Hi...we are still here!

I know it has been a while since my last post. I considered posting several times, but hesitated since I hadn't finished the dresses of which I promised pictures. I still don't have pictures of the dresses, although they are finished now. Instead, I treat you to a picture of our December snowfall. A friend of ours (who is in her thirties) and grew up in the area said that it hadn't snowed here before in her lifetime.


It was mostly melted by the afternoon.

So what have we been up to all this time that Tim and I haven't been posting on our blogs? Well I'll try and list them briefly:

1. Homeschooling. It does take a good deal of time and effort. I have shed most of my "stay-at-home Mom" way of thinking. I am a working Mom. I just do most of my work at home. Now if I can get the kids to realize that schoolwork is not supposed to be an interruption to their lives but an integral part of it half of the conflicts we have would be done.
2. Christmas. We celebrated. We visited. Tim and the girls were in the Christmas play. Christmas is not a happy time for me. I have trouble indulging others' desires to recreate childhood fantasies for themselves. My personal view of it is that the holiday should mirror the priorities of the person we celebrate. I am not aware of anyone else around me who agrees to the point of going counter-culture on this. So I manage the best I can with it. Given this quirky opinion of mine and the fact that Christmas has had several losses, emergencies, and sicknesses associated with it in my mind from events in my past, I have found that the less I join in the general joviality, the more contented and at peace I am.
3. Birthdays. From October until February is Birthday season for our kids. We eat way too many sweets. Our kids get family parties and other special treats if we can manage it. The Pillowfight Fairy got a trip to a ballet performance. The Adrenaline Junkie got time to play with friends. The Happy Boy's birthday is yet to come.
4. Tim's been doing Chainmaille jewelry lately (for Christmas presents). He is also considering plans for an outfit for the Pillowfight Fairy.
5. I've been on a craft binge. I have completed one cross-stitch project and started another. I have crocheted a shawl for myself and a blanket for our sofa. I finished sewing Fancy dresses for the girls. Currently I am only working on a cross-stitch but I'm itching to pick up a new crochet project or start a quilt. I have promised a quilt to a family member in the next year, but it is not quite time to start it. So I'm tempted to start up one of the quilts I planned a few years back but never got to. I also want to improve my crochet skills to the point that I am comfortable in making clothing (something more complicated than flat fabric). I have been delaying these craft urges lately for the simple reason that keeping the finances updated is important and taxes will need filing rather soon. There is only so much time in a day after all.
6. Tim is in play rehearsals. He auditioned and was cast as the Mikado in our local theater group's production of the same name. Here is the company website for anyone interested. Needless to say that makes our schedule quite a bit more full than usual.

I think that covers most of it. For those homeschoolers or family members who like updates on how our schooling has been going, here is an update. We hit our halfway point a week after Thanksgiving. We currently have about 14 more weeks worth of work to go. I am well satisfied with the Pillowfight Fairy's Progress. The Adrenaline Junkie is proving to me that she is not ready for first grade next year. She has not settled down enough to progress in her reading and math as I had hoped. She is a full year young as far as the public schools are concerned. However her sister was ready at that age and the Adrenaline Junkie seemed to be at a similar point. Their interests are different and I'm convinced that the Adrenaline Junkie has her brain wired differently than her sister. In fact she reminds me a lot of myself in my early years. I had a lot of focus issues and was no better than an average student until I developed some focus and self-motivation. Probably today I would have been labeled ADD. Yet somehow I managed to move from unfocused and mediocre to focused and a good student. I am sure we can help our cute little Tom Boy Princess get to where she needs to be. In the meantime, I've slowed her lessons down. It took a while to figure out how to work with the Pillowfight Fairy. I'm sure the Adrenaline Junkie needs similar time and patience for us to figure out what works with her. I will probably have my patience tried by a child just like me. I already knew the Fairy was a lot like her father, so I suppose it is only fair.