Happiness. Lately. February 2015 (vol 9)

Happiness.  Lately.  February.  My monthly collection of "Happiness" - appreciating God's goodness in the little things and seeing his grandeur in the simplicity of my life and "Lately" - what I've been into and up to...  (wherein I reveal that much of February revolved around equal parts snow and James.)

Happiness is...

this face.  I just want to squeeze him and eat him up!!!

the things I find around the house that make me smile and say, "let me get my camera!"

lavender hot chocolate.  Ohhhhhh, this was such. a. treat.   It was rich, decadent, aromatic, and delicious... everything a gourmet hot cocoa ought to be.  And I made it myself!  

clean up time with a handmade dish cloth ;)

big brothers, little brothers...

days that are above ten degrees and Dad's snow blowed a path and Mom lets us get our bikes out??  I guess.

Ruthie was a little teary eyed because she kept falling :(

colored pencils.  And pictures of colored pencils.  I love colored pencils.

when all the neighborhood is out in the mornings.  Snow storms build camaraderie. 

a pretty cookie-making picture...

and happiness definitely is when the kids actually let me get a nice picture of them!!

Lately...


James is weaned.

and James is walking.  Yep.

And because this is my blog and he is the cutest ever and I can do whatever I want, here are even more pictures of Sweet Baby James.  Sorry. 

Dominic made his First Confession!  It truly was an answer to prayer that he was able to receive the Sacrament when he did.  We were hesitant to have him receive the Sacrament amidst all the other kids in the parish religious ed class.  We were given permission to come on the first Saturday of Lent at our parish's regular Confession time - Dominic made his first Confession with our pastor, and then Russ, Aaron and I were able to go also to kick off Lent (so to speak...)  It was just what we had prayed for. 

You can see how laden down with sin Dominic was on the way into church ; Or was that just the cold and snow?  Well, either way, he came out squeaky clean!  And then we had ice cream sundaes that night to celebrate!

We celebrated Ruth's fifth birthday!  She said she wanted a cake that was "the part of the meadow where the grass stops and the wild flowers start and it all blends into the sky. " Not like she has a flair for the dramatic or anything...

I have very limited cake decorating skills, but I think I did ok :)

Aaron built a Lego model of a cargo ship from Ancient Egypt for a special event at the study center the boys attend.  Then he had to carry it through a snow storm to the car to get it there...   February.  ugh.

We took a week off of school lessons for Winter Break.  Instead of regular old math, spelling, reading, we did chalk pastels with Nana from HodgePodge, cozy reading, playing, and art (which has been a popular thing around here lately since Ruth got some sketch pads and art supplies for her Birthday.)  We also read about the American Revolution because to me, that's fun!  It felt so awesome to take a break, but it's been hard getting back into the old routine :(

And I've still been crocheting.  It's been a nice change of pace though, as I've finished up several smaller projects and have gotten back to work on blankets for the boys I started last Spring.  I work on one for a little bit then switch to the other.  Working on a long term project gets boring for me if I don't break it up a little.  I'm not sure what happened with my measurements though...  I thought they were the same width, but it looks like Dominic's blanket (the blue/green and cream) is much wider.  Maybe that will become the length?  Not sure yet...

Also, in other over-the-top awesome crocheting news.......  I taught my sister how to crochet!!!!!!!!!!   And she loves it!  It's like all my dreams are coming true - I have someone who's similarly addicted, texts me throughout the days with her progress and latest projects, and gets it when I bemoan the fact that regular daily responsibilities really interfere with the time I'd rather be crocheting.  Housework is so inconvenient when there's yarn fun to be had!   Anyway, I've got a new Instagram hashtag if you want to stay on top of what Sarah and I are making and want to keep us posted on what you're hooking - hang out with us #dontmindmeimcrocheting :)

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Join me in looking back on February and sharing the little tings that were your happiness and some of the things that have been happening lately.

Link up your Happiness. Lately. posts for February here!  (open for a week!)

An InLinkz Link-up

See Me Homeschool (a Blog Hop and Link-Up!)

There are a lot of homeschoolers out there who, after the little kids are finally down for a nap and the bigger kids are chained to seated contentedly at the table with their spelling book, like to blog about the joys of homeschooling.  We've all written about how we do it.  We've shared our thoughts on curriculum and schedules and methods (or about how we've ditched the curriculum, never follow a schedule, and didn't really know until just now that there were various methods of homeschooling...  Wait, what?)  Ahem.   

We love to share success stories, tidbits of wisdom we've learned along the way, tales of what works for us, lists of the best poems for memorization, recommendations on supplies: what to get and what not to get, and even stories of frustration, imperfection, and complete and utter breakdowns that involve self-doubt, notions of quitting, threats of "real school!" or even boarding school, and lots of ugly crying... or yelling.  I, personally, tend to be more of a yeller.  

Ever wonder what's really going on behind those blog posts full of educational goals and plans, poetry recitations, Tuesday teas, real-world science experiments, and gallery-worthy artwork?  What is the reality of the everyday - the day when there might be lots of tea, but it was part of a young chemists attempt to blow up his science book, or the day during which the mom gives quite a speech to her children but it in no way qualifies as a poetry recitation.  What about the ordinary days when all the over-the-summer hours of research and reading reviews to select a math program or writing course come down to a five-minute multiplication worksheet and a mediocre essay on "My Weekend"?

Homeschooling is all of it.  It's fun, it's dirty, it's beauty, it's boring, it's joyful, it's busy, it's enjoyable, it's insane, it's hard.  It's worth it.  And we'd like to show you more about it.

Several homeschooling moms have teamed up to offer a glimpse - literally! - into their homeschooling day.  See Me Homeschool is a blog hop that will feature the day-in-the-life photo albums of a wide variety of homeschooling families - families with younger children that are new to homeschooling, and families in which the mom is a seasoned (and wise) veteran with high schoolers and even homeschool graduates.  Starting Monday, you'll be given the privilege of an insider's perspective on all of this - and more!  (You're starting to feel like a VIP aren't you?!)

Everyone who homeschools does it differently and that's what you'll get to see, because the rule is - only photos, no words.  It's harder than it sounds.  As I was preparing my post, I kept wanting to add an explanation here, or an excuse there, or to write, "it looks peaceful but you should have heard the screaming from the next room!" or "I swear this mess wasn't there a minute ago!" or "usually we get out of the house for some fresh air..."  

The bloggers participating have agreed to let you peer through the window that is your computer screen and "spy" on their homeschooling day - they'll show you what it looks like when the learning is humming along, and when it hits a snag, and maybe even when it all comes crashing down.  But the point is, these aren't posts on methods, ideologies, and programs - they are an invitation to pull up a chair and watch a typical homeschooling day unfold.  You'll have the privilege of seeing where the rubber meets the road and how homeschooling happens (or hangs by a thread) on an average day.

I invite you to join us and to See Me Homeschool!  (hosted by Micaela at California to Korea and myself!)

The blog hop schedule is as follows...
(All homeschooling bloggers are invited to participate in the link-up portion of See Me Homeschool!  See below for details.)

Monday, February 16          Micaela @ California to Korea 
                                         (read Micaela's How I Homeschool interview here)

                                         Theresa @ Ordinary Lovely

Tuesday, February 17         Kelly @ This Ain't the Lyceum  
                                         (read Kelly's How I Homeschool interview here)
                                         Mary @ Better Than Eden

Wednesday, February 18     Christy @ Fountains of Home

Thursday, February 19        Kathy @ 9 Peas

Friday, February 20            Annie @ Annery at Home
                                                 (read Annie's How I Homeschool interview here)

Monday, February 23          Jessica @ Housewifespice
                                                  (read Jessica's How I Homeschool Interview here)
                                         Erin @ Seven Little Australians and Counting

Tuesday, February 24         Dwija @ House Unseen
                                                 (read Dwija's How I Homeschool interview here)

Wednesday, February 25     Kendra @ Catholic All Year
                                                  (read Kendra's How I Homeschool interview here)

Thursday, February 26        Gina @ Someday (hopefully) They'll Be Saints

Friday, February 27            Charlotte @ Waltzing Matilda 
                                                 (read Charlotte's How I Homeschool Interview here)

Not on the schedule??  We'd love to see how YOU homeschool!  Record a typical day in photographs (see if you can follow the no words rule! - it's hard!), post it on your blog and link it up here!  The link-up will be open from Monday, February 16 to the end of the month, so there's lots of time to recruit all your other homeschooling-picture taking-blogging friends as well :)  Hope you'll join us in letting the world see how you homeschool!  I can't wait!  

(please feel free to use the image above for your linked up post!  If the coding stars align themselves, maybe I'll finally be able to turn it into a click-able, grab-able button, but so far all my late-night efforts have been foiled.  I'll keep trying!  In the meantime, thanks for your patience :) )

An InLinkz Link-up