**Homeschool Book Club**

Brenna loves the book club she's a part of - The Souls Book Club.  The kids are on their fourth book, and I'm so proud of all the girls!  It's a self governed club, and the girls have done such a wonderful job discussing the books.  The girls are each assigned a job for every meeting.  For the next meeting, there will be a Character Shrink, a Questioner, a Gossip, an Illuminator, and a Game Warden.  Brenna will be the Illuminator, so she will be pulling out the big ideas from the book.  I love that they have this book club to help develop their critical thinking skills, and to keep them interested in reading.  I know, Brenna has enjoyed reading much more since the club started.  I never have to remind her to read the books - she just does it on her own because she wants to which is great!  I can't wait to see what book they pick to discuss at their March meeting!

Oh, and Aubree is on her FIFTH book for this month!  She's read The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, OliverTwist, The Cricket in Times Square, and, right now, she's in the middle of Santa Paws.  There's no stopping that girl!!!  She loves to read!

**Mama - The Chauffeur**

I'm feeling like a chauffeur these days with all the activities my kids are involved in!

Mon. - Jazz class
Tues. - Piano lessons
            Theater class
Wed. - Art class
Thurs. - Homeschool Group or Earth Scouts
             Theater Class

There's always something going on!  Sometimes, I wish we could just stay home and do nothing!  BUT for the most part, I'm happy to do it, so I'm really not complaining.  I love that the girls have activities they love, and that they have the opportunity to participate in these classes.  And someday they won't need me to drive them all over the place which means I won't be spending as much time with them.  I'll probably be begging them to let me tag along just so I can spend more time with them, so when I really think about it, I guess, I'm pretty darn lucky to be Mama Chauffeur!

**Night Out**

We had a night out w/ friends last weekend, and I'm still recovering, but that's okay because I had a great time!!  It's not often that we have an adult night out, so when we do I like to let loose!  And, I think, it's, perfectly, okay to do that a few times a year!  Listen, I spend the majority of my time being a responsible adult - I'm w/ my kids 24/7, I take care of them, my hubby, my dogs, our house, etc., and I'm totally happy with that....it's the life I have chosen, and it's the life I want.  But every once in awhile I like to forget about being responsible (okay, not totally forget - we always have a DD) and I like to just get stupid.  You know, like young stupid!  Drinking too much, saying embarrassing things, laughing our asses off about nothing - just having some good, old, crazy fun!  And sometimes, on nights like this, secrets are revealed among friends, and I'm okay with that because sometimes a little booze makes it easier to share difficult experiences with a special friend, experiences that were life changing, experiences that were the same, but different.  It was a great evening, and I can't wait for the next night out!!!:)

Our Cabin...

We haven't been to the cabin much since last summer, but after arriving here tonight I was, immediately, reminded why I love it here, so much. It's only an hour and a half away from our permanent home, but it's a whole different world for us - a, totally, different atmosphere. At home in Plainfield, it's easy to get pulled away from each other with the computers, tv's, toys, the piano, housework, etc., but here at the cabin it's just about us, as a family, spending real quality time together....no distractions. Within fifteen minutes of walking in the door, we had the stereo going, the popcorn popping in the air-popper, and a game of monopoly started. For almost two hours, we played, and laughed together. When the game was over we even got a little dancing in! It's was a perfect night. I look forward to the many years ahead, and all the great memories we will make here.

**Love of Reading**

Our Aubree loves to read! Since Dec. she has read three books:

1) The Call of the Wild
2) The Tiger Rising
3) The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

She's only 7 years old (almost 8), but she's reading books for ages 9-12, and she's really enjoying the books. It's so great to see the big smile on her face when she finishes a book. She gets so excited to tell me about the book, and I love hearing about her favorite parts of the story.

Here's a picture of her with a couple of the books she's finished. Next, she's decided to read Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.