in the thicket: project 365

2010-01-24T20:57:00.002-05:00

Day 24

In the strange virtual world that we live in, I took a screenshot of my other blog because WOW I blogged! :) I don't have time to write much, so I will pretty much leave it at that. I do need to get my camera ready for this week, I keep running out of space on my chips (3 of 4 are full now) which is why I'm relying on a screenshot for my photo today.

2010-01-23T20:00:00.002-05:00

Day 23

Just a nice day at home, getting some things done! I spent most of the day decluttering/cleaning our master bedroom and bath. I was so happy to clean our grimy ceiling fan and see that it actually looks decent now! (It works great, don't want to waste money to replace it.)

The girls just played all day, and J took them to lunch and to run errands. They were good while running errands, so got a Frosty from Wendy's. G was so cute when she came home... "Mom! I'm back! We did something amazing. Now I want to play the fishy game!" (She is obsessed with our new fishing game, the kind where the mouths open and you "catch" them.

J had to go finish getting up leaves in the yard, and G followed him around out there while C kept me company inside and did some painting. Then dinner, and now hanging out a bit with the girls before bedtime while J watches some hockey. Nothing too exciting, but these are the days I look forward to!

2010-01-22T13:54:00.003-05:00

Day 22

Just decided to resume with Day 22! I have taken pictures, but last week was a super-busy week and I just wasn't able to blog every day. If I didn't start blogging until I got "caught up" it just wouldn't happen again.

Today's picture is of my computer, which I took because we are doing "Let's See" on a messageboard I'm on... let's see different parts of your house. (Which is great for me, I'm very curious about people's houses, love visiting people and seeing where they live! And since some of these friends live in places like Alaska, California and New Zealand, we just have to do it virtually. :))

This morning was MOPS which is always a nice break. The girls are just playing and having downtime this afternoon, though C still wants to do homeschool. I need to get on the ball and go fold a mountain of laundry... think I will watch "The Mentalist" while I do that!

Oh one thing I have not done yet is scrap any of the photos. Still searching for the right template/approach though I'm very tempted by two sets of templates I've seen, one set by Julie Billingsley at Sweet Shoppe Designs (I used to be on her CT, *sigh* had to give it up) and also by Gina Miller at The Lily Pad. Maybe I'll get both. I hope to scrap soon- J is watching lots of sports these days, so I can use the nice computer (i.e. big monitor), really should do it!

2010-01-15T15:01:00.003-05:00

Day 15

This week has just been non-stop FUN! Normally we do not pack so many outings into one week, but it's how it worked out. This morning we headed over to a neat place called "Playnation" that has jungle gym equipment, bounce house, and playhouses with lots of play food. Very nice place, and the folks that work there are very nice as well. We were meeting up with a group of moms and children from a local message boards for moms that I'm a member of. But... of course I forgot my camera, so no pictures from that!

We came home with an extra child (for a playdate with C) and I set G up at the sink to play in with water/bubbles so she would stay out of the big girls' hair. Of course her shirt got soaked, and C very kindly ran and got her something to wear... C's bikini top from last summer! I have no clue where she found it, actually. G didn't want her picture taken, but I convinced her to show me how happy she would be if it was summer and she could go swimming. Silly girl. :)

C and her friend are posing the people in her dollhouse to take pictures of them. Too funny! Maybe I'll add one of those.

2010-01-14T17:23:00.004-05:00

Day 14

I love Thursdays, Community Bible Study day. :) We had a great morning, and then had friends over for lunch and to play. Then I had to run an errand. Unfortunately I'm not feeling that great now, so we are taking it easy the rest of the day. C is on the computer playing a game she is newly obsessed with (and because of this, after this week will be limited to playing on the weekend only) and G is watching a movie and playing. She doesn't often get to play by herself since she has a very bossy older sister, and the "imagination" stuff with the little toys doesn't seem as gripping to her, she'd rather draw or do art stuff I feel like. But she looks so cute when she plays! :)

2010-01-14T17:13:00.004-05:00

Day 13

Ice Skating day today! Still no pictures, next week I will definitely take some though. The good news is that it went about 200% better! No tears from C, and while G was very sad (and in fact tried to crawl off the ice twice, almost too much for me to bear) she did skate some. The class was much better organized for sure.

After lunch we went to a local park at a lake to meet a homeschool group. The girls played for quite a while but then C wanted to walk to down to the lake to what she calls "The Mermaid Crystal Cove." We went this summer at just the right time of day for the sunlight to reflect on the soft rocks there, and they just sparkled, and she had a wonderful time imagining that the lake was filled with mermaids and that there were fairies in the forest. Unfortunately we have never made it back at the right time of day to see the "sparkles" as much as we did that day, but she still enjoys going down there.

Though we didn't see mermaids, we did see ice crusting the edge of the lack, and some floating in the middle. Lots of hovering and "dancing" gulls. C had her camera, and took just one picture, though I asked her to take more. I like it, though, good perspective.

2010-01-12T19:39:00.003-05:00

Day 12

Well, today was a fun but long day! We went to a meeting this morning, then had lunch and a playdate with friends. Then home long enough to relax a bit before going to Chik fil A for dinner and kids' craft night. And then we hurried home so we can talk to our family (my brother, SIL and sweet niece L) who live overseas. This was my first time using Skype and I was excited to see that you can take a screenshot, so today's picture is of my cute niece who is 15 months old. She was enjoying a breakfast of orange slices, I believe.

2010-01-11T10:54:00.003-05:00

Day 11

Slow start to a new week... today is supposed to be the first day back to homeschool. But the girls have other items on their agenda, apparently! Which is fine because instead of finishing my planning last night like I was supposed to, I went to bed at 9 p.m.! Oops!

We have this thing called the Fisher Price Digital Art Studio. When I can get it to turn on, the girls really like it, they can draw and do crafts and such. For some reason, I have a hard time getting it to connect to our computer and turn out. Thankfully my dh told me a way to do it if it is not "automatically detected" when I plug it in, which I did not know about. So they have been enjoying different crafts this morning.

Taking G to get her bangs trimmed later today, and then hopefully get C to work on her winter lapbook and have a reading lesson! Also hopefully some OUTSIDE time today, we should hit the mid-40s which is the warmest weather we have had in days!

2010-01-10T20:23:00.005-05:00

Day 10

Today only half of us made it to church... better than last week, when none of us did. C went with me to church, while G stayed home with her daddy, who was not feeling well. I thought it was so cute this morning that C decided to "style" G's hair... set her up on a little stool, got the "squirty stuff" as we call it, and even put a "bib" on her so she wouldn't get messy.

I am so thankful that they have each other. I can't imagine C as an only child... sometimes having two kids is exhausting, but I think having C as an only would be worse! They play together so much. (Of course they FIGHT more than their fair share... but overall play more than they fight.) We let C get on a new computer website today for a bit, and I admit I did not like to see her sitting there for two hours (though I can easily waste that much time myself, sitting here doing this and that.) I made her stop to eat dinner, and ever since the girls have been so rambunctious, running around and playing imaginary games from "butterfly getting wings" to some "scary game" that had G hiding and now I hear them talking about "being a princess." They are 2.5 years apart, but that gap seems to be narrowing and G matures!

2010-01-09T12:40:00.004-05:00

Day 9

This morning C & I went to the "kick-off" for the Girl Scout Cookie sales... they had a big party at a local skating rink. It was quite crowded! This was her first time skating, and C did pretty good but of course did not *think* that she did. One sweet little girl in her troop told me, "I came skating once before, and I was SO SCARED! But then I learned to take little steps." I asked C if she was scared and she didn't like that question. (She does not like to admit when she is scared.) Anyway, no pictures of that, I was too stressed out helping C to actually take pictures. BUT I really hope she does learn to roller skate (and G too) because I discovered today that I can still roller skate and really enjoy it!

After the Girl Scout event, we went to Kroger and picked up some things we were running low on, and then stopped by the local farmer's market (really two sellers who come to the parking lot of a local shopping center... there will be more in the summer though.) I bought 1 dozen eggs and 1 lb chicken livers (to make pate, I think...) from one seller, and 2 heads of broccoli, a bit less than 1/2 lb bacon, and another dozen eggs from the other folks, for $20. Yes, pricey, but all good food and I like to support local farmers! So that is my picture of the day, what I bought.

2010-01-08T16:49:00.003-05:00

Day 8

Today has been cold by our standards (high around freezing) and I have a new cold I'm fighting, so pretty low-key all around. C & G were in crafty moods though (well, actually, they are every day!) so they have been working on projects all day at the table. C decided to make "Valentine's Day Envelopes" to open on Valentines Day with special gifts she made inside (like paper bracelets and rings) that she decorated with stamps. G just likes to stamp paper and paint with watercolors and stamp her hand.

I've had low energy so I haven't done a ton of stuff around the house, but I have gotten a lot of homeschool planning done today. I've decided to use Google Calendar to do my "big picture" planning like laying out what book/topic we will focus on each week. (Our curriculum is Five in a Row, which is a literature-based curriculum where you read one particular book each week and cover different subjects based on the book, C loves it!). I needed to decide what weeks we were going to do different books, with a few topical unit studies in there, and also start placing my library requests. My goal (still working on it) is to roughly get the next 16 weeks planned out. I usually decide the week or day of exactly what we will focus on that day, so I don't need to do detailed planning.

Anyway, today's picture is a pretty usual scene for our kitchen table. We have a table in our family room, but messy crafts happen in the kitchen because the floor is easier to clean. And yes, our Christmas tree is outside on our deck... still... frozen into the stand!

2010-01-07T12:13:00.005-05:00

Day 7

Made it a week! Only 51 one to go! :)

Today was our first day returning to Community Bible Study since before Christmas. C is a bit reluctant to go some days because she is the oldest in her class and thinks it is too "easy". So she had a bit of a snit when she realized that her friend was not going to be in the class, in the parking lot. But I just carried on, and let her "get her grumpies" out and she ran to class and did just fine. :) It was really good to be back, that is a good part of our weekly routine. Good to see friendly faces and get back in the Word.

I am now eating low-carb (no bread for me!) but C requested a pancake lunch. I actually prefer to make pancakes for lunch because it is a bit more than I want to deal with in the morning. I have lots of "helpers" with the pancakes of course--- C & G both like to dump, C can crack an egg (though a big piece of shell fell in today) and they both like to stir. I always arrange their pancakes in the shape of a flower before I cut it for them.

I tried to take some really crisp pictures of C with her flower pancake but it did not turn out. So instead I'll share this imperfect picture which captures the moment. The girls are sitting at the counter eating on their high chairs (they like to pretend we have a bar, we don't) and C is explaining that the Littlest Pet Shop dolls are actually like Bobble Head Dolls and demonstrating, while G eats her pancakes.

2010-01-06T13:27:00.005-05:00

Day 6

This was the first day of the girls' ice skating lessons, and I hoped to have a picture of them in their skates, but I left my camera at home. Ooops! I am not sure I could have taken a picture because once the skates were on the class very quickly started.

I took this picture to show how G looks with bangs. I resisted bangs for years and years, but I think she looks cute with bangs! She needs a bang trim, I just made an appointment to get them cut next week. Without bangs her hair is in her face, she refuses to wear hair clips, headbands or put her hair behind her ears.

2010-01-05T11:57:00.005-05:00

Day 5

I've been editing my photos before uploading them, but for my sanity, I need to be able to load them directly from the chip if necessary. I don't think this picture is terrible! Anyway, I have wanted an big enamel pot for years, but didn't want to spend $300 for a Le Crueset pot, so I was thrilled to find this one by Martha Stewart on sale at Macy's. My IL's so kindly gave it to me for Christmas, along with the 3 quart sauce pan that replaces my old pot that had teflon on the inside. I love them both so far! The red pot lives on my stove, I like how it looks and it is huge and heavy so a pain to move around too much of course.

2010-01-04T13:47:00.004-05:00

Day 4

Today is just a quiet day at home... it's cold outside and the girls both have a touch of something, so we are staying inside. C wanted to do something "fun" so she decided to decorate her new jewelry box that she got for Christmas. She has been working very hard on it for a couple of hours, and is determined to finish today! I told her to enjoy her free time today and this week, because next week we will start homeschooling again officially. But I think working on the jewelry box is a learning experience too- lots of little sticky pieces to place and keep track of the color/number combination.

2010-01-03T10:34:00.005-05:00

Day 3

We are home from church today because my husband is sick, and I'm not brave enough to take the girls to church by myself (they can be a handful before children's church) and I can't leave them here with him, obviously! He is on the couch and the girls have been snuggling with him. G got under the blanket and of course since it is a fuzzy blanket in winter, she got quite the case of static electricity.

2010-01-02T17:06:00.007-05:00

Day 2

Today is the second to last day of my husband's week off from work, so we wanted to do something fun but not sure what! C ended up watching Bob Ross on PBS with her dad, and then got inspired to try to paint like him. And when one girl paints, the other must join in. I am trying to learn how to not use the flash, but I don't know how to change settings at all. So I ended up with some blurry action in this picture, from G painting.

Oh, we ended up going to a local mall and then watching Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs for the rest of our fun day.

2010-01-01T10:17:00.006-05:00

Day 1!

This is an entirely new blogging format for me, so I'm still figuring this out. Like where do I put the title? Oh well.

I had planned for my first picture to be of my girls, to document what they look like right now. But my husband is taking down our Christmas tree, and I saw how lovely the ornaments looked on the table and decided that would be my first picture instead. Which pleases me- I don't want this to be a predictable year full of pictures of my children, which is what I tend to focus on. I hope to be surprised by beauty in my every day life this year!