{This and That}

We are finished with term exams and have launched into Term 2.  Exam week went a little rockier than usual because we all got hit with a bad cold (me on down to the baby).  We got a nice light day of exams in on Monday and then crashed.  By the end of the week, the kids were well enough to take their exams back up again, but I wasn't well enough to administer any but the written portions and some audio-recorded questions.  It will be funny to look back on these recordings, with my barely-there voice and the kids' raspy, nasal replies.  So it was a lighter rounds of exams this time but still successful, I think.  I'll share more about them another day.

I always schedule a special teatime to celebrate the end of the term and of exam week, but this time I was too sick to manage it and the kids were asking me every few hours when we were having our treat a tad disappointed.  But we finally got around to it a few days later, when in my sick-and-tired state, I stumbled upon these at the store and popped them right into my cart:

It was the perfect post-nature study snack.  Thank you, Trader Joe's!

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We read this line from Age of Fable today and I immediately thought of my girls:

"Their faces were not all alike, nor yet unlike--but such as sisters' ought to be."

I see very little resemblance other than hair and eye color, actually, but we get comments all the time on how similar they look.  (And often we're asked whether they are two sets of twins--I definitely don't see that!)

I took my girls for birthday treats (above) and then haircuts (below) this weekend and we had such a fun time.

I love that all four of my girls are old enough to enjoy a (very rare) outing alone with Mommy!

(And the short hair is perfect for the triple-digits weather we're having this week.  You know, just in time for fall. ;))

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We also spent a few minutes over the weekend planning All Saints' Day costumes.  Since my due date is All Saints' Day, I'm not planning a party this year (like I have in the past), nor am I entirely sure we'll even make it out trick-or-treating the night before.  So I strongly encouraged them to pull out the ones from last year so that they don't get too disappointed if not much celebrating (other than Mass, of course) happens.  We went through the bin and are reusing all of them, so I just need to assemble a veil and crown for St. Bridget of Sweden and we should be set.

I am, however, promising them coloring pages and apple cider either way, and they can dress up all they like here at home!

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Another bit from this week's reading that immediately struck me, this time a section on the brown pelican from O'Dell's The Cruise of the Arctic Star, which we're reading for California geography/history this year:

"Two years ago when you sailed along this part of the coast early in the morning, you would always find them skimming the sea, ten or twelve birds in a flight.  They flew without moving their wings, in a long glide and one after the other, along the line of the surf where the waves were just beginning to crest, so close to the water that they were at times covered with spray, touching the water now and again with the tips of their wings, so close that you marveled that they did not crash.  It seemed that they were not searching for food, nor were they on their way anywhere.  It was a flight of pure joy."

See that line along the horizon?  We comment on them just about every time we're at the shore.  They fly in single file all morning long and are beautiful to watch.

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The cold put me behind a bit in my nesting plans, but I did get my big project for this pregnancy finished and I couldn't be happier about it.  I spent a long day cleaning out the garage, really for the first time since we moved into this house four years ago.  My saintly husband, who always puts up with my crazy nesting schemes, pulled down just about everything from our storage shelves so that I could sort through them, took a huge load to the dump, pulled another couple loads of donations and recycle to the curb for pickup, and just generally served as my heavy lifter.  It feels like we cut the garage clutter by half and I am so happy every time I walk through there that I almost don't even care that I haven't done much else on my nesting list yet.

Almost.  I'm a bit behind, but now that I'm not sick, I'm back on the warpath!  This week: sewing Christmas gifts, preparing Italian activities for Terms 2 and 3, and going through the filing cabinets.  Wish me luck!

(I know I have quite a few pregnant friends right now: anyone else in crazy-nesting-energy mode?)

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Have I mentioned Mother Mary Loyola?  Oh, I have?  Like a thousand times? 

Well, I can't help but mention her again!  We just began Hail Full of Grace for my 4th graders' spiritual reading for Term 2 and it's fantastic.  The introduction alone ignited my kids' excitement about our daily rosary, and they are highly anticipating our journey through her meditations on the mysteries.  As always, the depth of her insights on the topic are rich and her writing both simple and literary.  And it's the perfect length to enjoy over a school term.  

I also picked up Forgive Us Our Trespasses for this Lent, which should coincide nicely with our Term 3.

(By the way, you can also find her works free online also!)

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I'll be back early tomorrow with this month's Keeping Company link-up.  Looking forward to chatting about notebooking with all of you!