May mayhem

I had Breck take a couple of spring pictures of what we've been doing lately. This first picture is of Talia's new room downstairs. It is still in process but I'm happy to report that we have no more big furniture to move! She is thrilled to be down with the big kids and enjoying her princess bed (when she and I put it together we accidentally put it up REALLY high). She is in the room that was once the guest/craft room. She has been waking up lately and brushing and doing her hair and donning a girly summer outfit even before coming upstairs. She has been lucky enough to get a lot of attention from Breck who loves to do her hair and has been coming up with a lot of pretty good hairdo's likely from Breck's imagination.



Again, these are Breck's shots. This is our romaine lettuce which is definitely our favorite lettuce now. It grows well and lasts so much longer than the other lettuce varieties without going bitter.


Spider's wort (not a great name, but I love any plant that boasts a chartreuse color. Probably because I have so many shady spots in my yard, this color seems to have so much life and energy. Speaking of shade, another of our projects has been to cut down (or have done by a good neighbor) and then haul away the huge evergreen on the East side of the yard. It is a big project, but we are excited to have less pine needles, less roots in the grass and more sunshine!


From Breck's garden (flax) She has been working hard in her garden and a couple of weeks ago I took her out of school and we went to the nursery together to buy flowers for her garden. It was a fun date and I feel blessed to share this love of flowers with her. She especially loves ground covers and anything romantic looking. She has scored twise this year in her soccer season and made Presidential in her mile run at school. Her early morning math sessions have also resulted in good gains on her math scores. We are proud of her efforts and accomplishments. She has also discovered the curling iron and has begun experimenting with it. It's fun to have a little sister with long pretty hair that is always willing to play salon. For mother's day, one of the things Breck gave me was a 20min. multi massage (she explained that this was a session with many different types of massage (spa) experiences! I've not yet redeemed this coupon, but with all the aches and pains that come with this stage of life for me, it is sure to be a treat. We are not sure where Breck came from, but she is like a breath of fresh aire, always looking for beauty, creating it, bringing it inside and enjoying life.

One of my favorite spring flowers Leopard's bane

My own reminder of home and our remembrance of Craig's grandparents the dogwood tree. This is our third one in this spot and we are praying it will make it. Let's see, Landen has been researching dogs with his Dad and will have a very special event to blog next week. He has his first guitar recital this week which he is very anxious about. He has also finished up his soccer season with the exception of tryouts. We are going to have him tryout for the next year up to see if that is a better fit for him. He is triumphing in our good weather and hates, hates, hates to come inside. He is enjoying the Avi and Beverly CLeary books. He has also taken up baseball and is continually trying to talk us into playing a family game of baseball. That is a very interesting event with one extremely intense boy and a slew of silly, creative girls all playing together.


My bleeding heart is gigantic.! Capri is nearly toilet trained. It has been a month of underwear and she is really doing well. She is defintely not one of those "done in a day" kids, but she is highly motivated and does her best. She only gets a treat for bowel movements, so she will often go and strain and strain to try and produce the appropriate proof that will earn her a fruit snack. In the beginning of this whole ordeal she was a once-a-dayer, but I really think because of our current incentive program she has changed to multiple very very small bouts! We may have to change our system! She seems to hardly sleep and will often stay in her room for hours destroying everything in sight, or if she does have a nap she will be up past Craig and I again causing mayhem in her room. She is enjoying her new room (Tali's old) and is excited to give her room to the baby. The other day she was looking at my stomach and trying to figure out how the baby was fitting inside there. I took her and crunched her up and told her that the baby was like that in a little ball. She thought and then looking at my stomach she said, "No a BIG ball!" She is starting to ask if the baby is done growing and is excitedly watching the passy's, car seat, and crib come back into her old room. She is a great talker and talks alot about the things she loves and things that are funny.


This has been our big project. We dug the ring of grass out, added the trees and shrubs and perennials and mulch (I ordered three loads- and will never again order that much it has taken forever to finish though things sure look sharp with the dark background and I know our poor soil benefits from the added nutrients.

I had a wonderful birthday and felt very loved by my family and friends. I think that even though I feel like a very stable person socially and emotionally, my birthday was a time to be reminded how nice it is to be thought of. It made me want even more to remember special days for others and make that a greater priority in my life. Relationships are what make life truly special.


Talia had her dance recital last weekend. She has this thing with not having ringlets and cried and cried as I put the curlers in her hair. She is such a happy girl who is also trying out some new attitudes and personality types. She is a wonderful sister and so dear to Capriel. They often spend early morning before school in their p.j.'s riding bikes together.

Well, that's all I have time for. I am definitely focussing on baby countdown. My list is beginning to have a few checked off items, and my high energy state is giving way to a few more tired and achey days. I haven't grown for a few weeks, but an extra ultrasound showed that everything is still fine with the baby. I'm hoping she'll just take all the extra weight so I don't have to lose so much afterwards. We are enjoying spring immensely and feel so blessed to be in a current neighborhood, area, situation.