet one. Normally we go to a party hosted by one of Tom's fraternity brothers - complete with a face painter and balloon maker - but our sick kids put the kabosh on that. We ended up at home for the first time in about 4 years...it was nice. Nice not to be on the roads, nice to have a quiet game night with the girls, nice to ring in the New Year in our jammies. Here is a picture of our New Year's Eve dinner - appetizers, sparkling cider, and a delicious chocolate truffle cake.

Lately, there have been a few unusual phrases being said at our house. Things like:

* I'm going to crush you!

* You're goin' down!

* Get ready to be destroyed!

* Eat my dust!

You wouldn't really think that any 'family bonding' was taking place if you heard this coming from our family room, BUT... Grammy and Grampy bought us the Wii for Christmas and it's so much fun for the whole family! It gets used almost every day & has been a great 'toy' for all of us. A little friendly competition and a little exercise too - we're loving it! My shoulder is sore from trying to beat Tom at tennis - it still hasn't happened. Tom has had a sore neck for almost a week. (He blames it on sleeping on it wrong, but I'm not so sure!!) We bought the girls the High School Musical sing along for the Wii and even Tom is taking turns with the microphone. Ooooh, he'd hate to see that in print!

The girls also had their first swim meet of the season. Tatum has a boy on her team that is really making her work hard. Tatum and "P" are always neck and neck at the finish, so Tatum was a little nervous about how she would do. We couldn't have asked for better results. "P" took first place in 2 events and Tatum took first place in 2 events. They were both happy when it was over & can't wait til the next meet. Here's a peek at one of their photo finishes. "P" is in the lane closest to the camera & Tatum is next to him in the darker swim cap.

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Taylor is with the older kids this year and she is smaller than most kids her age. She doesn't have quite the power that the others have, but she did take 1st in her heat in backstroke and 1st in her heat in breaststroke. She has amazing endurance and can't wait to race Tom at the cabin this summer. Honestly, Tom is worried! Here is a video of her backstroke race, she is in the closest lane with the green swim cap.

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Just this past Sunday, we had a taste of spring-like weather. The snow fort was shrinking in the 41* weather. But, Tom and the girls worked hard to make the sides thicker and added a look-out tower on the side. Much colder weather is on the way this weekend...now if we could just get some more snow!!

Whew!!

Almost another month has gone by without a post. My lack of blogging doesn't mean that we haven't been busy, though. Hmmm, let's see, a little fender bender for me, a crazy month at work for Tom, Taylor's first band concert, and swim team 3 nights a week.

The weather has been great though, and our budding nature photographer, Taylor, has taken some beautiful pictures of the recent frost we had:

The warmer weather has also made our snow PERFECT for building. Yep, you guessed it, our 2007-08 snow fort construction has begun. Tom and the girls couldn't wait to get outside tonight and this is what we have.....so far:

Multiple rooms, a roof over the entry, and a wall around the outside. I think Tom may be sparking an interest in architecture with the girls.

We wish you a joyful Christmas season!

Reason to smile!

Almost 11 inches has fallen since Saturday - we are lovin' it!

On the downside, the first swim team practice was cancelled tonight. I guess the girls will have to console themselves in a snowbank :-)

Not a creature was stirring....

.....except for our kitten! I'll explain that in a second, but first, I must compliment Tom on a job well done.

Yesterday morning, our shower stopped working, that set the tone for the day. Our schooling lasted until 4:55pm, which brought us up to starting dinner. While I was making dinner, the girls were going through our Christmas boxes, testing lights, and searching for their favorite decorations. Needless to say, by the time Tom walked in the door from work, the kitchen was a disaster, the living room looked like a tornado ran through it, and the shower was still broken. Oh, and I had a meeting to get to. I got (oops, I mean had) to leave him with one of the biggest messes this house has ever seen!

Fast forward to 9:30pm...I came home to a clean house, a beautifully decorated tree, and a working shower. Tom earned his "Dad of the Year Award" last night. Thanks Hon!!

Now, back to Not a creature was stirring... Tom snapped this picture of Basil IN our tree last night. She climbed up about 5 feet and perched herself on a branch.




She has decided that the tree was put up just for her, like a built-in playground. Here's proof:

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She's a little stinker, but boy has she brought lots of laughter into the house!!