Living Unabridged

February is not my favorite month. Despite that, a lot of good things happened this month and I can't believe it's almost March already.

What We've Been Doing:

We had a game night with friends. We hosted another set of friends at our house.

I had a girls' night with some friends from co-op and their mutual friends. (Don't imagine anything too wild and crazy. It was just a refreshing time of sitting around and talking with no kids in attendance.)

We went to a 5th birthday party for a friend.

We gave a Fancy Tea Party for our very own birthday girl and some of her friends.

We saw "Snow White and the Dancing Dwarves" at our Children's Theatre. Because of snow, we missed a day of co-op. We had a short visit from grandparents and a cousin.

We're also dealing with severe colds that are just not going away. We've gone through more boxes of tissues, over the counter medicines, and home remedies in just a few weeks than we had in a long time.

What We've Been Watching:

My husband continued trying to make me watch anything from the '80's that I've never seen so we watched Beetlejuice. Other than the novelty of seeing a super young Winona Ryder and young Alec Baldwin, I can't say I enjoyed it. (Truthfully, I found it rather tedious more than anything else. Not to mention gore and gross stuff isn't my cup of tea.)

We picked up Spectrebut I didn't watch it, although I worked downstairs while my husband watched it. Daniel Craig is just not, and never will be, James Bond to me and I'm pretty selective about violence and such. (But the "honest trailer" for this movie did make me laugh.)

The absolute best thing we watched this month was Bridge of Spies. Excellent movie and compelling story. (I will probably never get tired of Tom Hanks being Tom Hanks.)

We watched The Good Dinosauras a family movie night. Definitely NOT my favorite Pixar movie ever. It's quite scary for kids (including continuing the Disney tradition a la Bambi or The Lion King of killing off a parent) and it just doesn't have the magic that made Inside Out so poignant.

Philip and I have started watching Inspector George Gently. We've made it up to series 4 or 5. If you like Inspector Morse or Endeavour, you'd probably like these. (And yes, we're always trying to find new to us British detectives to watch.)

Five Things I'm Loving This Month:

-Puffs Plus Lotion Facial Tissues. And we've gone through a ridiculous number.
- Book mail. I ordered five books for myself (plus a duplicate book. I guess my ordering finger got a little trigger happy. But I'm just going to give it away rather than return it). Hooray for books in the mail!
- Bragg Organic Raw Apple Cider Vinegar. One home remedy for ear-aches uses Apple Cider vinegar and this is the kind I use. So far we haven't had any ear infections that required a doctor, though we've had a lot of family members with ear pain. Apple Cider vinegar to the rescue? Maybe. It's definitely worth trying first.
- Planning vacations. February is a cold, sometimes dreary month. Planning trips is one way to bring some warmth into the day.
- Cards from friends.
Bonus thing: Valentine Clearance! Chocolate, heart shaped everything, and flowers! What's not to love?

Links I Loved This Week:

• What's Your Homeschool Personality? by Mystie at Simply Convivial. LOVED this post! (And not just because Mystie and I are both INTJs)
• Do Christian Parents Flirt with the Idol of Sports? by Todd Hill at TGC. (Spoiler: yes.) This series has been convicting.
• 3 Reasons to Stay in a Church That's Not Cool Enough by Michael Kelley.  Related: Stop Complaining About Problems in Your Church (and Actually Do Something to Fix Them) by Tyler Edwards at Relevant.
• The Number One Predictor of Divorce - and How to Fix It by Marissa B. Gold. I've seen this study before but I think it's a good reminder.
• On the Death of the Two Party System by Steve Berman at The Resurgent. And somewhat related: I'll Take Hillary Clinton Over Donald Trump by Tom Nichols for The Federalist. I think this is where I am too, but how I loathe the fact that this is where we are in American politics. Ugh.

On the Blog:

This week:

• Family Game Night #8: Ticket to Ride
• S.T.E.A.M Fun with a 3D Pen
• 5 Ways to Improve Your Day in 5 Minutes or Less

This month:

• 101 Science Class Ideas for Homeschool Co-ops
• 52 Family Game Nights: Set
• Resources for Teaching Religion
• 52 Family Game Nights: Love Letter
• 52 Family Game Nights: Settlers of Catan

Last year:

• Homeschool Budget: Burden or Blessing?
• Life via Blog: February 2015

What did you do, watch, or read in February?
Board of the Month:


This is where I keep track of shows or movies I'd like to watch (and sometimes shows I've already watched)