Just Checking In . . .

The weather outside is . . .
cloudy and high 30's. It's the winter that never wanted to end. We even got a fresh blanket of snow a couple days ago. I'm keeping my eyes focused on spring. It has to come, right?



I'm listening to. . . 
Nutmeg singing at the counter while I'm blogging and making pancakes at the same time.

In the kitchen . . . 
We've had a few keeper dinners this week. My taste buds were dancing a jig with these black bean tacos. I was shocked the boys loved Coconut Ginger Chicken and Vegetables (mostly made in the crockpot) so much. Score!










In the yard . . .
The boys made "Basil-And-Sage-Land" the other day out of sticks. It was pretty cute to watch them. Really it looked like huge spiders out there.

On my nightstand . . . 
"Quo Vadis?" An epic love story set in Nero's Rome. It's been widely translated and read for over a century. It won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1905. Good stuff. A little reward for myself at the end of the day.



We are reading aloud . . .
"Tanglewood Tales"



Baby Mace is . . .
A gentle giant. He very well could be. One hates to guess what a person will be like this young but it fits for now. I tried some 6-9 month jammies on him yesterday and THEY FIT. Wowsers. He still wears 3-6 but he's definitely going to make the switch soon. And not because he's chubby but because he's so long! And I say "gentle" because he really is a good boy. So sweet. When he smiles he smiles with his whole body. Aaaah, I could just eat him up.



Learning, learning all the time . . .
Basil is learning cursive right now and making beautiful progress. I'm quite proud of him. I'm having Sage repeat some first grade handwriting because his handwriting was getting sketchy. But now he's improving again, so I told him he could go back to cursive in a couple weeks if he keeps this up. Love home education! I love knowing exactly where they are at and journeying alongside them.

I'm very sllloowwwly planning Nutmeg's pre-school. Not that I think pre-school work is essential but its just a fun way to get some quality fun time with little ones. I've got some good ideas percolating, its just a struggle to find time to do the research and get it all typed out. I'm considering doing a different timeline for her school year. Due to her birthday I'm not sure when is a good time to start "kindergarten." I may just be unconventional and start her in January. We'll see. I'll definitely post some pictures here when we get started with her pre-school "Alphabet Path."

My other big item on the "to do" list is prepping for next year. Third grade for the boys. !!! Can you believe how time flies?  We will be starting Institute for Excellence in Writing materials, so I've got some DVDs to watch and planning to do. I've watched about 20 minutes and am so impressed. So thankful for Andrew Pudewa's work! We'd also like to get started in Latin, so I have research to do in that regard.



Plans for the rest of the week . . . 
Not much. Taking it easy. It's been a rough several weeks for me. I've battled numerous bouts of plugged ducts (breastfeeding thing) but I think, (fingers cross here) I'm on the up and up. So I think it may be best to take it easy. I've got my eye on a few small home improvements in the beautifying realm. So I make may a trip to the store for a few supplies. I'll have to share a picture with you after one of them is finished. Excited!

Dad took the three oldest out for a walk the other day.