February 1st

December was busy with the normal December "stuff." On top of that, Thing 1 is part of an amazing group of string players that got to play with the Hershey Symphony for their Holiday Concert. It was AMAZING! She worked so hard and did such a great job and really enjoyed playing in a large group doing parts, etc.

Her rehearsals are intense -- they are very strict and often quite long, but they're led by the director of the symphony and the learning and practice are through the roof! She continues to attend many hours of practices as they gear up for their own February concert.

Thing 1 working on a submission
for an art contest

We spent most of January sick. Sometimes, a bunch of us were sick at once. Other times, we took turns. But it seems like most of January was spent with someone not feeling well. I think it's at least partly because the weather simply hasn't been that cold this winter, so I figure the germs aren't getting easily killed off.

In the backyard today with Scout

Today, for example, it's 60 degrees and the kids are outside playing baseball in the backyard with Scout. The 10-day forecast shows every day being well over 40 degrees. I'm loving the warmer winter (after the tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, and tropical storms, I figure we can enjoy this!!), but I do wonder if it's contributing to the colds and bugs that seem to be hanging on. Thing 2 is excited that baseball sign ups are this weekend -- he really enjoys playing and is excited to move up to the next group this spring!

Baseball!

Tummy rubs!

Mark is working a 12-day stretch. He's been working a lot and the clinic has picked up like it always does at this time of year. We've been super busy with business stuff, but all in a good way. We're in our 5th year and thinking of new things to add, ways to expand, etc. All that being said, we are grateful for and value the business we have and the flexibility it gives us. Sure, it can be tricky to take several days and weeks off at a time, but our days themselves have flexibility and togetherness in them, even when we're working, and that allows for a lot of creativity and self determination. I especially like that we can eat all our meals together daily.

I'll post soon, too, about Thing 2's awesome birthday party we had this past weekend. It had been postponed due to busyness, sickness, and weather, but it turned out great! Thanks to everyone who came and made it so special for him.

Yesterday, we took the kids to a neat class offered by the library called "Needle Felting" -- it's a VERY easy (though slightly dangerous -- it uses very sharp, barbed needles) and creative craft and there's so much you can do with it. We're going to get more roving and make mini Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings figures. The library had been hesitant about having kids at the class (reference the extremely sharp needles), but when it was over, they complimented both Thing 1 and Thing 2 on doing so well and being so mature.

So, since December and January have been busy and full (and sniffly), I'm glad it's February. I feel like we're getting into a really good rhythm with school and life in general.

What our coffee table looked like
after a good morning of learning

We have a little tradition of having a "board game day" for the first of every month, so we've been playing games in addition to some good school stuff today. We do character-building stuff and grammar while we eat breakfast and we do history while we eat lunch (we're studying fascism, Hitler, and WWII right now). In between, we've been reading The Phantom Tollbooth together and playing games like "Lego Heroica" and "10 Days in Europe."

With the weather being so nice, the kids also played outside and we took Scout for a walk. We did some light housework, worked on a cool history collage for the 1930s, and the kids worked on their submissions for an art contest. It's been a really nice day. The sunshine certainly doesn't hurt. :)

Scout likes to steal the ball
from the kids while they play

Now, let's just hope Puxatawny Phil doesn't see his shadow tomorrow. I'm ready for spring!