Snow Day

This morning when we woke up and saw the view out of our front window, E immediately asked if schools were closed.

"Yes", I answered.

"So can we invite E and A to come play in the snow with us?"

E spoke to their dad on the phone, who said he'd drop them off about 12:30. The next question: "Can you please take me to the toy store to get Fred a present for this birthday?"

So off we went to the toy store to get a present for a Webkinz who had a birthday (and got a piece of cake online) the day before yesterday. E has tons of money from Christmas and decided that Fred needed some clothing.

Well they didn't have anything E liked, so he bought another Webkinz instead; a Lil'kins penguin he named Pip. And off we went to a store the next town down to look for clothes. Unfortunately that store was closed on Mondays, so we finished up at Hallmark back in our town. No clothes there, but R fell in love with a turtle which he bought and named Phillip. The photo above is one of the eight Webkinz who now reside with us. R can't wait to get them all down to Florida to show Grandma what she started.

E and A arrived promptly at 12:30 and the four kids spent the entire afternoon in the snow. They rode down our front lawn several times before heading into the backyard to make a really awesome fort with a snowman standing guard. It really is incredible.

I'm so glad the boys had friends who could join us on this awesome snowy day. Snow is always more fun with friends.

What did I do today? I cleaned the kitchen stove which I was supposed to have done a couple of days before my mother arrived for Christmas. It was beyond gross.

Okay, so I changed my mind

Thanks to the several of you who responded to my request for comments. Most of you seem to think it's my blog and I should just do whatever I want. One of you though, pointed out that I started this blog for myself, as a record of our daily unschooling activities, and that if I couldn't find time to blog on the other site, what made me think I'd be able to find time to do it here? Too true. However I read some of my older stuff as I contemplated deleting that blog, and thought some of it isn't bad and that I really do want to continue with it.

So I've decided to go ahead and keep the other blog. This one will continue to be a record of our daily stuff, and the other one I will make an attempt to post to weekly. I've changed the name of it and so the location. It's now The Weekly Muse From Love 2B Homeschoolers. I also had a lot of fun finding templates out there to use for it. It's upbeat and happy looking, and hopefully will inspire me to write down some of the thoughts that are constantly floating around. I often find myself composing essays in my head, and I really would like to get some of them down.

Several weeks ago as I was writing a list of things I needed to do around the house, I also wrote out my hobbies, thinking I would like to get them into the "daily schedule" too. And blogging was right up there. So I'm going to put it on the schedule...we'll see how it goes!

Letting go of my other blog

Okay my other blog is dead. I never post to it, and am going to let myself not think about it anymore. I really enjoy blogging and would like to do more than just a "what we do" diary, but can't commit to two separate blogs. So I'm thinking about sharing more than just events on this blog, and making it a place to share my thoughts as well.

For a while my womyn's circle did something called a Weekly Muse, in which a question was thrown out to us and we all shared our thoughts. Perhaps a Weekly Muse is what this blog needs? Perhaps if those posts are titled that way, my readers who are strictly looking for a "day in the life of unschoolers" can skip over my musings.

Most days I enjoy reading The Thinking Mother. She comments on things she's read and experiences she's had. I'm thinking about going a little more that route. Maybe I'll give it a try and see how it goes. I think I'll start by simply transferring some things from there over here.

I do write this thing for people to actually read though, and not just for myself, so readers, what do you think? Please leave me a comment.

Wordless Wednesday

"Learning Math"


Learn more about Wordless Wednesday, and find the blogroll of others who are participating here.

The longest cold in the history of the universe

Okay, so that's what it feels like, anyway. I tried to get on with things...
Wednesday we went to The Children's Museum (formerly the Science Center) with some friends. E enjoyed making a giant bubble around him and his friends and R and I enjoyed controlling light intensity while looking through a window to combine our faces. They had an enjoyable couple of hours being out with friends in a place they like to go. And it was pretty easy going for me.

Afterwards we came home and had some dinner before heading off to soccer. That was fine too, since E was busy using up some energy and R also has friends from his team who he plays with to keep busy during E's practices. So I got to sit and quietly read. The building wasn't even as cold as it usually is, which was great since the Dunkin' Donuts I usually go to on the way is closed for renovations.

Yesterday (Thursday) we did some grocery shopping and the rest of the day was spent at home. We had plans to go to a gym day in Hartford, which we have not yet managed to attend, and I'm really disappointed to keep missing, but I pooped out. I did manage to make dinner again though, and afterwards went to my monthly womyn's circle. I'm glad I managed to go to that since next month I will be missing it; it lands on R's birthday.

When I came home my mom was here. She was passing through on her way down to Florida for her two months there. She has a 3.5 hour drive to here from Maine, then 6.5 hours down to Virgina where she picks up a train which can also take her car down to mid-Florida. It was nice to have another visit with her and hear about the Christmas dinner she had with all my siblings and their families in Maine. Sounds like it was very pleasant.

So anyhow, Mom and I visited last night and I apologized in advance for not seeing her off this morning. She had to be out the door by 7:30; she understood.

Today I threw up my arms and totally gave up getting on with things. We bummed around and I stayed in my pajamas all day. I watched some Waltons and did some reading and took a nap. It's so frustrating to wake up every day and still not have this cold over and done with. I probably have a sinus infection - my ears are so clogged I still can't taste anything and hear very poorly. But I feel like I'm so far along now that going to the doctor wouldn't speed it along, so there's no point. It's so exhausting though, and demoralizing!

Wordless Wednesday

"Incongruous"

Learn more about Wordless Wednesday, and find the blogroll of others who are participating here.

Happy New Year

For the past several years we have hosted a few families for New Year's Eve fun. The kids have had a pajama party, danced around, eaten mini pizza bagels and other fun appetizers, and watched a movie, while the parents snacked and drank and played games down in the living room. We'd all gather together around the living room TV to watch the ball drop, and everyone would be on their way by 12:10 am.

Well this year I had decided I needed a break from entertaining (good thing too, considering I was so sick). However, the boys were bummed to be facing an evening at home alone. So we invited some of their friends to sleep over, who unfortunately had already found other babysitters. And we tried another friend who was also not able to make it. So we were all pretty happy when we received an impromptu invite from some friends.

We had a wonderful time making our own pizzas and calzones. And the kids got to watch their annual movie with friends. We parents had a great time visiting and looking at beautiful photos from our friends' recent vacation to Guatemala. Another couple we know stopped by for I don't know how long. The evening was so relaxed and enjoyable. What a great time. And this time we were the ones to leave by 12:10 am after watching the ball drop, and sipping champagne and sparkling cider for the kids.

I have to admit to drinking a tad too much, but frankly it's been a long time since I've felt good. And I did. And it was fun. Thank you friends, for hosting us, it was a lovely evening.

This morning E did not enter our room till 8:48 am. Even he was in shock! We had an easy going morning which included a lip synced drum show to the Shrek soundtrack he got for Christmas. Tickets were six (pretend) dollars each, and worth every penny.

I was lucky to catch a nap this afternoon before we headed out. We had plans to spend some time with friends who were "home" for the holidays. They invited playgroup friends and a few others who we are lucky enough to know and like, for a fun-filled afternoon at their parents' home.

The kids all had a wonderful time. We've been having difficulty finding an indoor location for playgroup this year, and since the kids don't much like meeting at the library, it seems like forever since we've all been together as a group. Hopefully within the next couple of weeks we will get access to the location we've been trying to use for free, or go ahead and commit to the $25 per session we need to meet at the local Unitarian church we used last year. (For those of you who are new here, click on the photos to enlarge them.)

Our real concern though (for my family) is that playgroup is going to get turned into some "learning opportunity". People just hate to pay for space and not utilize it "productively". The group is already talking about using different rooms (in the church) with desks in them to use for crafts, and stuff like that. I've mentioned here before that we are just looking for a group of people to PLAY with once a week. Hopefully the rec center we are looking into will pan out since it's basically a big gym. That would be sweet.

For dinner this evening we ordered grinders. Those would be "hero's" to those of you in New York, and "subs" for the Maine-iacs in the family. I'm still not really up to cooking. Tomorrow I will though, whether I'm up for it or not. My ears are still really clogged to the point where I can't hear well at all, but other than that and some "productive" coughing, I'm doing better. Just waiting for the energy to return :-)

Holiday Highlights

Well, the holidays in this house really do begin with my birthday on December 19th. This year it was on a Wednesday and was the day my cold settled in. After a visit to Ikea for Nagy Papa's Christmas present, we came home and ordered grinders since I didn't have the energy for the restaurant we had planned on. I did manage to find some energy to play with my new ipod though.

Thursday was a morning of rest, for me at least, and the afternoon found me accompanying E to a birthday party for a boy on his basketball team. I don't remember if I blogged about it already, but he ended up on a basketball team with a boy who he had spent a lot of time playing with on the playground during R's soccer practices last season. The boy likes E as much as E likes him, and invited him to his birthday party when the ended up on the same team for basketball. E had a fun time at the party. He was a little intimidated at first, since all the other kids go to school together, but settled in just fine, although he did remain quite reserved, even rolling his eyes at a boy who was being as silly as he usually is. It was pretty funny.

That night I ended up having to miss the holiday party for my womyn's circle. I was very bummed, but needed the rest.

The next day we spent finishing up a few Christmas presents (the boys make their own), and watching more TV than we should have. The Waltons have brought me great comfort during this illness. Friday night B and I missed another holiday party; one given by friends "for adults only and involving copious amounts of alcohol". Argh.

Mom and Deb arrived on Saturday morning. Debbie was like a whirlwind of baking all day; I had the ingredients for six cookie recipes which I never had the energy to get to, and she gladly took over.
Dinner that night was at Hometown Buffet. We thought they might enjoy it since the place definitely has "something for everyone". We all had an enjoyable dinner and were glad we went early before the rush.

The rest of the weekend is kind of a blur for me. The boys had a fabulous time though being with Grandma and Aunt Debbie. Grandma brought these to decorate:
and E was kind enough to do mine. They also made more cookies with Aunt Debbie, even going to the store to buy more ingredients for ones I hadn't planned on. R was very proud of the Peppermint Bark he made totally by himself. They also did some shopping with Grandma along the way. They played games together; Rummikub before Christmas and Waterworks afterwards (Santa brought it). Grandma also read E The Winter Solstice book I had bought to read on the Winter Solstice. And Grandma spent some time making minor adjustments on the fabulous pajamas she had made us for Christmas:
Christmas morning was really wonderful, as usual. The boys got way too much from Santa and enjoyed it all. The adults all had a relaxing and enjoyable time too.

Unfortunately though, we were so relaxed that we didn't get out of the door until later than we should have, and arrived at B's brother Eric's in New York about an hour late. He was great about it though, and there was still plenty of food (brunch). Despite the fact that I could barely breathe, I had a really nice time, and was so glad to see Eric make my mom and sister feel so welcome. It's been a long time since my in-laws and mom have spent time together and everyone seemed to enjoy it. Although I had my camera with me, I unfortunately did not take it out. Not many photos this year at all, I'm afraid.

Aunt Debbie was disappointed that White Castles was closed, but we did find a pizza place to get a New York pizza before heading home. Once here, we ate some leftover pot roast and sat around and relaxed. (I had pretty much shoved a pot roast at my mother the night before saying "here, make this".)

The boys got to spend some time with Aunt Debbie, showing her around Webkinz World, and explaining how to get things done with her new pig, which they had gotten her. Both of them are really looking forward to spending time with her online.

It was sad watching Aunt Debbie and Grandma go on Wednesday afternoon. For the boys it had been a wonderful Christmas, and for me it meant that I wouldn't get the opportunity to be the hostess I always enjoy being. Oh well.

Other than picking up Nagy Papa from the train station that night, and taking him to an appointment the next morning (his car needs a water pump) I've pretty much spent the last few days in my pajamas sleeping or watching TV. Although today we did manage a few very local errands.

This will always be "The Christmas that mom was sick". Oh well. You know, so many times when our children get sick, we wish we could be sick instead of them. And I've told myself a hundred times this week "better me than them". I really meant it too. But enough is enough! If I'm not feeling better by Monday I'm going to the doctor. This is crazy.