To Love Endlessly

Friday Family Fun

2013-05-17T19:25:00.001-07:00

Bradley's unit had a mandatory family fun day today. We headed out for the event and parking was CRAZY. Then I realized as we were walking that I'd left my camera in the car. That means ZERO pictures of our fun day in the sun. I forced the Bradley and the kids to go back into the sand for this one shot though. haha!! We sure did wear the kiddos out though. BL will only ever fall asleep in his bed, so passing out on his couch means he had a big ole' day of fun! 33 weeks! Off to cheer practice and since she did amazing at practice we picked up some ice cream cones at Publix. I love the new mini cones, perfect size cone for little ones! The littles feel asleep quick tonight...I'm headed there now myself. :0)

Field Trip Fun Day!!

2013-05-16T17:54:00.001-07:00

There was another field trip with MJs class today. We went to the Florida Gulfarium and had a BLAST!! The boys went to daycare for the afternoon and Bradley had a golf tournament, so it was just me and Little Miss. She did great and listened pretty well throughout the adventure. Now, she loved the dolphin and sea lion show, but she wouldn't stop asking to see the sea horses. Thankfully, the Gulfarium has a HUGE aquarium and she quickly found her prized conquest! Not sure what it was about the sea horses, but she was just taken with them! Even though the boys were away most of the day, we finished the night with Digornos Pizza and a pretend birthday party. There are nights when no one will touch there food and there's plenty of wandering throughout dinner. Tonight, I think they were all so tired and missed hanging out together, they just sat nicely, ate their pizza, and played with each other throughout the "party". Absolutely, truly blessed indeed!!

Time Out

2013-05-15T20:03:00.000-07:00

Marissa came home with an "ok" school report. She did okay at school, but started out pulling a kiddos shirt on the bus. Behaviors on the bus. I think those are out of pure boredom. She is always fidgeting and I think the bus drive is just too boring so she finds things to keep her idle hands busy. I'm considering getting something written into her IEP to allow her something to hang onto during the bus drive. As for school, she's been having a rough month or so. It started when I went out of town for a weekend and then it was followed by Bradley going into the field for a couple of weeks. Every time there's change in MJs life, she has regression with her potty skills. So in addition to an increased amount of accidents, she started being nasty to friends at school or being defiant towards her teacher. So I've started implementing timeout and taking her computer away depending upon what happens throughout the day. Today, she was bad on the bus, but good at school so she had a 5 minute timeout when she got home. After her timeout, she put Barney in timeout. She told him "no pinching, no scratching". She gets that she is being bad, but she keeps doing it. What to do, what to do?

Tuesday Tales

2013-05-14T20:25:00.002-07:00

Morning PT with Daddy! Speech therapy, feeding the ducks, splash pad at the park, then to the library where they discovered books and vending machines! MJ had a busy day too. After school she had a 5 minute time out for pinching her friends at school. :-( Her day was not lost though as Bradley took a half day and while the boys were napping we took her swimming. She did lose computer privileges for the day and went to bed early as she was complaining saying "I don't feel good mama". She fell asleep quick! I hope that's the makings of a good day tomorrow!!

Monday Mother's Day ;0)

2013-05-13T20:16:00.000-07:00

Planting my mother's Day gift of Day Lilies and ornamental grass with the boys and cooling off in the hose. Good times!!

Happy Mother's Day!

2013-05-12T20:15:00.001-07:00

After church we went flower picking and sat poolside. We eventually went swimming after naps. The water was a little cold so we warmed the kiddos up with their winter jammies while indulging in an Oreo Sundae from Burger King. yummo! 32 weeks! Only 47 days to go! We have a C-section scheduled for June 28. I think I have the dizzy spells under control, but now I've started having Braxton Hicks contractions. I'm keeping tabs on them to ensure they aren't true labor pains, but until they start coming more consistently I'm going to just write them off as inconvenient. Mine are painful and frustrating. It's very much like menstrual cramps that give me pause each time they happen. Still nothing consistent, so I'm just watching. She's got to bake a while longer, so I'm praying for false labor pains. This was taken back in April, but it's a fav of me and my littles. I love them! And Happy Mother's Day to my mama!! I was able to spend a weekend with her and 1 of my big sisters in April. Definitely a weekend to cherish and memories to hold onto forever. As we get older and move to different parts of the continent, making time for family grows harder and times between visits seem to lengthen. I'm so thankful Bradley watched the kids for the weekend so I could spend some much needed time with my mom and sister. My mom has always been there for us kids to listen to us, hold us, and lift us up when we need encouraging. I'm so blessed to call her mom!

Pre-Mother's Day

2013-05-11T18:17:00.000-07:00

My sister tried out this new recipe and passed it along to me. It was a BIG hit with the kids and so much fun to make. The kids helped me squish the biscuits down and add the cheese and pepperoni. I didn't take pics while cooking simply because my phone was out of reach. It was a clean enough dinner prep that I easily could've snapped a couple shots. The end results, a a BIG thumbs up! Had a bit of time for Daddy daughter time. M has been all about her stuffed animals. Yesterday she did her teddy's nails and today he played along for a sing-a-thon during the boys nap time. So happy Daddy is home to play! And for a little Pre-Mother's Day celebrating we went to Lowe's (yep, MJ drove us there!) haha, not really, but she was pretty thrilled sitting in the front seat while we waited on Daddy to come out to the car. We did have a boat reserved for the day, but the weather just didn't cooperate so we had to reschedule for another day. On the way to Lowe's we stopped at Walgreens and picked up a pack of cookies. While Bradley was in the store picking out the deliciousness, I was talking to the kids about plant shopping and cookies. I happened to mention that we might even get a cookie plant. This struck MJ as HILARIOUS and she laughed, and laughed, and laughed! Love these kids, even when I'm having a grumpy butt day (which today was one of those for no good reason)...they can always make me smile.

Farmer's Market Friday

2013-05-10T12:38:00.002-07:00

Last day of teacher appreciation week. We made cute little handprint cards with a nice little note attached to a much needed bottle of bubbly wine! Little Miss hasn't been listening very well to the teacher or the aide the last month of so...bad note after bad note. I figured they could each use a bottle of wine for the weekend! The boys and I delivered the wine (not exactly an ideal gift to pack wine in your kiddos backpack), but weren't ready to go home so we headed to downtown to walk around a little. We stumbled upon a Farmer's Market that we didn't know about. Apparently it happened every Friday in that same area. I wasn't expecting to shop, just had plans to walk with the boys for a bit so I only came home with a couple pastries...a HUGE cinnamon roll for Bradley and chocolate cake for myself. Of course, I grabbed the kiddos a Strawberry cheesecake pound cake to share after dinner this evening.I already indulged in the chocolate cake and it was delish!! Turns out Marissa had a good day at school (AMEN!) So, while the boys napped, I took Marissa swimming. We weren't in there long because the air was chilly, but she just loves the water. It was the perfect way to reward her great listening skills for the day!

Thankful Thursday

2013-05-09T19:04:00.000-07:00

Thankful to have a day to color, mold playdoh, and put on our party 'staches!

Soup Kitchen

2013-05-08T16:40:00.000-07:00

Our teacher appreciation gift was fun today! We made this One 1 side it says, you deserve a hand. Then on the opposite side it says, OR 2, thank you for everything you DO! MJ loves her doll house, I hate the clutter. Any suggestions how to get this spot in her room organized? So, I took the boys to a local soup kitchen to volunteer. I was nervous about bringing them since my last volunteer experience with children didn't get very well. Today was a big success so we'll definitely be back next week! And at the end of the day, we all played on the iPad before bedtime. We sang songs, colored, and did a couple matching games.

Baby M

2013-05-07T18:51:00.001-07:00

Teacher Appreciation gift Day #2...we packaged up a pear and a banana and added these cute labels I found on Pinterest. Marissa was off to school today, here she is waiting on the bus. The boys and I made it to the library for story time this morning. It was fun, although BC cried at the beginnning because he wasn't allowed to be outside picking flowers. After reading some stories on our own (following the organized reading) I let the boys run through the field outside the library and pick flowers to their little hearts content. Something I didn't do with the other 3 was a 3D/4D ultrasound. So, with surprise baby #4, I scheduled one. Bradley came along and brought all 3 kiddos with so they could see their baby sis. Each of them were sporting their Big Sister/Brother shirts. ;0) They were excited at first, but quickly lost interest and were off to play. Thankfully, the place we went to Living Images had a great set up for kids and we were able to keep tabs on them while still watching the Ultrasound. Introducing Baby M at 31 weeks! She's sucking her lower lip, just like Marissa does! She slept the whole time so she was a very good "patient".

Teacher Appreciation Week!

2013-05-06T18:41:00.001-07:00

I had a scheduled maintenance on our air conditioner this morning. Meaning they could come anytime between 8-12...so as soon as I got Marissa on the bus I loaded the boys into the car (complete in the PJs) and ran over to the park to feed the ducks. :0) I made it a super quick trip so that we wouldn't be seen by anyone we knew though. While the air conditioner guy worked...the boys colored and I finished my paintings. They are the coloring I was hoping for for the room I wanted them in, but they're alright... I put those delicious strawberries to use and made a strawberry banana smoothie. Yummy! the boys thought it was AMAZING as well. Marissa, unfortunately, wouldn't even try it though. The boys spent a fair amount of time in their jammies today. :0) I scored this stool for free. It was looking pretty rough, but I spray painted it blue to match the playroom decor, turned it upside down, and stuck all our "stick like" toys in there for storage. I stuck it behind our rocking chair in attempt to save the wall from swiftly rocking children. I'll keep you posted on the "successfulness" of that! And our Little Miss at play! I simply love this girl!! Oh and don't forget this is Teacher Appreciation Week! On our way home from the duck pond, the boys and I dropped off a batch of thank you cupcakes. We have another small surprise planned for tomorrow! Thankful for the wonderful teachers in our girls life. So blessed!!!

Epiphany Sunday!

2013-05-05T19:10:00.001-07:00

We're 31 weeks preggo with Baby M! We've set the set for June 28 for a scheduled C-section. I'm looking forward to meeting her and getting past these dizzy spells. They still haven't lessened, but they haven't gotten any worse either. I go to cardiology next week so they can take a look at my heart health and make sure it's not negatively affecting Baby M. And for my epiphany! Since we moved here I've been going to the same church off and on...Lifepoint. It's about 7 minutes from the house, have multiple outreach programs, community oriented, and good people when you walk through the door. I put my name in the hat several times to become more involved and never heard anything back form ANYONE. I grew frustrated with their lack of interest in having my around so i gave up and simply stopped going. It's easy to say you don't go to church when you're husband is deployed and you have 3 little kids to care for. But now Bradley is home and we still haven't been going. Truth be told, Bradley's not much of a church go-er. He'll go from time to time but never very consistent. I don't know that's been to a service with us since we moved to Florida actually. In fact, I think I miss him not coming along...I'll have to get on him about that. At any rate, my epiphany has nothing to do with Bradley going/not going...it's about me and my attitude. I got frustrated with Lifepoint because of feeling like no one wanted me around. But every Sunday that I would go, it'd be the same routine. Drop the boys off at nursery, take Marissa to worship during music (sneak out when she'd had enough to take her to the kid's room), then sit and listen to the sermon, and leave. Aside from the times I'd stick around the fellowship hall or grab a quick coffee (all proceeds go to missions), I'd grab the kids and leave...no opportunity for me to meet anyone or anyone to meet me. It actually took the sour visit from last week's church for me to realize that anywhere I go, I'm going to have the same issue. I don't know anyone, no one knows me. But I'm not giving anyone the opportunity to meet us either. But, I don't know how to do that either...I have 3 littles that by the time they've been in the nursery for a service their brains have turned to mush and staying close to me while I try to socialize isn't really an option. Since I don't know anyone well enough to help me maintain kiddos while I socialize (as you might if you knew a few people throughout the congregation), any conversations attempted at fragmented and disconnected. The last time I volunteered, in an attempt to put myself out there, ended with MJ being pushed over the handlebars of a bike, flying face first into the gymnasium floor, loosing her front teeth, having dental surgery, then developing a case of MRSA, which also required surgery. Yep, not a good taste in my mouth for volunteering. So, what to do, what to do...? Any suggestions how to put myself out there and get to know people at the church while not feeling like I'm going to have a panic attack over the excitement of my children? We're military so I know we won't be int he area forever, but as long as we're here I need to be connected with a church family. My personal walk is pretty well at a stand still or even a decline for that matter so something has to give... I'm ready to give myself, just not sure how or where to incorporate myself and the kiddos at this stage in our lives. I'm becoming increasingly aware that I can't continue to flounder around void of commitment. It's simply not how I want to be or how to raise my kids... After our morning adventure to church, we loaded the kiddos back up and went strawberry picking. Look at the gorgeous sky in the background...completely perfect weather for picking strawberries!!!

Whoa busy mama!!

2013-05-04T19:04:00.000-07:00

Nothing like starting up your blog again to realize you aren't doing anything purposeful with your time. Other than fulfilling obligations of appointments, me and the kids have a pretty run of the mill happenings around here. So this morning I decided we'd do a little baking and find a local shelter to donate our makings. I started out wanting to make cookies, but I was out of butter SO we made cupcakes (yep, used a box mix). Just like my mom used to do for us, I let the littles lick the wisks and spatulas....fond memories!! Unfortunately...as we were making the cupcakes I realized I had no frosting. Can't donate cupcakes without frosting...that's just not right. And since our van is in the shop and we have this little tiny Passat as a loaner I loaded THREE kiddos into our double stroller and hit up my friend's house who offered me a jar of pre-made frosting (I couldn't make any because of having no butter). The walk was a fun mix up to the day and a much needed breather from being coupes up in the house due to the morning rain. And the end result...cupcakes ready to deliver! And my genius idea...I didn't have anything to transport the cupcakes in and I was still trying to avoid a run to the store...I took empty cereal box, cut a panel out, used duck tape to reinforce the sides, and loaded those bad boys up. :0) We'll be delivering these tomorrow after church! Painting and coloring also make for great morning fun. The kids put their crayon box and rolled paper to good use, while I finished a painting project I've been thinking about for a while. I've had these blank canvases for a while now...I think it turned out nice...not exactly what I was envisioning, but they're cute for the playroom. And while the boys napped Little Miss and I did our nails and played dress-up! This girl in gorgeous inside and out!

Cheer!!

2013-05-03T05:13:00.000-07:00

No one threatens T3! Sorry for the short post...heading to bed with a migraine tonight. ;-/

Carpet Install

2013-05-02T19:49:00.000-07:00

We finally had the carpet installed today! I spent a good portion of the day keeping the boys out of the workers hair! The 1st Thursday of every month is early release at Ms school so she was also home early, around 11:15 so I had to shuffle her around for a bit too. She didn't care for that arrangement at all and cried most of the time she was around to go to her room. If not for the tack strips, and all the sharp tools used to lay carpet, the kiddos could've had free reign of the house...no such luck though! We are super blessed to receive respite care through the Army so Little Miss was picked up about 45 minutes after arriving home and went over to our respite providers house. Hen, as we call her, as been with us pretty much since we came to Florida so I completely and utterly trust having M go to her house. That's hard to come by as a military family...finding a care provider that you truly enjoy and know that your kids are equally happy when she's around. When Hen was leaving for the day, BL even asked her for a kiss. CUTE!!! The install has been a huge success and we're happy with the selection. BL is literally jumping around the house he is so excited about having flooring again!

Volkswagen

2013-05-01T18:18:00.000-07:00

I had to drop off the car this morning for a transmission repair. I didn't know what was wrong with it going in but have since learned the "side rails" need to be replaced. Thankfully, it's covered under warranty, but we're stuck in a tiny car for the next week while they wait on parts. They offered to have me drive back and swap the cars out while we wait on the parts, but with the carpet install happening over the next couple of days and no major plans for the weekend, I figured it'd be easy enough to keep the Passat. The boys don't seem to mind the ride. All 3 kiddos were in desperate need of hair cuts. We have an incredible kids hair salon here in town. Complete with toys galore, TVs, and a stylist that works quickly and is SO patient! The boys are looking handsome and my girl is a beauty as always! Since the crew did fantastic at the hair salon, they were rewarded with a new tool. A bag of tool. Perfect because our indoor slide is broken (not really) so they got to work immediately. Later on they built a "cookie house". I haven't the slightest clue who came up with the idea to build a cookie house out of their play blocks, but it's one of their favorite things to do. Love these babies!!!

Pre-Op

2013-04-30T18:38:00.000-07:00

BC was scheduled to have tubes put in his ears and his adenoids removed tomorrow morning. We had this scheduled once previously but it was canceled due to the pediatrician hearing a heart murmur. BC was sick at the time of the pre-op appointment, so we chalked it up to a "flow murmur" which can happen when kiddos are sick and their bodies are trying to fight off an infection. Anyway, we rescheduled the surgery and had our pre-op appt this morning. Bradley has been against this surgery from the get go so we've been delaying it for a while. We used something called the Ear Doc which we bought online for $60. It's purpose is to naturally drain fluid from the ears. So we've been using that for about 9 months or so. Although I felt like it helped, BC was still getting ear infections and the drainage wasn't consistent. And the BIG kicker for me, his language was still significantly behind the "norm" for his developmental level. So, we went to our scheduled pre-op appointment and Ben was cleared for surgery. BUT instead of calling with an okay to our ENT, I called and cancelled the surgery (again). Our pediatrician confirmed there was no heart murmur, stated his ears look great, and we haven't had an infection in some time. One thing I learned when we were mulling over MJs sleep apnea concerns was that as children age their tubes actually get larger, the pediatrician confirmed that today and said that they usually start growing larger around 2-3 years of age, of which BC will be 3 in November! And the most important one to me came from our speech path and just from my daily observations. BC s talking, talking, talking! All of a sudden his language has just taken off. He'll label items in his environment, repeat words and sounds, and even sings along with common songs! Even though there's no surgery for Little Bear tomorrow, I did treat him to a dinner of pizza and milk. He loved it!! Although, Ben would, no doubt, be an exceptional patient...look at what a big boy he was for the dreaded blood pressure cuff...the surgery for tomorrow is canceled, but I was quick to fill the time with an appointment for our van. The transmission has been sounding pretty funky, so I'm thinking it needs a little tune up. I canceled daycare for BL so I'll be dragging the boys out and about tomorrow...here's hoping there's something close to the dealership to keep the 3 of us entertained!

Out & About

2013-04-29T16:58:00.001-07:00

BC is scheduled to have surgery on Wednesday (tubes put in and adenoids removed). We have his pre-op tomorrow morning and it was "supposed" to rain here all afternoon (of which is never did). Anyway, I took the opportunity of a free Monday morning and took the boys to play at the park. Sadly, when we arrived the park was closed for routine maintenance. BUMMER! However, the kids park is right by the duck pond here in town, so luckily I had brought a loaf of bread. Not only did we feed the ducks (and ourselves with the bread), we happened to see 12 baby ducks!! I was more excited than the boys who were more concerned with running the length of the platform across the water. BOYS! Feeding the ducks didn't take as long as I was hoping and I really wanted BC to have a fun morning out. Our local library offers a lap sit at just about the time we finished up feeding the ducks, so we ventured to the library. That was another bust! Story time on Mondays is for 3 and up...my boys simply lack the patience to sit for such a long time. We left after about 20 minutes of me telling them to "listen", "sit down", "hush"...I wasn't having fun with that conversation and I doubt they were either. Made it home and the boys were CRANKY (ie ready for naps). I put them down earlier than usual and I went for a swim all by my lonesome...talk about DIVINE!! Moments like this don't happen very often in our house! MJ got home from school and the boys were still napping so she inspected the fence and yard while I did a little bit of pool maintenance. Pools are time consuming!! Do you see what the kids are looking at? We had a visitor on our back deck this evening which was the highlight of the night! We couldn't go outside because of the rain, so our little "squirrely" friend was fun entertainment. For as much as my kids love books, I was surprised the boys couldn't sit still at the library. Here's BL...I told him to pick out 1 book for bedtime story. While I read to BC & MJ, I could here him sobbing in the playroom. When I went to check on him I found him with this HUGE stack of books that he had picked out for bedtime reading. He was beside himself because he couldn't carry all of them back to his room. Poor kid!

Sunday, sunday!!

2013-04-28T19:15:00.001-07:00

We tried a new church this morning. I wasn't thrilled with it so I don't think we'll be going back. The kids enjoyed the kids discovery center, but I felt like it was a bit too showy for my liking. Showy and I couldn't get them to leave. It was like herding cats. They even had playground equipment outside, of which one of my "cats" ran right out the door to go play with. I was frustrated and exhausted by the time I got them to the car. Since no one at the church offered any assistance what so ever, I did what every good mother would do and offered a bride of donuts...leaving the fun playground at church was a fair trade for Dunkin' Donuts!! We had a visitor today. The kids were so thrilled! Although he had a name, the kids strictly called him "baby"...too cute! And the day's events wore out my kiddos once again!

Babes at the Beach and a Birthday Party

2013-04-27T17:57:00.000-07:00

I kept my kiddos BUSY today! We started off with a trip to the beach and ended by celebrating the 4th birthday of our friend's daughter. There was no fighting bedtime this evening!! ;-) Taking the 3 littles to the beach was either very brave or not too smart of me, but the event went really well. I was happy with how well they all behaved and I was really thrilled with the location. I received an insider tip that the water was pretty shallow for ways out and it was usually not too busy...I I figured I'd brave our first beach trip and it was a HIT! M is a fish in the water and typically the boys are a little more hesitant. There were a couple other families there playing and the whole lot of them just played and played and PLAYED! It was such a fun morning. For the ride home (a 30 minute or so drive) I packed lunchables and brought their milk cups along. They ate their lunches in almost complete silence, thanks to a coma like induced state of happiness. I got them home, we took naps, and headed out to the birthday party. While at the party none of the kids wanted to eat cake. So when we got home we had a little bit of ice cream and cake at the table and sang Happy Birthday to their friend (even though she was back home). I let them open their goody bags and play for a bit before sending them off to bed. There was no fighting bedtime tonight. Each of the 3 were asleep within minutes of their bedtime. 30 weeks preggo with Baby M!!

Field Day!!

2013-04-26T18:51:00.001-07:00

Today was field day at M's school. She's looking so grown up in these pictures, I can barely stand it. Where does the time go?!? While the boys were napping, M and I went swimming! I wasn't up to taking all the littles swimming so we stay inside after nap-time and played to their little hearts content: music, duck pond, perfection, and we even caught butterflies. :0) And after they ate their dinner...there was ice cream! I thought I found the greatest thing at Publix today, mini ice cream cones. I figured they'd be about 1/2 the size of the regular cones. Nope they're probably 1/3 the size. Granted this was perfect for the littles, I surely didn't hear any complaining from them AND there was hardly a drop of ice cream spilled BUT, not the delicious snack I had in mind. I wound up eating 3 of them! Sometimes, you just have to indulge a little. ;0)

Back to the Dr. I go...

2013-04-25T18:39:00.000-07:00

I've been having dizzy spells for about a month now. When they first started I was getting over being sick and a nasty ear infection. I figured the culprit was simply fluid in my ear and didn't give it much thought. Well my ears have cleared up and I'm still having dizzy spells. I can barely manage 15 minutes or so taking care of basic household chores. So just as the door closed on Baby M being high risk, enter a new set of concerns for me. My 3 hr. glucose test back clear so that's good. But my CBC (blood count), my iron was low. They started me on iron and I went back in today to have my thyroid and iron levels checked. My thyroid looks good, but my iron levels have dropped again. Odd since I've been on the iron for a couple of weeks now. So, my doc put in a consult for cardiology. BLAH! I am sort of fighting going to cardiology since I've never had any heart health issues previously. One issue I have is they want to do a series of tests which of course can't be scheduled for the same day, so I have 4 different appointments scheduled over the next month to check my heart health. Normally I'd love to have my health assessed so thoroughly but when it means finding and paying daycare and then commuting to/from appointments for what I'm thinking will just be a temporary inconvenience...well I'm just frustrated. Not with the docs, but with my body for not making these last 2 months smooth sailing. And honestly, if I'm going to be paying for daycare, I'd much rather be doing something enjoyable vs. chilling in a waiting room or doctor's office. So that's what's in store for this month lots of appointments for me. Any suggestions on a good book to carry along to my appointments? After my blood draw this morning, we stopped off at the park for a few. It was fin for the boys to get out and run around and I sat on a bench and watched them. When we got home, we did a whole lot of nothing. :0)

Long Wednesday, but blessed!

2013-04-24T17:44:00.001-07:00

I didn't get much sleep last night. I was tossing and turning all night, no reason in particular but I just couldn't get comfortable. I knew if I didn't keep the boys entertained today it would be a really long day. So, we went to the flooring store and put a deposit down on our new carpet. (A couple weeks back we had a flood in the house and we are finally going to get the flooring replaced!) yay!! I loaded the boys up with pears as a snack and they were excellent shopping buddies. :-) We came back home a did a little gardening in the front yard. I just planted this particular plant about 2 weeks ago. Look how much it's already grown. I've been using a mixture of coffee grounds and filling up old milk jugs for watering. My Dad read somewhere that the milk proteins are great for growing healthy plants. We go through gallons of milk here, so it's a nice way to stretch the last little bits of milk in the jug. I While waiting on M to come home from school we went for a wagon ride. Flowering weeds are fairly plentiful in our neighborhood so we picked some flowers to pass along to their big sister. She loved the surprise when she got off the bus! Here's a shot of the FOUR babies! I know it's a terrible shot but dragging a wagon, taking a picture, and smoothing my shirt didn't make for great multi-tasking. They love wagon rides! Check out this awesome find! I also took the boys to a local consignment shop today. I found this great Toy Story bag for $3! All 3 of the littles are obsessed with Toy Story right now so this was the perfect find for a day trip diaper bag. Looks like our Elmo bag is being replaced. ;0) Little M loves her iPad! Speaking of brothers giving their sister flowers...I got these beautiful flowers in the mail today. Since we're military we live far from family and it's definitely hard to stay connected. Well, my brother sent me flowers...completely out of the blue, no specific reason needed. Super sweet, right?!? I really do have the best brother. I pray my boys treat their sisters as well as my brother does his.

Day at the house

2013-04-23T23:25:00.001-07:00

While waiting on the bus, we started M's driving lessons. My advice...all other vehicles should exit the road. She's pretty serious about having the music blasting and the breeze blowing through her hair! This is the look of a 4 year old that has to sit and wait for her turn to swing. Pathetic right?!? I put some toys together that the kiddos received for Christmas: a soccer net, T-Ball, and a Golf game. The Golf and t-ball will only be available under strict supervision as each of the items can quickly become weapons BUT the kids loved the new toys. Definitely the highlight of our evening. I'm pretty proud of myself here...I scored these room darkening panels at a local thrift shop for $10 for the pair. I hung them up today making use of Bradley's drill and they are still hanging strong. The boys fell asleep quickly at naptime thanks to these puppies. And Marissa's all about her doll house and dress-up lately. She's going to have so much fun with Baby M and just having a sister to play with.