What have we been up to?

Well, a lot of enjoying the weather and being outside before the heat, humidity and bugs force us back inside. Being sick last week knocked me and the schedule for a loop, but we are doing okay getting back to 'normal'.

The days are being spent on a lot of unschooling and project activities. The China unit study has been a big hit, and we are being blessed with a lot of media attention on China with the upcoming Summer Olympics. The May National Geographic magazine was entirely devoted to China, and several times I had to find it in Mary's room so I could finish whatever article I was reading. And, this weekend we watched two shows; one on the building of the Great Wall and the other on the first Emperor of China. My mother has sent us a couple different kid's pages from her newspapers on China which Mary has enjoyed working and reading through.

Emily and Katie are engrossed with the puzzles my mom brought to us after cleaning out her house. They are also very busy creating their own little 'art' books. Nothing like handing them some paper and a handful of markers. Mr. Robbie is just his own very busy self. He wants to be doing whatever his sisters are, at least long enough to make them howl before he trots off to climb whatever will stand still long enough for him to climb.

I'm just doing. Lots of really fun chores (at least to me) this time of year. I really do like the time I spend hanging laundry outside and pushing our new reel mower around. Time to enjoy being outside while also being productive. Getting back into the kitchen and being creative again in my cooking. I've put away the knitting for the time being and have been busy teaching myself how to sew while putting together some new clothes for the girls. Like my knitting I'm keeping it simple until I become a little more comfortable. Currently I'm working on a couple pairs of cropped pants for Mary.

There is also the planning and shopping for this summer's house projects. We are getting gutters, finally, and rain barrel(s). We are also considering a woodstove insert for the fireplace. We are in the information gathering phase of that. While it wouldn't be our primary heat source, I'm looking for a strong secondary system that will help us cut a month or so off our central heat use in the winter.

Basically we have been doing a lot of fun things, for us, just not very exciting.

Peace,
Amy