Sugar and Spice

..and everything nice.  That's what little girls are made of. 

We have been blessed with a wonderful son as our oldest child, followed by 4 full-of-sugar-and-a-mighty-dose-of-spice girls.

Early last week I had a doctor's appointment, with ultrasound, and this time around we decided to find out what this next sweet babe's gender is.

 Brett was out of town and the kids were over at the neighbor's so I was the only one who knew.  I told my neighbor, who quickly "whipped up" the beautiful cake you see pictured here.  We've never done a big "reveal" so this was very exciting!

 The secret was out at the first cut.  I think every one was in shock and very excited!

What does Aidan think about another sister? 

He is thrilled.  Really.  He was just being a goof in the pic because well...he's almost 12 and I think that's what almost-12-year-old boys do.

So that will make 1 boy and 5 girls! And here I thought I was going to be one of those mom's of all boys.  God sure does have a sense of humor.  

Please pray for me and our newest treasure as we round the corner into the final few months of pregnancy.  Although I know that what happened with Felicity will likely never happen again, this pregnancy has been harder on the nerves than I expected it would be. 

School's Out...Sorta

 Our big puppy.  He's sweet, when he's not trying to eat the boot/shoe right off your foot. 

 Some prep work that needed to be done before the building of the chicken coop could begin.

Some one was very proud that she had pockets.

I felt a little like Winnie the Pooh this evening as I had a great "complaining post" all written in my head.  Topics ranged from closet cleaning to friend needing. I even put a ban on piano practicing!  What sort of mother am I?  My children happen to love playing the piano, and I just could not take another note.  I hit a major low apparently.  

Instead of my complaining song post.  I'll give you a "what's up" post.  You're welcome.

We are pretty much finished with our "schoolwork" for this year.  I did let a few things fizzle out, which I hate to do, but then again, the sun came out, the dad came home, and we were ready for a change of pace.  So, we're finished for now.  We're taking the next couple of weeks off and then we'll start our very-light-but-I-don't-want-kids-with-mush-brains summer school schedule.  It will consist of Math, the rest of our science, and maybe some handwriting just because. 

The View

Chicken coop in progress! What an adventure this has been. Snow, rain, busy schedules, and finally....

Slowing Down

Let's begin by stating the fact that although I'm 32-years-old and 21 weeks pregnant, this post has nothing to do with the speed of my physical being.  We'll not go there.

My internet was down for 4 days.  4 days!!!! 

The frustration of it all soon faded.  The weather was gorgeous for a couple of those days so the windows were opened, the chores done at a record-breaking speed, and we headed outside to soak up some sun.  Yeah, yeah, we did some schoolwork too.  Really, we did.

The stack of papers that I needed to correct for the kids shrunk considerably, the "great season clothing switchover" was completed, and the laundry? Caught up (as far as laundry is ever caught up).

This is not meant to be a brag.  Just an observation from this mom who although is not online a lot throughout the day, has noticed that when I am it slows down the progress of the day.  My mental state is crowded with comments, and statements, and images, and news reports. 

Note to self:  Pretend internet is down every day.  Or get some self-control.  Ah, there's a concept. 

And on that!  Happy weekend! 

Snow Day- In April

Are you sick of snow pictures yet?  Sorry.  We got another 18" of the white stuff last night.

What does that look like?  I'm glad you asked!

Way to go Aidan!

That would be a "man" snow shovel.

Do you like our driveway?  What driveway you ask?  Exactly.

We usually have stairs going up to the deck.

Just for a little comparison...this is what we were doing at the beginning of last April:

What Came First?

The Chicken (s!!!!) or The Coop?!?!!?!?!?

I'll let you guess!

These gals are saying, "You've got to be kidding me?  We were sold to people with NO COOP!!!???"

This coop dilemma wouldn't be a huge issue if a) We didn't have piles of snow on the ground b) We weren't expecting more snow c) The resident coop builder wasn't in the busiest time of his year = no time for coop building

Our chicks are well on their way to chickens.  They have all almost completely lost their soft fluff and their wings are getting more and more "chicken-like".

In the next issue of "chicken" you will get to see these ladies laying eggs on Brett's man-cave desk!  Just watch your step.

3 Little Monkeys

 

We have a king sized bed.  So why is it that Brett and I share our "allotment" of bed every night which is close to the size of a toddler bed?  Okay, this isn't every night.  The night I took this picture the kids were up late, Veronica needed a little extra, me, and Felicity would not be swayed to sleep in her own bed with Nica in our bed.  Oh well.  The girls slept great, I woke up feeling every second of my age (have I mentioned I'm 17+ weeks pregnant too?) and Brett grumbled something about "being squished".