spring has sprung...

At least temporarily.  After all the chilly weather we've had, yesterday's warmth and sunshine was welcome indeed.  A small carnival was set up in the parking lot of the mall, so we went to check it out.

The girls had a blast...for the most part.  Sarah went down this very tall slide that moved pretty fast.  I wish I could adequately describe her face when she got up at the bottom of the slide.  She was definitely stunned--I think the slide was taller and faster than she'd been expecting.  She was white and shaken by the end.

Natalie wasn't able to do several rides she wanted to because of the height restrictions.  But she did ride the carousel, the kiddie roller coaster, and a ride where cars spun around a base while moving up and down.  Surprisingly, she liked it all.  The last carnival she visited, even the carousel was a bit too much for her.  This time she really enjoyed herself.

I think Nelson got some pictures and video.  :)  Hopefully, we can get those up soon (as well as the talent show videos). 

Natalie's birthday

So I actually started this post on Saturday (the day of Natalie's birthday).  And then I never finished it and never posted it.  Knowing Blogger, it may end up with Saturday's date on it when I do post it; I guess we'll see.

Anyway, Natalie turned FOUR on Saturday.  "How is that possible?" is so terribly cliche, yet...not. 

But time is a funny thing when you have kids.  On the one hand, part of me can't believe my baby is very much not a baby anymore.  Same thing with Sarah.  But it also seems like they've always been here, always been a part of my life.  Yes, I do remember life before children...but somehow, they were still a part of it.  It's kind of fuzzy around the edges. 

Our initial plans for the day were a party at the park with pizza and cupcakes and some of Natalie's friends.  However, our weather has been unseasonably cold here, with no sign of spring in sight.  So we decided that delaying that whole party thing would be a grand idea.  The park can happen some other time, when we won't be risking everyone turning into icicles during playtime.

Soooo...we went shopping instead.  Each year when we get our tax refund, we always have this long list of things we need but haven't been able to afford.  So Saturday was shopping day. 

One of our first stops was Office Depot.  As I was grabbing pens and pencils, Natalie was chattering excitedly about what else we might grab here at the office supply store.  She brightly told me that she had found the shoe aisle.

Shoes?  At Office Depot?  Yeah, sure.  I smiled and played along, thinking she either had a fabulous game of pretend going or she was just really not getting the concept of "office supplies."

But no.  I really need to learn that my kids know what they're talking about.  Even when I think it makes NO sense, it does.  You just have to figure out the sense they're making.

Natalie had peeked around the corner at the next aisle.  This is what she saw:

Office Depot does indeed have a shoe aisle.  So there you go.  

Sarah's tabernacle

Remember this post? Apparently it made an impression. Out of the blue today, Sarah decided to construct a tabernacle.

The ponies are the sheep to be sacrificed.  The pine cones are the wood for the fire.  There's a box to be the ark of the covenant.  The round "cookie icing" (from a wooden Melissa and Doug set) are the tablets for the Ten Commandments (she was a bit bummed that she didn't have something more arch-shaped).   There's a pencil to be Aaron's rod, and a Disney princess plays the part of the high priest.

Honestly, it's been so long since we visited the tabernacle and awhile since we discussed it.   Her daily Bible readings are in the New Testament right now, so she hasn't read about recently either.  I guess it shows how powerful a "field trip" can be.  Obviously this doesn't look anything like the tabernacle, but the essentials are there.  She really retained a lot.

Thanks, Dad!

ramblings

I think I wrote a couple of posts and then never actually hit the "publish" button.  :-p  Oops.  And then I deleted one that I had published.  Double oops.  I think that one's back now. 

I need to redo my blogging outline, because I have this jumble of things in my head, but they never seem to quite make it to the page--er, screen.  I do know that one thing I had in mind was a series of book reviews of sorts.  It wouldn't be anything particularly regular, but I figured when I finish a book I could tell you what I liked or didn't like about it.  I'm sure I'm not the only one who's always looking for something new to read--if I come across a real winner, people might like to know, right? 

This week I've read a book on making kefir and one on herbal remedies (both Kindle freebies).  I'll summarize/review them sometime this week. 

It's kind of chilly and wet here--not only was Phil wrong about spring coming early, it isn't even going to come on time! 

Natalie turns 4 this coming Saturday (as hard as that is to believe).  She really wants pizza and cupcakes at the park.  I'm not sure this weather is going to cooperate for her.  I'm trying to come up with a backup plan, but I'm not having much luck.  :-p  We'll see, I guess.

Need to get ready for the week ahead, so I'll sign off now.  Have a good one!

updates

Hello!  We aren't dead or anything.  :)  I've actually written for one of my other blogs semi-regularly, but I can't seem to be consistent on more than one at a time.  :-p  Oops.

Anyway, last night was the "talent show" for our homeschool co-op.  Sarah's Spanish class counted to ten "en espanol" (darn, I wish I knew how to get the tilde on that N), and her history class sang the "50 States" song (one of several songs I've heard that lists the states in alphabetical order).  She also read a story that she wrote and illustrated.

Natalie's class didn't perform this year, and Natalie didn't really understand why she didn't get a turn on stage.  As various performers took the stage, Natalie kept asking, "When's it my turn?  When is she going to call my name?"  When we got home, she performed a "dance" for us in the kitchen for her own private "talent show."

Nelson took video of Sarah's performances, and I recorded Natalie's.  So if you're the type who enjoys that sort of thing, you will get to see them in all of their glory.  :)  I think he wanted to do some sort of editing to them before he posted.  I'm not sure if he'll put them here or Facebook, but stay tuned.

P.S. Blogger's spellcheck is weird sometimes. 

back to blogging

It's funny; I actually had an outline of things I wanted to blog about, so that I could keep this and my other blogs regularly updated.  It was all planned.

Then the plague hit.  :-p  And it took forever to get over it.

I'm trying to remember the timeline of the last few weeks, and it's honestly just not straight in my head.  It's just this big blur of misery that all sort of runs together. 

Soooo...to make a very long story much shorter, Natalie got sick.  She stayed sick.  She ended up with a double ear infection, an "acute bronchial spasm," and eyes that looked like she had pink eye (she didn't; she just blew something coughing).  When she first started the medicine regimen, she actually got worse.  But five days into the treatment, she finally started feeling better.  She finished the last dose of medicine on Saturday, and I think we can call her officially cured. 

I'm still pretty congested; it's gross, really.  But I feel a whole heck of a lot better than I did, so I won't complain.  We're finally back into a normal school routine (the downside of homeschooling is not having a substitute teacher to call), and I'm catching up on housework. 

Funnily enough, one of my online buddies claimed Natalie and I gave her our colds.  Who knew that yuck could travel via cyberspace?  (Although if any cold could do that, it would be this one!) 

So anyway, now that we're all recovered and back to what passes for normal around here, I'll dig out my nifty outline and get back to regular updates here. 

baby, it's cold outside

Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow yesterday, so supposedly spring is on the way.  You'd never know it here.  Snow flurries Thursday, ice Friday, more snow yesterday, snow today...I told a friend on Twitter that Phil was a low-down, dirty liar. 

We had no church this morning, and this evening's classes and Super Bowl party were also cancelled.  There is more snow possible tonight, although I don't think it's as likely as the past few days.  Of course, weather forecasting is iffy at best, and we sometimes get our biggest snows when it isn't really supposed to do all that much. 

The girls have a sled (thanks, Dad!), so we did get out for awhile today.  A short while.  I freely confess that my entire family is a bunch of cold weather wimps.  It's a good thing I've never had to live in Michigan or anything--I'd die.  Part of the problem was the wind--it was cold, strong, and biting.  We had no desire to stay out in it for very long. 

Both girls had a great time for that short stint though, sledding down the hill.  Then we came inside and drank hot beverages.  In my opinion, hot drinks and blankets are the ideal way to spend a cold afternoon.  I can look out the window at the pretty snow from inside my nice warm house.