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.
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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.
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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.
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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.)
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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.
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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.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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!!
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.
.....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:
We had to say good-bye to Scooter last Sunday afternoon. She was almost 17 years old and had really begun to show her age. Taylor read that the average age cats live is 15 years, so we feel very lucky to have had her as long as we did.
She died peacefully at home and the girls have handled it all very well. It really helped to have the little kitten in the house during this emotional time and we have decided to keep her. The timing of finding Basil and losing Scooter was too coincidental, so we feel that she was just meant to be a part of our family.
If she lives as long as our others cats have, the girls will grow up, leave home, and she'll help ease us through the 'empty nest' stage.
You would think that since nearly a month has gone by without a post, I should be able to fill up some space here.
A lot of our time in October was spent getting a sliding glass door and 5 windows ready for replacement. After they were delivered, we had to stain them and put 3 coats of varnish on them too.
A couple of weeks ago, the door was ready to go in - I was happy to leave the house...the less I see, the less stressed I am. A huge 'thank you' goes to our experienced friend 'T' for spending his morning helping Tom put it in. By the time I came home, the door was in and beautiful! Although, later that evening, I found a plastic bag of parts for the door on top of the refrigerator. When I asked Tom what they were for, he said "I haven't figured that out yet." Okay....
This past Monday the mild temperatures made for a great day to put the windows in. We are now officially ready for winter. While Tom was outside working on the house stuff that same afternoon, he heard little meows. He followed the sound across the highway and found this little girl:
She was about 1 foot away from the road. She is adorable and friendly, but our plan is to find a home for her - not to keep her. We've been asking around and today I put an ad in our local paper. The girls have named her 'Basil', so that tells you that they've already become attached to her. But, our 'almost 17 year old' Scooter isn't pleased with her houseguest.
Taylor started band at the middle school and LOVES IT! Her good friend 'E', who is also homeschooled, is in class with her, so that has made for a great addition to her school week. Take a peek at her practicing her lesson:
While Taylor is at band, I am teaching Tatum the piano. She is a quick learner and loves to practice. Here is a little video of her:
Last night was Halloween. Taylor was a witch and Tatum was a princess.
It was my turn to take them door-to-door, so I filled up my coffee mug (it was chilly out!) and we went trick-or-treating, filling up their pillow cases. They got so heavy that I ended up carrying them home. Here is a picture of their loot:
Thanks for sticking with us through my 'blogging break'! Check back again.
Where has the time gone? I have lost some of my desire to blog - maybe because there doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day to fit everything in.
School is fabulous - we've had our best start ever. Taylor still doesn't like math, but she would read all day long if she could. Tatum doesn't like spelling, but likes math and map skills.
We're studying marine life in science right now, so here are pictures of the girls using the microscope to look at life found in our lake water. They were amazed at how many teeny-tiny creatures are in just a few drops of water.
Besides school, Tatum is in her 4th year of ballet and wants to be a ballet teacher when she grows up. Taylor wants to be an artist and a nature photographer. It's so fun to see the differences in their interests and personalities.
We are loving the Fall weather! The leaves on the trees are beautiful, the weather is unpredictable, and we're enjoying the warm days while we can. Although, I'm sure Tom and the girls are dreaming of the snow forts they'll be building in a couple of months. They have grand ideas for this winter. Remember this one from last year:
I'll blog before the snow falls, but it may not be every week. Thanks for sticking with us :-)
Tom was in Philadelphia all of last week. On Sunday afternoon we brought him to the airport and we picked him up on Friday night. I don't get much sleep while he's traveling, so sometimes I feel like my energy level is pretty low. I decided that the girls and I needed a little pick-me-up....like a fabulous dessert!
I have always thought that Red Velvet Cake was beautiful, although I'd never actually tried it. So, while Tatum was at ballet, Taylor and I took our list of ingredients to the grocery store. About $30 later (!!) we picked up Tatum and headed home for an afternoon of baking.
After dinner, we tasted our special treat. Here's what the girls thought:
Tatum - "Well......it's not horrid."
Taylor - "It's, um, unique."
They were so polite and careful with their words (probably thinking I might go bonkers if they hated it).
Tonight I think we'll just have vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup...always a safe bet!
This morning, our first Saturday at home after Labor Day, I awoke to such a treat!
Tom and the girls let me sleep in, while they cozied up downstairs on the couch for a morning of cartoons. As I rolled over to peek at the clock, it said 8:57am....and I smelled COFFEE!
Taylor had made a pot of coffee by herself. When she heard me get up, she poured me a cup and added the perfect amount of cream. I felt like the luckiest mom in the world. What a wonderful way to start the weekend! Thanks sweetie!!
I'm having a sense of deja vu as I write this entry. It was exactly this time last year that I first started to blog. We had just returned from the cabin where we spent our Labor Day weekend and started school the following Tuesday.
This year my entry could read exactly the same. The girls and I were lucky to spend 10 days at the cabin enjoying the last official days of summer. Tom joined us on the weekend and we were able to enjoy beautiful days of sun, swimming, sailing, fishing, family and friends - our little piece of paradise.
The picture above is of our last sunset of the summer and was taken by Taylor on Sunday night. The picture below is of the girls with their 3 neighbor friends at the cabin, they are inseparable each and every weekend.
It's the memories of these wonderful summer days that will carry us through the cold winter months to come.
The girls were excited to start school again this morning. We put in a full first day and we're ready for our daily routine to get back to normal. I will add pictures of the girls later....they both have end-of-the-summer colds, so watery eyes and runny noses don't make for very attractive pictures.
Check back with us every once in awhile to see what we're studying - my entries should be more frequent now that we're back "in school".
We have had beautiful weekends at the cabin. A fun weekend with Tom's Sigma Chi brothers and their families. It's great to see all of the kids growing older and making stronger friendships. That weekend included tons of swimming, playing tennis in the yard, tubing behind the boat, attempts at water skiing, toasting marshmallows, and Tatum running into a tree....don't ask me how!
The girls spent two (!) weeks at the cabin with Grammy and Grampy. Taylor was apprehensive at first, but by the end of week 2, she was begging for another week!! Fancy meals, a night out to eat, a day of shopping, and almost every day in the 90's ~ no wonder they wanted to stay for the rest of the summer!
Taylor turned 10 in July too - fabulous gifts, family, and a bikini cake - our baby is growing up!
Summertime adventures have continued at home too. An afternoon of catching a great big toad and baby frogs:
capturing a big green grasshopper (?):
finding and attempting to feed a baby morning dove:
harvesting veggies out of our garden, look at one picking of peppers:
and creating art projects to enter into the county fair next week:
If you've checked in on us sometime in the last 2 weeks or so, did you wonder if we'd fallen of the face of the earth??
The girls and I were at the cabin for about a week and a half. Tom joined us on the 3rd of July and stayed the rest of the week too. Fabulous weather, fireworks & family!
The kids stayed up late, swam, slept in late, swam, went for morning walks, swam, played & played, swam, etc. You get the idea.
I am going to apologize for what the rest of our summer blogs may be. They may be few and far between. They may say the 'same old thing'. Life is happening - but nothing too exciting to blog about.
Hopefully there will be more 'blog worthy' events to post when the school year starts up again!
Here are a couple of pictures from the 4th of July. This is Tatum on the sailboat, waving her flag as she and Daddy get ready to join the annual boat parade.
Here are Taylor and Grampy in the dinghy going out to join the boat parade too. We lost our pontoon in a storm a couple of weeks before this, so the dinghy had to do. I think they were the cutest boat in the line - although I may be a little biased.
Once again, life has gotten crazy on us. Tom took the girls to a movie tonight, so I have a little quiet time to blog.
These days it seems as if we're always in the car, at a camp, at the cabin, or packing or unpacking from the weekend. Lots on our schedule, but we wouldn't trade it for the world!
Taylor had tennis lessons this month & absolutely loved it. This was her second year & I could already see improvement just in that short week. Take a quick peek at her serve:
Unfortunately, Tatum had to sit on the bench and watch the lessons, but her sling did come off last Friday. She was so excited to be able to swim, bike and get back to playing hard.
Last weekend at the cabin was filled with endless activity. Between playing with the neighbor girls, swimming in the lake, looking for more monarch caterpillars, fishing, pontoon rides, catching lightning bugs, and bedtimes no earlier than 11pm (!) we were all exhausted. But that won't stop us from being ready to go back again one week later.
Our first monarch caterpillar emerged as a butterfly tonight...isn't it beautiful?
And another finch nest was found in our hanging geranium basket under the deck. There were 4 little eggs and now there are 4 little hungry babies:
That's about it. Hmmm, when I write it all down, it doesn't seem like much, but pack it all in with our regular daily routine & it's busy, busy, busy.
Well, I started a new blog when this site was having troubles, but now I am able to access it again ~ Yeah! So, what do I do? Do I stay or do I go? I'll stick with both for now & make my decision later.
Last weekend at the cabin was rainy, rainy, rainy - so, we decided to stay home and tackle a few projects. We mowed the lawn, weeded the garden, and set up our new pool. The girls love it! Here's proof:
The girls had so much fun decorating the caterpillar sections. I'm sure we'll try this again soon.
And last, but not least, our little finch has left his nest - we happened to be outside at just the right time. Here he is:
Thank you for your patience while I had to wait to update here. Hopefully you had more patience than I did!! Thanks for checking in with us & we hope you have a wonderful week!
She's a little stinker, but boy has she brought lots of laughter into the house!! 
