Spring

Spring is official on the calendar, but not in reality around here.  I feel so cold....and yet it was only -10 when we went out.  I always wonder if somehow a few days of warm weather just spoils us, or if we have some sort of internal clock saying it should be warmer, so we feel colder...or if I am just a baby. Probably the last one, but I don't care - it is sweater weather!  In fact, if it wasn't so late, I would build a fire!

Speaking of spring,  we are gearing up for dance competitions around here - pretty exciting actually, I think we are getting our annual visit from my bestest cousin (don't tell Tim) early this year, so I am totally excited!  I think I am going to try and plan our Cousin Supper for that weekend that she is here!  Yay!  Not like I need another thing that weekend, but it is turkey after all, and we have to eat anyway, right?  The reality is that Ballerina dances her solo on a Friday morning and then we are done for the day - plenty of time to peel potatoes and baste a turkey right??  Yes, I think so too, and with all good, big dinners, the majority of the work and cooking happens a few days before...cabbage rolls, buns, dessert!  Yay!  I hope it will work out!

Speaking of big meals, I need to find out if I get to make a big supper for Easter this year!  We have had some really interesting Easter celebrations since we have lived here, although my favorite might have been the hot dog/hamburger BBQ we had with some friends, after an Easter Egg hunt in the park in the middle of their crescent.  Fun times!

Speaking of Easter, do you do anything for Lent?  Now, I know that some think Lent is purely a Catholic tradition, and it might even have originated as one, I don't know for sure....but a few years ago we ended up talking about Lent, which is not observed really, or heralded in Evangelical Protestant churches...and what it means, and why it might of originated (which I already said I never really researched....Google was probably not around then) and Ballerina decided to give something up for Lent. Okay, fine, no problem...and this year they talked about it and talked about it, but I wouldn't let them, because it became a discussion of giving up something - just for the sake of giving up something...and I want the girls to understand that is not about giving up something for Lent, it is about giving up something for Christ, during the period of Lent.  Catch the difference?  The difference is what is your focus...on how great you are, or how AWESOME Christ is,and giving up a luxury for the purpose of understanding more fully what He gave up for us...ANYHOW....we did buy a new devotional book that is to be read during the period of Lent. It is by the same author who has penned the ones we have read for the past 5 years during Advent.  I wish I could say that it was going great, but we are so busy we are only on the third chapter.  I think we will have to start reading it during the day without my hubby...

HEH, speaking of my hubby, it just occurred to me that he doesn't have an alias for our lovely blog here...hmmm, what should we call him?  (Feel free to chime in on this one, I think that would be fun!)
Okay, I am off to do something - I should go to bed, but I have all of this energy right now....I will try to post pictures of what we did around here today - tomorrow! Night!

Well, I did it!

I taught my first ever workshop at our local homeschooling convention.  It was a little overwhelming, but it turned out good!  I think that people left encouraged and excited (maybe not all of them, but definitely some of them) and I mostly remembered not to talk too fast (which those of you who know me well, know is a struggle for me when I am in a regular conversation, never mind slightly nervous in front of a room of people).
I had so much fun, I would definitely do it again!

In other news, can you believe I hardly bought anything this year?  Not for lack of trying, I certainly spent enough time in the vendor hall, but maybe for lack of planning.  I don't want to buy stuff just for the sake of buying stuff - that part of my homeschool life is over! I haven't really decided what course of action to take with Ballerina's first year of high school (well kind of, here it is high school - in our previous province it would have still been Junior High.)  I guess I assume we will stay the course, so my resources can be better purchased elsewhere - even if that means I have to pay shipping.  As long as it is less in total I guess I don't care much where it comes from.

Strange place to be in actually, one in Kindergarten and one getting ready to be done in elementary!  I remember walking my sister to school when we were the same distance apart in age.  Difference being there was no one between us! (Weirder still is that when the baby is ready to start Kindergarten, Ballerina will be GRADUATING....I know, right??)

I played basketball in elementary school and I always remember my sister having to bring a bag of dry cereal with her to practice in the morning so we could walk together!  She wouldn't share it with anyone either, except one particular boy!  Haha, I am sure she doesn't remember that - but I do!  He was a nice guy, so that was all good.  As a matter of fact, him and I had known each other since we were younger than she was then! The other memory I have of her in Kindergarten and me in 8th Grade is that I got chosen to be the photographer's helper on picture day (bonus of having good grades) and I tried to get her to leave her cabbage patch doll out of the picture when her class came in, and she just wouldn't do it.  I even threatened her with the classic big sister line "Mom's gonna be mad."  but it didn't phase her!  So yes, in her Kindergarten picture- first school picture ever, she is holding her Cabbage Patch Kid.  Geeky kid!  I think I will e-mail her right now and tell her I love her!