Tuesday Randoms and Rambling

I feel like I have been crazy-busy lately, but haven't been accomplishing much. I've got a bunch of random photos to share~ some are from my phone and Instagram {you can follow me there at dreamanddiffer}, others are strays that have been building up on my camera.  Today, they're all getting lumped together in one post of miscellaneous nonsense!
Hunter and I have been hard at work since getting back to school after the holidays. Our biggest motivator: an itemized daily lesson plan. This might seem obvious to a naturally organized person, but for flighty-me, it has been a revelation. Up to recently, I've had a general, long-term idea of what we needed to accomplish, but the day-to-day stuff was pretty loosely outlined. 

Being able to check things off our daily list has been such a great motivator for both of us to stay on track. We are both much happier as a result. 

Speaking of being happier, this kid is one happy fella.

 Last year, when he attended public school, he would go to bed and wake up crying. Not any more. I can see how much more confident and content he is. And when I inevitably second guess our decision to homeschool, I need only remember that to know we did the right thing.

Hockey practice, hockey games, hockey tournaments, and hockey parties continue to dominate our daily schedule. 

Here's the birds-eye-view of what I usually look like while I huddle in the bleachers. 

Boots {with wool socks}, long-johns, wrapped in a blanket, big fuzzy mittens...

and I'm still freezing.

Caitlin and I drove up to the frozen northland for a tournament last weekend, just beating a nasty ice-storm. My vehicle was coated in 1/4" of ice on Saturday morning, but that didn't stop these feisty girls from taking 3rd place in the tourney.

We enjoyed lots of girl-bonding time in between games.

So intent on her Applebee's coloring sheet, that she didn't even notice I was taking her picture. I got a "Heeeeeeeey, Moooooooom!" when she finally looked up!

In between tournaments, games, and crazy work schedules, it seems like I hardly get to see this guy. 

{and his dreamy baby-blues!}

But we managed to take in a {what else?} hockey game together last week. Okay... so the kids were there too, but they were both sitting with friends so we never even saw them. It was almost like a date!

So, to sum it all up: hockey, homeschool, and more hockey.

What have you been up to?