Children of the Corn?

Just planted our cornfield and zucchinis, pumpkins and carrots. We can't tell the difference btw the zuks and the pumpkins though, so not sure how many we will get.

We have a LOT of corn planted. It's a bit late for the seedlings, which really should have been moved last week, but it was still freezing and the wind was incredible, so we needed to wait until we got back from NC.

Tuesday we went on a field trip to Shirley Plantation. It was a fine trip and, since I paid for it so long ago, it seemed practically free. We learned a bit about portrait painting and then had a chance to try some watercolors. Usually they talk about children learning to sketch and paint nature as part of their education, but it was way too windy to try outside.

After the painting, we headed to the tool shed to try out some period games like pick up sticks, marbles and jacks. Then it was off to the main house for a tour. The same family has owned the plantation since the beginning and they still live on the second and third floors.

They gave us a treasure hunt map when we were through so we could learn a bit more about the other buildings around the plantation. It was windy and chilly, but a good time.

We ate lunch in the car and then--off to g'ma and g'pas house for a quick visit. That day, nanny went back into the hospital and it looks like she has taken another turn for the worse. I talked to the kids about it and we all went to see her at the hospital which cheered her up quite a bit. I also printed out some photos and Katie made a card to brighten up the room a bit. I don't think she's very aware of it, but it sets a nice energy there anyway and let's the nurses know a bit more about her.

We spent some time on the beach, but it was still pretty chilly. Didn't warm up until Friday afternoon really.

Katie spent time remembering how to ride her bike and Zack set up all his cowboys, soldiers and police officers on the porch table. I worked and it was nice to have the kids occupied.

It was nice to have some sun--even if it was chilly--and a chance to visit. We'll be back in a couple of weeks for my folk's 50 wedding anniversary, but that will be pretty hectic.

Today is sunny and summery. A good day to get our hands in the dirt and plant those veggies.

The garden

A quick progress report on the vegetable garden:


Here they are our first day 4/1


And sprouting today 4/8

Wow!

Katie is sick with a fever today :-( but wasn't feeling badly until around lunch time so she was able to enjoy her Easter basket and egg hunt. I knew it was time to take it seriously when she didn't want to finish dessert!

Zack, after another bout of stomach flu on Saturday night, is feeling much better. And in another act of prize-winning mothering, a few minutes ago I realized that he'd been in the tub for about an hour and not yet tucked in bed. His hands and feet were very pruney but he seems to have survived the great soak.

Spent the weekend loafing around. Now I have to figure out what to do with my Brownie's tomorrow...

Uh, what was that about the sun....

OK, so mother nature has other plans and we're now expecting about 2 inches of snow tonight.

In the meantime, there was a break in the blustery weather on Wednesday night and we ran in to check out the cherry blossoms. As usual, I forgot my camera and had to settle for the cell phone.

In other news, Katie and Zack spend almost every afternoon playing the the kids down the street.

Katie recently asked me why they have schools if everyone (meaning her school friends) hates going so much. I tried to be tactful in my response.

Easter is almost here and I've been informed that the Easter Bunny ALWAYS leaves cool stuff in the egg hunt eggs.

We started a vegetable garden and are very glad we planted in seedling starters housed in the living room instead of outside in the impending freeze. We are hoping for a crop of corn, zucchini, pumpkins and carrots.

We'll keep you posted on our progress.

The Return of the Sun

And now I creep back out of my cocoon and join the world. Mid-Feb to mid-March is always hard for me. Too dark and cold out, no holidays and not many activities to join in on.

Plus, it's the time I order the CAT test for the end of the year and I start getting twitchy about whether we've covered everything we "should" have. This year, my obsession is the division I didn't know would be on the test and which our math curriculum doesn't cover until 4th grade. I'm sure it will all work out.

What's been going on?

Katie
--badge ceremony at Brownies, she now has nice new additions to her vest.
--Looking forward to the Girl Scout camping trip.
--Made a pancake breakfast for mom and Zack "all by herself."


Zack
--got his Bear badge in time for the Blue and Gold banquet.
--looking forward to camping with the Boy Scouts and dad.


Me
--working again
--made a last-minute trip to Dallas to check out a hotel, got stuck there for an extra two days because of snow in the northeast. Why my colleague, who was going back to a foot of snow in Boston, got home 24 hrs ahead of me, who was traveling to an airport that never closed and no snow, is still a mystery.
--came up with the Brownie badge ceremony
--NOT looking forward to the Girl Scout camping trip.
--helping out with the VA Homeschoolers Conference coming in July.

Pete
--Working
--a trip to Salt Lake City again for a week

The kids have also been taking a music class with our Friday group. I find the teacher a little glum and talky, but the kids have liked it.

While I was in Dallas, they got their green-strip belts in Tae Kwon Do and are now a belt ahead of me. We all went to see the black belt test, which was grueling! Zack still can't wait to get to that though.

We've started multiplication in our math curriculum and they really like it--but don't ask them, they'll never admit it!

We've been on a few outings now that the weather has cleared up. The kids and Pete went to a model railroad show with the Boy Scouts. We went out to Shenandoah Caverns. Kate and Zack had never been in a cave and Kate was a bit nervous about it, but they had a great time. The site also has a display of parade floats, which are much bigger in-person than on TV!



I remembered late one morning that I'd signed us up for Geomania at National Geographic and we had to scramble to get dressed and into DC. We ended up missing about 1/4 of the program but did get to learn about longitude and latitude, a bit about what Columbus was really looking for and more about maps. It was great to go to the Nat Geo building too. There's a free museum that we will return to when we have more time.

We'll be starting an Occupational Therapy program called Astronaut Training. Originally this was just for Zack but when we got talking about Katie's reversals of numbers and letters and difficulty with left and right, she said to try it with her too. The program is designed to be done with two anyway, so Katie will step in a Zack's partner instead of me.

And now April is here.

Katie wants to start a vegetable garden and picked out carrots, Zucchini (at my urging), corn (really?!) and peppers. We also have a lot of flower seeds. I bought us some seedling starters this time. Last year, the squirrels just followed us down the rows, digging up all the seeds. Hopefully, if we can start them indoors, we'll get a better crop.

Last night we went to a triple feature at a drive-in in MD. All the movies were kid-friendly, so we decided to stay up (very) late and see them all. We saw Bridge to Terabithia and all cried big tears at the end; cheered up with the very funny Meet the Robinsons; and held our eyes open for The Astronaut Farmer--which I thought didn't come off as well as I'd hoped. It was fine, but I thought they could have done a lot more with the idea. All this for $16--plus another $10 for food but still a good value and a DRIVE-IN!

I've been shedding lots of extra stuff through freecycle and setting stuff aside for the upcoming BS yard sale. The house still seems over-full.

The bulbs the kids and I actually remembered to plant in the fall are starting to pop up. The weather is warming and the air smells fresh. That, plus the early daylight savings, has improved my mood considerably.

Hope the signs of spring are brightening up your days too.