Dum spiro, spero: While I breathe, I hope.

Some of the Latin sayings we've learned sound prettier than others.  :)

I am going to be looking for a job! Time for me to try to earn some money for the family, and time for me to be more useful than just doing laundry and scrubbing everyone's pee off the toilets.  Even homeschooling does not utilize my skills anymore, as the boys are old enough to learn independently (or with other instructors) - at this point, I mostly just supervise.  Time to feel useful again! 

I'd love to get a part-time job doing something outdoors: maybe with a landscaping or gardening supply company.  I had considered something in my old field of social work, but I am not sure I can take on the extra commuting that those types of jobs tend to come with.  It's a possibility, though.  We'll see if anything opens up for me and this new chapter! I'm gonna start keeping my eyes peeled for opportunities.  

Cold days, fun memories

It has been a busy, full, fun winter.  The boys have activities every day, and see friends often.  Our weekly schedule is full, and we've had lots of extra, social things on the calendar.  

We ski weekly (or more). We go as a family, sometimes, but usually I ski alone while the boys go off with their buds.  Skiing helps make winter more fun.

Drum lessons, piano lesson, youth group (Elijah still plays in the band), book clubs, co-op classes and field trips, Cam's new parkour class, E's new indoor soccer team, plus extra time with friends/sleepovers...we've had full, happy days.  Logan's basketball season ended and all three boys are hoping to do outdoor soccer this spring.

Looking forward to spring, but this has been a fun winter!

Our first TEENAGER.

I don't know how it's possible, but our firstborn became a teenager today! Time.flies.too.fast.

He spent his day building a custom P.C...probably the first of many.  I was a little nervous, as he had to wear an anti-static wrist-strap thing, that was plugged in to keep him grounded, electricity-wise, while he used the computer components.  But all went well- and the computer was totally built and turned on in only a couple of hours! He has spent the rest of the day installing all of the operating system/software stuff onto it.  The boy is in his element! 

Love him so much.  Feel like I won the Mom Lotto with this kid, and so thankful that he's my son. 

Milestone snow totals...

...have led to many days of, "all hands on deck" in regards to snow clean-up, this year. The 12 year old finally learned how to use the snowblower, too, which was a huge help yesterday! 

Our driveway is on a hill, and our property  has a lot of hills that slope into the driveway, making it very difficult to find a place to pile snow- it all avalanches back down the banks.  The younger boys can barely help shovel at this point, because the banks of the walkway steps are over their heads! 

You know it's cold when...

...the "Learn How to Ice Fish" course gets canceled, "due to weather."

At least the 2 hour info portion of the class still happened.  Thankful that even though sports schedules made the males in my house have to cancel, that a gf was willing to come with me! Only cool girls hang out with Fish and Game on a Friday night (ha)!

Now we just need to get out on some ice and give the ice fishing a go! Anyone have a manual auger we could borrow?

ACKKKKK! Registration Complete.

Just signed Mark and I up for a half marathon.  No, really.  

If I already feel so nervous that I might puke, just from registering, that probably isn't a good sign, right??

Things just got real, up in heeah.

You know you live in New England, when...

You see a man on a roof, through your second-story bathroom window. 

Or you cancel sledding plans with buds, because everyone needs the time to clear snow, to prepare for more snow on the way.

Or you have a Plan B and have a few neighbor kids over, to sled, but the snow is almost TOO DEEP to sled in!