In which Valentine's Day is a nice break from the monotony.

As I made my way up to the register to purchase these friendly barnyard Valentine friends, I came this close to making the trip back to the seasonal aisle in the back of Target to place them back on the shelf. The incessant mooing and oinking from the pair of cows and pair of pigs were drawing stares from my fellow shoppers, and I could only imagine my house with the noise of four children AND four farm animals. But I decided to keep them because I know how my children love annoyingly loud trinkets. And of course the pig and cow poop candy. Another plus.

The smiles the farm animals brought this morning were worth the annoyance, and I will endure the mooing and oinking until I can endure it no further at which point two cows and two pigs will surely mysteriously disappear to find their place in the also mysterious Annoying Toy Heaven.

As I mentioned in my last post, our homeschool year has been quite uneventful. Things are moving along just as they should be. Kids are doing their assigned work. I keep right on assigning. They keep getting it done. I really can't complain. But I'm a little bit bored. I'm sure they are too.

I haven't done much "cutesy" stuff this year. Partly because the older they get, the fewer cutesy options there are. Also, I'm lazy. I need to stop being lazy and start planning and executing more exciting activities. So...I am planning. I have some fun things in store for next week. As for this week, though, I am thankful for the fun little break in monotony Valentine's Day provides.

The kids woke up this morning to some Valentine surprises. Yes, candy. Lots of candy.

I also had good intentions of making heart-shaped pancakes, but the only large heart cookie cutter I have is covered in red paint. As my own Valentine pointed out, it was probably made in China, and the paint is probably full of lead. It didn't seem such a brilliant idea, then, to have it sit on a hot griddle.

So I made chocolate chip pancakes smothered in powdered sugar with a sprinkling of color. So long as it's sweet and unhealthy, the kids really don't care what shape it comes in.

 

During school we learned about the various legends that compose the history of Valentine's Day. We also had a little word fun by seeing who could make the most words in five minutes out of the phrase "Happy Valentine's Day".

After my heart failure at breakfast, I redeemed myself at lunch by creating heart-shaped potatoes to eat with our leftover chicken wings.

And then it was cookie time! Valentine's Day, like Christmas, must include a cookie decorating session.

I did not have the time today to be all fancy with multiple colors and decorating pastry bags, but like I said, if there is sugar and it is unhealthy, they don't care if it's fancy.

And this one? She did enjoy decorating cookies and eating them. It's just that she's a teenager and hates to have her photo taken. You see...this is why I have a completely unbalanced number of photos of the Princess.

I love her anyway. Happy Valentine's Day!

Linking up with Ashley for Photo Scavenger Hunt.

In this post, you will find candy, kisses, pink/red, love, and smiles.

Also linking up with Kris at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers for her Weekly Wrap-Up.

Blizzard

I'm a mean mom. While all the other schoolchildren within a 100 mile radius (at least!) are enjoying a day off school because of the approaching blizzard, I am forcing my children to continue on with their schoolwork as usual. But we'll make up for it when we're soaking up the sun at Disney in May while the rest of the schoolchildren are tackling final exams.

This has been an exceptionally smooth year of school in our home. This year I have not dealt with attitudes from any of the kids regarding getting schoolwork done. Nor has there been much frustration over learning any of the material. It's just been an easy, smooth year. I know it's not me. I'm pretty sure it's the kids. I've got good kids.

I suppose the goodness in them is what kept them from complaining too much when I announced school was still in session this morning. Not that there is much else to do when one is housebound. And I suppose the fact that we are trapped inside by snow is what inspired me to once again pick up my blogging pen and put it to virtual paper. Of course the picturesque view from the window which keeps distracting me from the computer screen is quite inspiring in itself.

Audrey captures the scene from the camera on her handheld device.

She laments that the grill ("What is that thing called? You know, the outdoor oven thing?") 

is part of two of her shots, but that one shot turned out "well".

I've said before that I feel a bit like Jonah who caused the great storm that rocked the ship. Not that we were running from anything when we moved to Connecticut, but since this blizzard is at least the third or fourth "historic/record-breaking" event since our move up here just two years ago, I feel like local residents may soon want us to leave the Constitution State!

Whether or not Mother Nature cares one way or another where our family resides, so long as the power stays on so that we remain warm, I'm not opposed to enduring a blizzard. And the kids sure will have fun when it's all over and they can roll around in it! As for me, I'm enjoying this cozy, lazy day and the beauty of watching the snow fall.

Linking with Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers and Kris' Weekly Wrap-Up. "Weekly" is being a bit dishonest since I haven't been here in WEEKS, but I have to start somewhere, right?

The Big E

We came, we saw, we conquered. Or, rather, we ventured in with the masses, spent way too much money on very mediocre fair food, had some fun anyway. It's difficult, though, not to compare our visit to the Big E today with our first visit two years ago. The Big E was, in fact, our very first outing here in the Arctic after our arrival on 9/11/10. That first visit took place on a rainy day, so few people went. Today was a beautiful day, so EVERYBODY went.

It took us about 45 minutes to make it off the highway and to the entrance of the Big E. Thankfully, we scored half-price parking at a private lot off the property of the Eastern States Exposition. A little further to walk, but I'll take a walk to save five bucks.

The Big E is a county fair on steroids, and it is held annually in Springfield, MA. The "fair" features a mini amusement park (for the price of about $3/ride - I said no to that since we have spent the summer at our local amusement park), lots of booths with locals selling their wares, and way too much greasy fair food.

One of the main purposes of the fair is celebrate agriculture. There are sheep:

And there are cows, chicks, and ducks. There are also pigs, my favorite:

Is that brown and black spotted one not the cutest thing EVER (besides my children)? And I make that judgment call after seeing nothing but his cute little hiney. If no one had been looking, I would have scooped him up and put him in my pocket.

And doesn't this mama look fully and completely content?

And she's got eight children (that I can see anyway)! Oh to have that smile on my face all the time with just my four!

There were several horse shows, and the very elegant Clydesdale horses were on display as well.

My favorite show at the Big E is the Border Collie Demonstration. This is Peg:

The demo took place in a small arena, too small for a bunch of sheep, so the trainer uncaged what she called "mini-sheep":

Aren't these fun looking ducks?

Peg quickly went to work herding the ducks and obeying her trainer's commands.

Peg forced them over a bridge:

And even under the bridge, though that feat took a little more coaxing on Peg's part.

Audrey enjoyed watching from the sidelines:

After the dog show, we went over the big top for the circus that is part of admission to the Big E. Even though we got there 30 minutes early, we still got terrible seats and therefore saw the back of most of the performers (as well as a big post that stood right in my line of sight), but we were entertained by many of the acts anyway.

After the circus, the three younger kids enjoyed a ride down a huge slide:

One of the things the Big E is best known for are its replicas of each New England state's state house.

Inside each building, visitors get a tour of many of the customs of each state: visitor guides, crafts, state museums, food...all of these things are available and unique to each state. The kids already knew they wanted to go to Vermont to get some maple syrup cotton candy. After that purchase, we decided to visit Connecticut and the Lego exhibit. Since the American Lego headquarters are in Connecticut, they are well represented at the Big E. The three younger kids made a Lego tile for display. Alex, my socialite, meanwhile ran into some friends with whom she chatted while the others built.

 



We were ready to leave after visiting the states, but on our way out we came across more friends as well as a sea lion show. So we stuck around to chat and to witness the sea lions doing the conga.

The funniest thing to me was that the sea lions all clapped whenever one of them would perform a trick.

So not bad for a free day (we get free tickets through one of the homeschool groups). Next time, though, I will remember to take my Tylenol. Thankfully, the Big E also has an apothecary, so I was able to purchase some Advil to take away my headache.

Like I said: we came, we saw, we conquered.

Adventures in Rhode Island

It was a fun day today. It was my turn to make the milk pick-up trip to the farm, and since it is some distance away, I decided to turn the day into a field trip. We went to Rhode Island. The kids hadn't been to Rhode Island yet, so they were introduced to the Ocean State with a visit to Narragansett.

I was inspired to visit Narragansett by a friend who hosts the website Kid Friendly Things To Do. And basically, we just did everything she suggested...because, why not? The first thing we did was visit Point Judith Lighthouse.

The beach was made of rocks, with stacks of rocks scattered here and there.

I am not sure of the story behind the stacks of rocks, but the kids enjoyed exploring the rocky landscape and making their own stack of stones.

I think we had been there about 30 minutes when one of them asked, "Is this the beach we were going to go to?"

"No," I replied, "this is the lighthouse."

"Lighthouse? What lighthouse? Oh..."

Lunch followed the lighthouse. I had already planned where we were going to dine using MapQuest.

Turned out to be a fairly good choice, although we were the only customers. I hope they do better ordinarily so we can return one day to find them still in business.

The beach was our next stop. There was a public beach across the street from Amalfi, but it was quite crowded. My friend's website had given away a great secret about a small secluded beach that belongs to the University of RI. We found it, and it was perfect.

It was a little bit chilly, but it wasn't long until the kids were warming up with all of their running around

and digging.

It wasn't long until they were romping around in the waves.

It was a gorgeous day,

and I loved spending it with my kids. I think they felt the same way...

If not, I know they were definitely excited that we ended our adventure at Nana's Candy Bar where each kid got to fill a bucket with candy!

Hot Air Balloon Festival

I have always thought hot air balloons are so beautiful. That's why I was so excited to hear about the hot air balloon festival that is held annually in our town. The festivities began on Friday night where visitors had a chance to check out all of the balloons. On this night, the balloons stayed tethered to the ground with very expensive rides offered to those who wished to float up to the end of the tether. There was also a craft fair and a live band who tried their best to recapture some of the classic 80s rock I grew up on. The evening culminated with a fireworks show that rivaled, if not beat, any I have seen at Disney or elsewhere.

The special weekend continued the next day with a 6am launch of the balloons. Since we were up rather late the night before, I chose to sleep in on Saturday morning. However, the launch was repeated Sunday morning at 6am, and both girls wanted to join me for this special event. I tiptoed into each of their rooms and awakened them at 5:30, and we headed over. For such an early event, I did not expect the crowds that were there, but we were able to easily find a parking spot nonetheless.

When we first got there, the balloons were all still laying on the ground while their owners performed various checks and worked to hook up the baskets and other paraphernalia necessary to launch. It was still dark, so the ballooners had plenty of time. It was interesting to watch all of the preparations underway.

Finally, as dawn began to break, first one balloon and then another began to inflate.

And shortly after that the first balloon launched.

I was a bit disappointed because I had visions of a whole sky full of beautiful balloons, but this one had launched by itself with no others even close to launching. I thought perhaps there was a certain amount of space required between launch, both in time and space. However, that theory proved wrong, and I got my wish because soon many of the balloons began to launch one right after the other. It was indeed beautiful.

After most of the balloons had launched, and it was nearing time to get ready for church anyway, the girls and I left. Of course we had one more stop to make: Starbucks where I had promised the girls a special treat.

I don't ordinarily wake up before the sun does, but it was definitely a worthwhile experience and one I will encourage even the boys to do with us next year. And perhaps next year I might find a way to fulfill an item on my bucket list and go for an actual hot air balloon ride!