Back to the grind

Well....this morning got off to a good start. Brittney set her alarm, was up early, had breakfast, dressed, made her bed and ready to go in record time.

Tyler is always punctual so it was business as usual for him. He works away at his own pace....keeping an even keel. He works away until all is done and done correctly. We very seldom have to question his progress. Sometimes, he is even tougher on himself than we would be.

It was business as usual for Jake too.....he climbed into bed with me this morning. He snuggled in under the covers and we talked about our day, what we hoped to accomplish, about the big storm that was approaching, why he wasn't allowed to go the library and the importance of keeping his room picked up regularly.

After breakfast was done, the dishes were washed (thanks Lar!) and the kitchen cleaned up. Jake and I got another blanket and put it over us, while he did his reading. He read to me and I read some to him. He went on to do his Science, Math and Piano Lessons.

After lunch, Brittney made her usual trek to the post office for the mail. She was quite disgusted about the approaching storm as that would mean the library would most likely be closed this evening and she wouldn't be able to go.

Tyler went out for more wood.....there is an approaching storm that is to be quite bad and we want to be prepared in case there is a power failure. They don't want to have to go out in a blizzard with 120 km/h winds just to get wood.

All in all....a good first day back.

We're hoping to get our second wind and push forward in order to finish our year on time.

Another March Break Finished

It's been a great break. Not that we have done anything particularly exciting, but it's been good in the sense of being a long overdue break. It was refreshing to have more relaxed mornings. The kids were able to do a few of their favourite things.

Brittney baked just about every day. We all benefited from this. ;-) She also enjoyed improving her roller blading technique, going to the library, sleeping in, shopping and having a sleep over with the girls from the youth group.

Tyler has been saving his money and used it to buy a PS 2. He's also got outside a lot --- exploring by the ocean, playing hockey and he also had a sleep over with the guys from the youth group.

Jake spent a lot of time at the library, cleaning his room which is always followed by an inspection from Mom. Sometimes it passes, usually it needs some more attention. He cleaned it on Friday and suggested I not bother inspecting until Monday as he didn't want to spend the whole weekend straightening it. ....sigh......gotta love the logic of a 9 year old boy.

Larry didn't get a March Break this year, although he had no teaching of our own children to do, so I guess he did get a bit of a break .... so to speak.

But, as the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end and this is the end of our break. Back to the grind tomorrow. Lots to tackle....hopefully our rest has given us all the re-energization we all need. Time will tell.

Yup....more snow for Newfoundland

One of my newly formed pet peeves is the amount of attention Newfoundland weather seems to get.

My Dad phoned me this morning, "I've just been watching The Weather Network and they said Newfoundland is in the middle of a really bad snow storm and I just wondered how bad is it? How much snow has fallen?"

Says me (somewhat astonished as I look out our front window), "Ummmmm.......hmmmmm......nnooo....it's not snowing here, in fact it's beautiful here, the sky is so blue and it doesn't even look like there are any approaching storms."

But....you can judge for yourselves. Here are some pics I took this morning. Does it look like we're in the middle of a blizzard? I honestly wonder if these weather casters actually take the time to look at conditions here or if it's just too easy for them to say, "Yup, more snow for Newfoundland today."

......sigh

March Break happenings

The break is a welcome change of pace for all of us.  They're using the time to kick back, relax and spend some time doing 'whatever' tickles their fancy.  We've decided to hang around home this year. 

As I predicted....Brittney spent the first couple of days baking up a storm.  Brownies and chocolate chip cookies.....mmmmm......so good! (and they didn't last long ;-).  So much for my diet....

She's also been busy creating 'the world's longest chain of tied together hair ties'.  She's up to 228 now.

This afternoon, she went roller blading on our road.  Since getting the roller blades for Christmas, she's been itching to get out and use them.  Every time we have a major snow melt, she eagerly gets out there and works on her technique.  She's doing well and hasn't fallen once!

Tyler has been spending a lot of time outside, playing hockey, hiking, looking around and.....(his favourite)....bringing in wood.  I managed to get a couple of pictures of him.....no easy feat, let me tell ya.

And that leaves Jake.  He's been busy being Jake.  He's been cleaning his room, playing lots of video games, cleaning his room, going to the library, cleaning his room....you get the picture lol.

March Break is more than half over now, it always goes way too fast.  Oh well, we're in the final stretch to the end of the year. 

It's been quite the year --- one we'll not soon forget.

Six Word Memoir -- A Meme

Well, it would seem that Penelope, over at Roots and Wings has tagged me. I've often seen these types of things posted on other's blogs and thought it would be fun to play.

Here's the story behind the meme (as copied from the original post):


As I read yet another book review of a memoir this weekend, my husband told me that I should write one. I said that my story would be much too short and rather boring so when I ran across the following book I decided it was just my speed. A six word memoir! Written by Larry Smith and Rachel Fershleiser, Not Quite What I was Planning: Six Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure is a compilation based on the story that Hemingway once bet ten dollars that he could sum up his life in six words. His words were- For Sale: baby shoes, never worn. There’s a video on Amazon with examples from the book, it sounds like a fun read! I’d like to start a six word memoir meme and here are the rules:

1. Write your own six word memoir

2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like

3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post and to this original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere

4. Tag five more blogs with links

5. And don’t forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

This is a lot more difficult than it seems on the surface! I had a lot of fun as I tried to come up with six words.

However......without further adieu......here is what I came up with......





Steeped in Tradition......Growing in Adventure





So....according the rules of the game I have to tag 5 other people to participate. That means, most of the people I will tag may be somewhat surprised (as I usually only lurk on other's blogs).

So....Yofed, Mama Squirrel, Amber, Laurie ....and one still be determined....you've been tagged!!

March Break has arrived.....

finally.



The weather here has been fantastic. (Here are some pictures taken today around our yard.) I'm hoping it will continue on into next week. They have finally decided to take next week as their March/Spring break. As Newfoundland follows a different school calendar than Ontario does, we told the children, they could choose which one we'd follow. They would prefer to switch back and forth depending on which one was most suitable for that day.

Most of our snow has gone. This will be the first year in a long time, we have not gone to Niagara Falls for a few days. It's time to start some new traditions, although that may have to wait for next year. We're looking forward to spending some 'us' time for a change. We've spent so many years looking after others, their needs and wants, while putting our own on the back burner.

The time for that to change is long past due.

We're hoping to check out around the ocean a bit more. Hopefully, we can hike up to Cape. St. Francis (where Conception Bay becomes the Atlantic Ocean). There is a beautiful hiking trail not far from here...so hopefully we can take a day and do that.

Brittney wants to do some more baking.....she loves to do that....and we all like to eat it. When the contractors were here, she could hardly wait to serve them coffee and cookies one afternoon.

Tyler will no doubt spend some time on his cartooning. He is developing that more and more all of the time. He's ready to take the next step toward doing this as a career......we're just not 100% sure at this point, what the next step will be.

Jake is gearing up for another busy selling season. He's run out of money and is desperately seeking out ideas. Today, he thought he'd sell off some of his cars. The sign was made, but supper interfered with the rest of his plan....so, maybe there'll be some time for business next week. ;-)

Yep....looking forward to the break.

Aarrrgghh.....

I am NEVER moving again.

Not ever.

It feels like we're in perpetual motion here.....constantly moving ...... whether it's from province to province or house to house or room to room. It seems like the shorter the move, the harder it is and the longer it takes to complete. But.....we are slowly making progress and have accomplished some things (probably more than it seems like to us). The carpets are shampooed. Most furniture and boxes have been delivered to their proper room. Most of the boxes have even been emptied (although...just when we think we're done, we find another box somewhere....hiding and waiting for us, just as if it's laughing at us.)

Then there are the boxes and boxes of books. Homeschoolers have lots of books. We spent the better part of today, just sorting the books (and we're still not done).

Every day seems to bring us a bit closer to our goal of being somewhat organized. It will happen.....I'm sure of it. I'm just not sure when. Oh.....and did I mention ---- we're not moving ever again????