Another Day of… SNOW!

It was April 14th and it snowed.  Snow in April is… not fun.  : )  So we did another day of Circle Time to distract us.

See this pile of projects behind Mallory.   I love Circle Time.  I love all the projects.  The kids love all the projects more.  However, projects take over my home!

Max had to line up these pictures in the order they happened.

Then he had to pick a number and count out that number of feathers and put them in the owl. 

Counting is way too easy for Mallory so… we practiced some addition.

This is how much snow we got!!  Yeah it is pretty… but not in April! 

This bird unit we are doing has the kids noticing every single bird!  They get so excited when they see one out the window that they have me come quietly to come see it.  I’ve tried to explain that it is almost summer now and we are going to see lots of birds!  They don’t agree with me.  They still get super excited! 

Sweatshirt Weather!

We are starting to experience warmer temps and it feels amazing!  The kids want to be outside every second when it is nice out. 

Believe it or not they can play Frozen outside too!  : )  They use our deck as the ice castle and Mallory runs around pretending to turn everything into ice.  They sometimes even try to get the dog involved into their shenanigans.  Which our dog is not very smart and she doesn’t get it and starts acting like she is clinically ill and running super fast and every which direction with her tongue hanging out so far that she might trip herself.  Yeah.  She’s a beast.  

As soon as it reached 40 degrees outside Mallory has been asking for a campfire.  We still had a yard full of snow and she wanted a campfire!  She finally got her first fire!  Had to be on the patio though because it was way too wet and muddy by our other firepit.

If you give Mally & Max a campfire… they are going to ask for juice and marshmallows to go with it. 

I think I need to start being a bit more of stickler on my kids appearance.  Sheesh!  They are raggamuffin looking kids!  See… I let them dress themselves because they are so fussy about clothes.  They both don’t like blue jeans and they need a certain shirt each day.  So I let them do it.  Matching or not matching.  I attempt to get Mallory’s hair combed each day (but there are days that get missed) and she doesn’t like her hair up so it is down and by the end of the day she is a hot mess.  Max.  He won’t let you come near him with an attempt to do his hair!  Not a chance!  He’ll bust out the ugly cry if you try!  So I don’t try anymore!  And well… this is why they look like this.  Except on Sunday… Sundays I try to steer them into nicer (or matching) clothes. 

Oh hey!  Do you remember this guy?  He would be the guy we call Daddy around here!  He doesn’t usually sit still long enough for me to get a camera shot of him.  But I caught him relaxing next to the campfire! 

We are very ready for more summer nights and campfires!

Tweet Tweet–A Month of Birds

We completed our month of Pond Animals & Bugs and it went so well that I ordered the next month of materials which is all about birds & eggs. 

This month has been really hard to keep up.  We are way behind.  I some how got busy… with I don’t know what.  The good news is the kids love it!!  They ask me to do either “school” or “circle time”.  It is working for both of their ages right now.  Some of the stuff is way (way way way way) too easy for Mallory and some of the stuff is way (way way way way) too hard for Max.  So I take pieces and only let Max do them and then the other is for Mallory. 

Max is very much boy.  So learning for him is so not what he wants to do… unless it is learning about hunting and guns and bow and arrows.  However, I have been able to trick him and he is learning his numbers and counting things and colors.  But the little stinker will only do it when we have circle time.  If we ask him color or shape or to count outside that environment he’ll goof around and won’t do it right. 

I took pictures on the first day of our bird unit.  Each unit they are given a name tag to fill out.

I’m a handwriting freak! Wouldn’t it be so fun to turn her handwriting into a font!!  Then I would have it forever.    

Max right now is refusing writing.  Which he is probably still pretty little for it.  But I wrote his name and I wanted him to trace it – but he wouldn’t.  He wanted me to hold the marker with him and trace it.

They made hatching eggs this day.

Then they got to write with a white color and reveal what they wrote/drew with water colors using a sponge.

Mallory uses only one color.

Max uses all the colors in his paintings.  Every time. 

Springy Spring! Yay!

It was warm out last week!  The snow is just about gone!  Spring might really be just around the corner! 

The first day it was warm I took the kids out and we went for a walk.  Mallory rode her bike and I talked Max into riding the tricycle.  He is not much for ride on toys that require him to make them move.  The only riding he wants to do is if it has a motor… or we are pushing him.  When he agreed to peddle a tricycle around the block!  I got giddy!  I thought maybe this year might be different!  He might actually use peddle power this year!! 

Well…

The street is sandy from the snow melting and he didn’t like peddling on the lightly sandy street (we don’t have sidewalks).  Then we got to an older patch of blacktop and it was too bumpy – he didn’t like it.  He got off and ran in the puddles and I had to carry his bike.

The next day came and out we go to do our walk and he refuses to ride the tricycle because it was too bumpy.  And I was back to pushing him in his car. 

Mallory.  Complete opposite.  She is going to peddle her bike.  Heck at Max’s age she was riding miles on the tricycle!  She wasn’t letting anyone push her in a stroller!! 

We got back and the kids took off running around finding “treasures” that were left behind from the snow melting. 

They hunted all over the yard, and the neighbors, collecting pinecones. 

This little nuk in the back corner of our yard is my favorite spot!

It was such a beautiful day!

There was a battle over the wagon full of treasures and Max had to give Mallory a turn at pulling the wagon.  He came and sat on this bucket.  I thought he was irresistibley cute and took his picture.

It lasted for only seconds.  He saw Maggie way out in the field and off he went to be by her.  I usually totally despise that field because it is full of wood ticks and I totally HATE wood ticks!  But I figured it can’t be wood tick season yet… so he could go and run out there.

There are two tiny specks in this picture below.  One is Max and one is the dog. 

Max is usually a stick to my side little boy – but he is all about being outside now that it is nice.  Running.  Free.  And this over-protective momma let him!  : )  I can sometimes be too controlling – it is my parenting weakness.  It is hard for me to turn it off – but I try.

Meanwhile Miss Mallory was way over here looking for more treasures.

She thinks I’m taking a picture of her treasures… but I’m not.  Shhh.  I wanted a picture of this girl!  This girl who is totally into princesses!  This girl who wants to wear a dress every. single. day.  This girl who doesn’t want you to comb her hair.  This girl who loads on so much lip gloss it runs down her chin.  This girl who can sometimes be so mothering to her little brother and helps him and teaches him all that she knows.  This girl who makes my heart hurt because she is getting too big!

She quickly spotted Max way out in the field that she had to run out there and make sure he was going to come back. 

Our dream… is to own this little field.  To have one of those totally cute chicken houses out here.  To have some chickens to keep the dog entertained.  Chickens for the kids to go and get eggs.  Oh and a donkey!  And a goat or two!  The end. 

Baby Bumps–27 Weeks

The countdown is on!!!!  90 +/- days!!! 

Can I just tell you how excited I am to get this baby girl in my arms and snuggle!!  Oh man!  I stalk follow two gals on instagram that just had babies.  And oh my!  I even sent a text to my mom and sister [because they also stalk follow these same ladies] and told them – I may not share my baby!  Um… they told me to get over it before the baby is born because I was sharing!  They want their baby snuggles too!  Then we wanted to know if it would be weird to go snuggle these new babies that we stalk follow…

So I’m excited to hold this baby girl yet I’m in the stage of how-is-this-baby-getting-out-again?!  I know this is my third time around.  However, it still scares me!  I think about it a lot actually!  Mallory has asked a few times how the baby comes out and I just stare at her with totally shock and fear in my eyes and say “I don’t know Mally.”  My cousin’s wife posted an article on facebook about 25 things no one told her about recovery from giving birth.  Oh wow!  I laughed.  I cried.  I cried.  I laughed.  I wondered – do I really want 4 kids… or will 3 be good?! 

So I reached the stage where my shirts just hang off my belly like a cliff.  Not a fan.  Don’t know how to stop it.  The stage of getting too big my clothes no longer fit.

Heartburn.  Lets stop and talk about this lovely little thing.  I get it when pregnant.  Bad.  But not only is it me… others get it too!  I’ve mentioned before that my Dad gets heartburn when someone in our family is pregnant.  His heartburn typically just lasts for the first few months.  Jesse!  Jesse gets heartburn when I’m pregnant!  It is the strangest thing!  He has gotten it with other two pregnancies too!  This one is no exception.

These pictures are so lying to you guys!  I thought pictures were suppose to add 10 pounds… or maybe that was television… but I tell you what - I’m way bigger then what these pictures are showing!!  For example when people see me now they say “when are you due again?” And I say, “oh honey!  I have three months left!  I’m not due until July!”  The smile falls from their face and they go “oh.” and it is end of discussion. 

I’m waddling!  My back hurts!  Constantly!  I can’t see my feet!  I can’t shave my legs!  I need new polish on my toes… but I stubbed my foot and I’m pretty sure I broke my toe… so I can’t go get a pedi because I’m afraid they will touch my broken toe and I’ll scream and cry and then they will talk in their little language and make fun of the pregnant crying white girl.  So um… I sit with polish on my toes that is from November.  Yes.  November.  Yes.  I should of repainted them way before this belly grew this size… but I’m lazy. 

Speaking of lazy.  When does the nesting stage hit?  Because I need it!  I have a lot of things I would like to get ready before baby arrives and I have none, zero, zilch motivation to do any of it.  I need to convert the two-kids room into a three-kids room.  I need to find all the baby clothing.  I need to start getting baby supplies together.  Nothing is ready for a baby to enter this home.  Maybe next month…

My coffee pot broke.  I know this has nothing to do with pregnancy.  But it kind of does.  I can’t sleep at night.  I sleep for a few moments and then wake up finding myself on my back… attempt to get my beached whale of body to roll over and off my back… battle heartburn… fall back asleep… wake up a few moments later on my back… and the cycle continues all night long… ending with a leg cramp!  So I need coffee to get my butt moving in the morning.  Do you know what really makes a pregnant hormonal girl mad… attempting to make the coffee pot work every morning!!  It doesn’t work!  I hit that brew button for thirty minutes!  I’m determined… or desperate… I like to think determined.  It doesn’t even spit a drop of coffee out at me.  Today Max told on me!  He told Jesse “Momma hit the coffee pot!”  Yes!  Yes I did!  And you know what?!  It still didn’t give me coffee!

I’m pretty sure we have another long legged Frey!  This baby girl attempts to stretch a lot.  All up in my ribs on the right side and way down at the bottom of my belly.  She is always on my right side up in my ribs.

Max was trying to use my belly as a  pillow today and he kept wiggling trying to find just the perfect spot.  Then all of sudden BAM baby girl gave him a great big kick!  He sat up and found a new position! 

Max has always been my snuggler.  He always wants me to carry him.  He wants to be on my lap.  But I have noticed that this has really made him grow up a bit.  He now walks.  He doesn’t need as many snuggles from me.  When he does ask me to carry him… he gets up on my belly and pats my belly and says “hi baby” followed by some sort of boy comment like “I’m gonna poop on your head.” 

Names?  Nope.  Still no name.  Mallory is still thinking we should go with Flower.  Max has changed his name and now wants to name her Sugarland.  One day he thought maybe Penelope.  If you have ever heard my Max talk you would be amazed that he could say that name.

Aaaand that’s a wrap on 27 weeks of pregnancy!! 

Sports Center

I am such a routine at home kind of mom.  I don’t like to go places.  It throws my whole week off.  It throws nap schedules off.  I’ve tried joining a Friday morning Mom’s group and I stopped going because it threw my Friday off.  Play dates with other Mom’s – have to be right away in the morning and just for an hour or two – because I have to get back into our daily routine/schedules.  I know.  It is ridiculous.  And there are times where I get tired of the routine and I’ll go to an extra play date or I’ll plan an extra outing for us to do.

Last week was that time.  I was getting restless.  We hadn’t done anything fun in a few weeks.  I heard about an indoor sports center that had huge blow-up bounce houses, ride on toys, etc. for the kids to come play on in the morning.  We went!!  It was a huge hit!

They jumped in the bounce house and raced each other in the obstacle course. 

Kicked a soccer ball around.  Ran and ran and ran and ran.

Built a train track.

Took turns running a scooter from one end to the other.

We had lots of fun and got lots of wiggles out.