Imbolc, Birds, Cleaning, Schooling

We've been very busy in our preparations for Spring around here! I have been cleaning, organizing, shuffling and filing papers, shopping, writing, singing, praying, and schooling!

My son and I have been trying to catch up on the school work we're behind on, and it's coming along. We're nearly there. Hopefully we'll finish the "book report" today and can move back to teaching lessons from the Language Arts online lessons. We are still behind there. We've nearly caught up in Math, enough that I'm not worried about it......today. History and Science are another story, we're so far ahead in those that we can afford to take days at a time off. We caught up and continue to do two lessons a day. I've applied similar logic to the Math, and we look at the worksheets, and see what comprehension is there before teaching the lesson. Usually we can jump to the assessment pretty quickly. Language Arts however, takes longer. Duh, right?

Cleaning (like how I'm working backward from my title) is going pretty well. Slowly in some rooms compared to others but we're getting there!! I'm trying to declutter/destash before I start looking for more storage options. The children are getting in on it too! The other day my son had an idea to get my daughter motivated to clean her room. They had a race! I will admit my laziness here, I allow my children to watch tv/movies after 4 PM. This can sometimes last until 6:30 while I'm preparing the kitchen to make dinner, and making dinner. These two things go SO much more smoothly when they are occupied. Usually they can play together for a time, but more often than not I have to stop what I'm doing several times to redirect, settle an argument, or ask them to use their Inside Manners. So I turn on the screen. Whatever, it's ok!

So, we did "ready, set, GO!" and I stand in the hallway while they furiously clean up their floors and put toys away. They're usually finished in about 15 minutes, and then we look at our options for tv or movies. After that I'm "free" to go into the kitchen and spend a good 20 minutes with out interruption. This gives me plenty of time to wash any dishes that I may need for cooking dinner. Once it's started I can wipe down counters, wash more dishes, or work on my meal planning.

Ok, moving on, then I'll see if I have some pictures to share :) The Birds...oh my how we have BIRDS. We have a pretty simple bird feeder, I put between 4 and 6 cups of bird seed in there...and it only lasts THREE DAYS!! I filled it up on Monday, and today it is swinging there empty, and we have no birds to look at this morning :( I'll go fill it up once we break above freezing! We have a family of squirrels that take advantage of the fact that I buy the seed with sunflower seeds in it. Blue-jays, Cardinals, little tiny black headed "woodpeckers", even the big red headed one has been seen on the tree with the feeder. Two pair of doves, and a "third wheel" on occasion. Also tons, and I do mean tons, of these little tiny birds, that you almost can't see. If all three groups are out at the same time, it looks like the ground is moving beneath the tree. It's quite a sight. Some are tiny mostly black/dark gray, others are slightly larger, mostly brown, with red heads, finally there are the 'golden finches' and the one I call the King, because he's fluorescent green. My camera isn't quite good enough to focus on these little birds from a 'safe' distance. Even zoomed in, but I keep trying!!

Finally Imbolc, I managed to finish all my 101 homework before Imbolc. I was procrastinating on the last bit to be honest. I couldn't decide one more herb or one more mineral to focus on. Too many to chose from! But the ritual was beautiful, and I really feel that my prayers are being "answered". If not by the God and Goddess, then by myself. I asked simply for more patience with my children, and it seems that I remember that when having to deal with a situation that would usually have me wanting to rip my hair out. I am speaking more clearly, a bit more firmly, but much more gently than I have been recently. It's really a wonderful feeling, and I can't wait for it to develop even more in to a greater sense of overall patience. My husband tells me all the time "I don't know how you're so patient". So perhaps it's more the internal patience I was asking for.

After our ritual we had a fantastic feast of beef stew, broccoli casserole, pasta salad, oh, so many goodies! I can't wait until my teeth are in better healthy, such yummy foods, and not having to wait for Thanksgiving or Christmas to enjoy them! And I can't leave out my Sisters. What fantastic company!! I stayed way too late, and laughed a great deal. I am looking forward to Ostara very very much!

My Kitchen Altar on Imbolc

Braided Breadsticks

this was the first round to test the recipe, and figure out the best way to go about the braiding. I made 14 more for the Imbolc feast. :) I guess I forgot to take pictures of the ones I made on Saturday.

 

And this morning I had some coffee and a tarot lesson. I'd love to get another set of cards, but they're going to have to wait a bit longer!