Buy One Get Two Free in April

April is such a happy, exciting time of year for us but it is busier for me than December.  Not only did we have Easter, but we also had two birthdays and lots of honey bee happenings.  At least in December it is one holiday and my bees are hibernating for the winter!  Will had the first week of April off for spring break, and the good news was we were able to prepare a bit for our busy month.  Unfortunately, it wasn't the most relaxing week and when it was over, we felt a little bummed that we didn't relax more.  The biggest project we tackled on Will's week off from work was installing a new cedar fence in our backyard.  If we decide to get more chickens, they now have a safe area again.  I was surprised and proud when I came outside to tour the finished fence and saw the little garden stone painted to resemble the book, "The Secret Garden", we had there last year when the original fence was taken down.  Lucy had put it back in it's now "secret" again spot and the world felt a little bit more peaceful and right again.

We also prepped our garden over spring break and planted seeds to nurture in the house while we wait for the weather to warm up some more.

We did take time for some hiking and coincidentally hiked a trail that had thousands of frogs croaking in the pond.  It was absolutely fascinating to see and HEAR so many frogs in one place.  Later that week Will's brother and partner came to town so we were excited to take them to see the frog phenomenon.  We were bummed when there were only two or three frogs visible in the pond and the sound was much quieter too.  That first hike was just a happy coincidence and I hope to happen upon those spring croakers next year!

We had quite a few cold and rainy days during spring break, and so we went to the movies with Will's aunt, and spent some time at the book store too.

We also did lots of crafts indoors, danced in the rain in the bed of Will's trailer, had picnic dinners in the living room with movies after, and I sewed a veil for Lucy's upcoming First Communion.

At the end of spring break, we enjoyed two different friends' birthday parties, and also enjoyed a visit with my brother and sister-in-law who were in town from Florida.

We had a very interesting time with wildlife this past month at our house.  It started with mysterious happenings in our garage.  Charlie seemed to be making a huge mess in our garage - knocking things off of shelves, pooping in corners and the final straw - twisting and ripping out metal soffit vents.  At that point, we realized that although it was hard to imagine him opening a Tupperware food container - we couldn't stretch our imagination to see him twisting and ripping metal.  At that point we realized that some kind of animal - probably a raccoon - had found it's way into our garage.  Will went to the store and bought a live animal trap and we Googled how to catch a raccoon.  Imagine our surprise when we found out that CAT FOOD was the best bait.  Well, now things were starting to make sense. That night, after the trap was baited with Charlie's food, we were sitting in the living room when something black caught our eye, erratically circling the kitchen, and then the dining room, and finally the room we were sitting in.  A bat!  Before we had time to register what to do, it flew up the stairs.  Will and I exchanged panicked looks and then dashed up the steps.  It was headed to where our babies were sleeping!  Terror set in when we discovered the bat crazily circling Violet's room.  We couldn't even crawl into her room for fear of getting hit in the head with the bat so I crouched on the floor and stuck my arm into her room and yanked her by the arm out of her bed.  The poor kid had no idea what was going on but as she opened her eyes, she focused on the bat and sat in surprise, with her head making circles as it followed the flight of the bat.  I literally dragged her out of the room, army crawled into Lucy and Emma's room with Violet on me like a baby monkey and slammed the door.  At this point Lucy and Emma had woken up and wanted to know what was going on.  The four of us sat in the dark and listened to the thumps and grunts coming from the other room.  When the silence seemed to be permanent, we slowly opened the door and saw Will carrying a wriggling blanket down the stairs.  

The adrenaline took a while to calm down that night, and as we were finally drifting off to sleep that night we heard the SNAP of the trap outside.  We had caught something in the garage.  Lovely timing.  A possum and seven raccoons (over the next couple of weeks) later, our garage is back to itself and we haven't seen a bat since.  However, we have one last wildlife story to share and it is the girls favorite.   We were running late for piano lessons one morning when Emma refused to go out the back door because there was a bug in her way.  In our house, we do not freak out about bugs.  That is the message I am sending to my kids, especially since my favorite bug gives us honey and as a result, money.  Finally, frustrated with Emma, I pushed past her and saw a slug just inside the back door.  I grabbed a stick from outside and as soon as the stick touched the slug so that I could fling it outside, it moved and turned into a giant, juicy spider!  I started freaking out and screaming and stomping my feet like a crazy person.  I knew one thing - if I didn't have confirmation that this spider was DEAD, I could no longer live in this house.  This spider was so big and so juicy that not only could I see all eight of it's eyes, I could also see each hair on it's legs and I had to hose off the back door mat after I killed it because the guts were everywhere.   The good news is that I had confirmation of it's death but the bad news is, that if there was one, there is probably more.  The above picture is the spider-look-alike that I found on Google to prove to the piano teacher that the fear that made us late was valid.     

  

We all have spring-fever when it comes to homeschooling and it has been a major test of endurance to maintain our schedule for school amongst spring break, Easter and multiple birthdays.  To say that we are ready for summer break is an understatement.  In the above pictures in clockwise order from top left: Lucy and Violet looking at picture books side by side, all three girls picking out a birthday treat after their swim class (which that same day Emma graduated to a new swim level too), Lucy at piano lessons, Violet waiting at piano lessons, all three girls watching a big truck on our street, and Emma and I doing her reading for the day.  For the most part I still love homeschooling and am often overwhelmed with gratitude that we can lead this lifestyle.  Other times, the constant driving to and from places can really wear on me and I am hoping next year that I can streamline some of our activities.  It will be hard to narrow our activities down though, because we really do enjoy each and every one of them.  Below is a recital that Emma played at, at a local nursing home.  Emma did great!

Because the month of April has been so full of special dates and events, my kids are suffering from a lack of schedule and routine.  As a result, I am suffering from their crankiness, mood swings and irritability.  Holidays have always been tough on my kids as they still haven't figured out what sleeping in is, and also they struggle with being able to settle in and make their own fun when they have been out of a routine for too long.  We've had a lot of crying, fighting, fits and time outs this past month and I am exhausted by it.  Probably the most surprising thing to me about being a mom is just how much my kids moods affect me.  I wish that I could be more zen when they are cranky, but I struggle with not letting it ruin my day.  It's hard to find inner peace when the people you love most in the world are treating each other meanly.  Here are my sweet 'n cranky angels below, of course only being photographed when their halos were shiny.

I'm not sure why I collaged the asparagus picture in with my kids above, but it is asparagus season and I am the only one who likes it at my house, so that means it is ALL MINE and for once I don't have to share!  There is nothing like fresh picked asparagus from your own backyard that can make any rotten day better!  Playing outside is also helpful for shaking the funk off of myself and my children and I am so glad that the weather is finally conducive to a lot of outdoor time.  Below are pictures from top left: Lucy and Emma coloring outside, all three girls taking a break in the grass, dancing in the rain, a coloring party orchestrated by Lucy that all four of us enjoyed one afternoon, and finally, a natural greenery arrangement that Lucy designed from our backyard plants and decorated our front porch with.  She amazes me with her natural creations and it will be interesting to see how it changes as she grows.

The below pictures showcase more backyard fun, my favorite being Lucy's attempt to alleviate her hiccups in the bottom right hand picture below.

Charlie is enjoying our increased outdoor time, and I swear he thinks he is our guard dog.  Wherever the kids are playing, he will park himself right next to them and calmly survey the scene.  One day Charlie was watching the girls play with bouncy balls on our driveway and I noticed that Charlie was quietly holding one of the balls in his back paws.  Our cat is such a lover and I still can't believe that he picked us for his family.  Sometimes I can't handle his cuteness any longer and I scoop him up and give him all of the snuggles while soaking in all of his purrs.  The cost is a ten minute session afterwards with the lint roller and a washing of all of my exposed skin with soap and water, but I never regret it.

April was very busy with my honey business.  I did a honey bee presentation at our local library, which I feel like was the pinnacle of my honey bee career this far.  I have loved our library since I was a kid, and to be asked to speak about bees there was a bucket list experience for me.  I couldn't have done it without the help of my kids and Will, and I would say that the entire event was a success.

The day after Easter my new order of honey bees arrived, as did all of the equipment I needed for them.  It was a close call because the equipment had been back ordered from a bee supply company in Pennsylvania and the honey bees had arrived several days early from Georgia.  It was a rush to get the equipment put together AND painted in time to get my bees comfy in their new homes, but thanks to all of us working together (and let's be perfectly honest, Will's amazing efficiency with a hammer and a paint brush) we pulled it off.

Here I am below installing a package of bees into one of my hives in our backyard.  The top right hand picture below is of my worker bees carrying items out to the hives we have on a friend's property in the country.  The center picture is what my honey looks like on any given day on my counter.

Last month I was inspired to make a flower crown for Lucy's First Communion and in true Liz style, I couldn't help but notice an entrepreneurial opportunity when I saw one.  Before Will knew what hit him, our dinner table became my work station, the chairs were now holding inventory and my kids had visited every craft store in the tri-county area for my supplies.  Sometimes I wish I could just enjoy making something one time and not mass produce it but on the other hand, I really do love creating a new product to sell.  Will found me the other day sitting at the kids play table in my office stuffing envelopes with dolls watching me in their doll highchairs as there was no other available flat surface for me to work on thanks to the flower crowns taking up all other free space.

I had a booth at an Earth Day festival downtown this past month and it was the first time Will and I braved having all of the kids come too.  We had a great time, and a friend of ours stopped by for a visit too.  Fortunately the festival was slow enough and understanding enough as Violet demanded "uppie" the entire time.

After the Earth Day event, we spent the rest of the day on the beautiful island where the event was held and visited the gardens that had more daffodils than I had ever seen in one place in bloom. 

These kids drive me crazy and bring me joy and I am so thankful for them, and also for Buy 1, Get 2 FREE sales.  That kind of sale was made just for me and my girls and you better believe the receipt from that sales trip was longer than Santa Claus's list.  Most sales are Buy One Get One which equates to me buying at least six items in the sale, so that each child gets her fair share and I am maximizing the sale.  Will pointed out that the entire reason I was excited for the B1G2 sale was that I wouldn't be forced to buy more than I needed to get the sale, but then I went ahead and pretty much bought every item that was included in the sale.  Ah, but what a great deal and so many happy girls!

Below are my spring beauties, picking the spring weeds for me to infuse into my various products.  I am quoted by Will quite often as saying, "There is no free ride," but I will say that I do feel like I have my own version of a B1G2 Free sale each and every day and I am grateful to have the majority of my days spent with my girls.

Lucy's 8th Birthday

Lucy's birthday was next in our three weeks of celebrations and after seeing what Emma received on her birthday, changed her mind about several things that she wanted on hers.  This added some stress to some last minute shopping, but it all worked out in the end.  Here Lucy is below, getting her birthday balloons the day before her birthday and then coming down the steps on the morning of her birthday.  Violet never ever sleeps in, but chose the morning of Lucy's birthday to do just that so Lucy took a shower while she waited for Violet to wake up.  When Violet was still sleeping, we decided to let Lucy go downstairs and see her present stack but that she would have to wait until Violet woke up to open them.  This was mild torture for Lucy, but I kept reminding her that a cranky Violet would be torture all day, and that waiting to open presents a little bit longer would be a small price to pay for a happy little sister.

When Violet finally woke up at the time that probably most kids regularly wake up, Lucy jumped in to opening up her presents.  When Lucy had seen the giant Lego set that Emma had received for her birthday, she informed us that she wanted a big Lego set for her birthday too.  We reminded her that we were getting her a bike for her birthday which equaled the cost of the Lego set Emma received.  Fortunately, we had not bought the bike yet, and so we gave Lucy the option of a used bike and a Lego set, or just a new bike.  She chose the used bike and new Lego set option and so Will and I had twelve days to find a bike on Craigslist and a Lego set to fit the bill.  

 Unfortunately the Lego set did not arrive in time and when Lucy opened up a game that was shaped like a Lego set (Will and I did not realize this detail at the time) she informed us that, "I'm not going to lie, I am upset that this is a game and not a Lego set."  Will and I started laughing and told her that because she changed her mind at the last minute, her Lego set was still in the mail.  It was a bummer she didn't get to build it on her birthday, but she had plenty of other things to play with including a little felt sewing set, a new Barbie, a new-to-her bike to ride and some books to read.  

After she finished opening her presents, we headed to the local cider mill that was open for it's spring pressing. We enjoyed breakfast there, and then played by the creek for a while.  Will was under dressed for the outing, and so we wrapped him in the girls jackets to help keep him warm.  The man wears shorts as soon as the thermometer hits 50 degrees or higher and hasn't yet learned that 50 degrees is not warm enough to have bare legs!

For lunch, we got take out from Lucy's favorite sub shop and then took a walk/bike ride to the cemetery in our neighborhood where the girls and I had spotted a field of white violets earlier in the week.  We laid our picnic blanket next the the violet patch and enjoyed a nice lunch with only three cups of spilled lemonade.

Lucy spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying her new presents, and then had a dance practice that she and Emma had to attend.  Will stayed home and made Lucy's request of tacos for dinner and so when we came back from practice, dinner was ready.

 Lucy also requested a chocolate bumpy cake from the local bakery downtown, and was excited to see that they had written her name in white chocolate on a thin, square piece of chocolate.

 After dinner we measured Lucy on the growth chart and thus ended our birthday celebrations.  The day went by too fast for sure, and since then we have overheard Lucy tell her sisters or various other people that "since I am an adult now, I can do that."  I think she may be confused on the legal definition of an adult.  Ten more years my girl, and let's hope they go by sweet and slow!

Happy birthday to my sassy, smart, creative and beautiful girl.  You continue to be our rainbow after the sadness of losing Luke and we are proud of the person you are growing into.  Lucy and I often come to blows as we are both stubborn and know what we want.  We are also both leaders and have ideas that we want to share with others.  We also are dangerous when we go shopping together, as we browse in similar ways and lose all track of time together.  So many times throughout the day I find myself showing Lucy things that I think are interesting that I know we both would appreciate.  Sometimes I feel badly that I don't do this as much with Emma and Violet, but I do share other traits with them.  Lucy, I hope that our similarities only bring us closer together as the years go by and I am so happy that I get to be your mama!!!  We love you Lucy!

Easter 2017

Emma was so proud of the fact that her birthday was on Easter this year!  I knew it would take some planning and flexibility to pull off all of Emma's birthday wishes as well as our usual Easter traditions.  This year we dyed Easter eggs at the local nature center with natural dyes so that saved time and prep at home.  We went with friends, and learned of various items that can be used to dye your eggs without the artificial colors.  The eggs turned beautiful, muted earth tones and I am looking forward to trying this new method out at home next year.

Lucy took it upon herself to decorate the house for Easter, and it was such a nice feeling for me to see her come up with her own creative ideas and execute them so nicely.  I used to decorate the house when I was her age for holidays and it was a big help to see that karma come back to me this year.  We spent the day before Easter at Will's parents' house, and did an Easter egg hunt and had a full Easter dinner.  Will's grandma was there too, which made it even nicer.

After our Easter dinner, the kids lounged on the couch with grandpa and showed him their favorite YouTube videos.

On Easter morning, the kids found their Easter baskets, and Lucy was the last to find hers.  This seems to happen every year and she spends several minutes ticked off while her sisters excitedly discover and go through their baskets and she is left wondering if she didn't get a basket at all.  Then, moments later she finds her basket and all is well again.

Emma got a birthday surprise in her basket - a giant chocolate Easter bunny - and a note on the table from the Easter bunny wishing her a Hoppy Birthday.  Here we are below, waiting in the church vestibule for the previous church service to end so that we can get seats for the next service.  Easter is so crowded at our church and we have learned that if you don't get there super early, you will be standing for the entire service.  This has dampened many a holiday for me, as it is no fun holding toddlers in an overcrowded, hot church for over an hour.  We got a great seat, and while we waited quietly in the pew for the service to start, I read our favorite Easter books to the kids that I had brought from home.  I love this part of our religious holiday, as it is such a special and quiet moment in an otherwise busy day.  I will be sad when my kids are too old to enjoy the stories.

 After church, the girls went on an Easter egg hunt in our yard.

 The rest of the day was spent enjoying their new Easter and birthday presents and of course, eating too much Easter candy and celebrating Emma's birthday.

 Lucy had been so excited to pick bouquets of daffodils in our yard ever since the first bloom opened, but I told her that she needed to wait until Emma's birthday as I wanted some of Emma's birthday blooms on her actual birthday.  Here Lucy is below, happy the ban on daffodil picking has finally been lifted.

According to Google Calendar, Easter will fall on Emma's birthday two more times in her lifetime.  Once when Emma is a teenager, and another time when Emma is 79 years old!  I hope all of our friends and family had a beautiful Easter!  Happy Easter!

Emma's Sixth Birthday

Emma turned 6 this past month!  She had only been planning for 364 days and so every meal and activity was exactly as she wanted it.  I spent the last 364 days trying to keep her expectations as low as possible and reminding her that if she changes her mind every day, I can't plan anything in advance.  Each of my kids have a flower associated with their birthday.  Daffodils were in bloom when Emma was born, and each year since her birth, they haven't disappointed.  Here is Emma below on her birthday, amongst the daffodils in our yard that Will planted this past fall.  

Emma loves to snuggle, and so we made sure to get plenty of those in on her special day.  Her birthday dawned bright and early, as all holidays do in our house since we had kids old enough to know it was a holiday and it was made even more exciting by the fact that Emma's birthday was the same day as Easter.  

After the girls found their Easter baskets, Emma opened up her birthday presents.  Highlights included a Lego set, the Moana soundtrack, The Aristocats on DVD, Little House on the Prairie books and a bonnet, a balance board that Violet bought her at the Salvation Army for $1 and Lucy gave Emma her bike that she had outgrown.  

Emma had planned her birthday food since she had turned five, and so for breakfast we had cinnamon rolls and sausage and then headed to church.  After church we did an Easter Egg hunt, and then Emma got to finally play with her birthday presents.

Emma had requested an Easter themed birthday dessert and finally settled on Easter cookies that she could decorate.

We all had fun decorating them and realized that they are more fun to decorate than they are to eat.

For Emma's birthday lunch she requested tuna sandwiches, chips and pickles.  Will and I had to laugh when she told us tuna sandwiches as she is the pickiest eater we have and no one in the family likes those sandwiches except Will, Emma and our cat.

For dinner Emma wanted chicken from a local restaurant that was closed on Easter, so we had to buy carryout the day before and reheat it for her birthday dinner.  Dessert was double-stacked Easter shaped sugar cookies with lots of sprinkles, two kinds of ice cream and a side of chocolate bunny.  Phew!  What a sugar-loaded day!  We all went to bed with stomach aches to be honest.

Before bed we measured Emma on our growth stick and then tucked in our nearly turned six year old who was sad that her long awaited day was over.

Emma is the most easy-going sister of the bunch, and most of the time will do whatever it takes to make her sisters happy.  Every once in a while she holds firm on what SHE wants though, and Will and I do what we can to help her hold her own.  Emma's appetite is tiny, and she worries me on what she eats and causes me no end of stress on what she refuses to eat, and her disgust at my cooking.  Emma is small for her age and this adds to my worry about what she eats.  Because she eats so little, when she is hungry, she gets hu-motional (think hungry plus emotional) and melts like a chocolate bunny in the sun until she is fed something.  Besides her picky eating habits, she is my most active child and has boundless energy and loves to run, jump, bounce, bike, skip, dance, swim and just plain move.  Emma has a love for numbers and math and can often be found playing on our old graphing calculators or counting out loud to whatever set number she has decided on - usually 100.  She also loves playing with other kids, and can play easily with any age and any gender.  She is a middle child through and through and we love our sweet, cuddly, energetic, friendly and playful girl who plays an integral role in our family!  Emma, thank you for reassuring me that you will still snuggle me now that you are six, and that no matter how old you get you will always be my baby!

March Madness

March was a challenging month for our family with Will gone more evenings than usual with his High School's basketball team in the playoffs and even winning the State Championship in their division.  We were all happy at the end of the month when his team won, as at least if he was going to be gone so much, the team did a great job!  It really was a great celebration for Will to be a part of, as the community that makes up his school is a very warm and family-oriented place.  We maximized the time we did have with Will this past month though, and made sure to maximize the benefits of technology too with lots of texting, FaceTime and phone calls.  The pictures below from the top left in clockwise order: Will being his usual funny self, pretending to wash my car windows with a frozen scrub brush at the gas station, at the final basketball game for his High School, and finally, Will sending me his own version of an Emoji.   So many times I can hardly believe that I get to be the one person audience to this hilarious comedian.

The girls and I had a lot of time together while Will was gone, and we tried to have fun with little things, to make the time go by faster and to keep us from missing Will too much.  The pictures below from the top left hand side: out to eat with Will after a long stretch of the girls not seeing him, the girls and I scored a free pizza at a new restaurant by us thanks to the tip of a friend and were able to have a fun, no-work dinner on another night that Will wasn't home, the girls and I eating our free pizza as a picnic outside complete with paper plates, and finally, the girls and I taking a break while we were shopping.

The girls and I continued with our regular homeschool activities, including piano, swim and dance as well as yoga and some classes at the local nature center.  In the center picture below is a drawing Lucy made in her school journal of Almanzo and Laura Ingalls Wilder holding their daughter Rose.

Lucy and Emma participated in a Dance Marathon benefiting the local animal shelter and were so excited when friends and family dropped off and mailed donation checks.  The top two pictures below show Lucy getting checks in the mail and Lucy and Emma holding up their certificates of completion for the Dance Marathon.  The bottom two pictures below show Lucy painting a ceramic chalice for her catechism class, and the center, left hand picture below is of Emma and Violet playing on a playground we found near our church while Lucy was in catechism.

We also attended a fun homeschool hike with friends, which ended with lots of fun playing with the charcoal from an old campfire that the kids discovered.  I enjoyed texting Will a picture of Violet looking like a chimney sweep when it was time to go home.

The girls and I also enjoyed a kids concert with friends at the local university and watched amazing performances of violins and different kinds of drums.

Our homeschool social calendar was rounded out with some trips to the local ice arena, where we met our friends and my parents joined in so that I wasn't outnumbered by girls on ice skates!  Our friends have been ice skating for much longer than my kids and they are always so sweet, encouraging my kids to have fun on the ice.  I also love how my dad is passing on his knowledge of ice skating, just like he did for me when I was a kid.  Finally, I am grateful that my parents are healthy and can even ice skate with their grandkids!  Violet is the least excited about ice skating and the first time she was on the ice with her "baby skates" - that's how she refers to her tiny, two year old sized skates - we didn't even make it around one lap of the rink.  The last time we were there though, we did make a full lap.  Hopefully next time she will actually enjoy that full lap.  Baby steps in those adorable baby skates!

The ice arena is empty during the week and open skate is very inexpensive during those times as well.  Homeschooling for the win!  We have been officially homeschooling for almost three years now, and I feel so grateful that circumstances in our life led us into something that I would have never planned but am constantly amazed at how wonderfully it fits our lifestyle.  This past month it has become apparent to me the impact of small, steady and consistent increments to learning which can add up to huge growth.  Lucy and Emma have never played the piano before starting lessons this past fall.  Now, they have a list of almost twenty songs that they can play by memory.  It is easy for me to feel overwhelmed when I look at everything they need to learn and know, but when I take a moment to see how far they have come, their growth is truly amazing.

Here are my girls below, playing with some of their favorite things: PlayDoh, Duplos and Legos.

Other favorite things to do include playing house together with their baby dolls, doing crafts, reading, and of course, watching movies.  I love the bottom, left hand picture below of all three of my girls watching a movie while holding Luke's stuffed animal with Charlie peeking in the window.

Charlie loves to sit at the window while the girls watch a movie and also will lay by the girls whenever they are playing outside.

 We enjoyed watching our crocus sprout and bloom this past month and even saw a few honey bees on them as well.  Lucy was mad at me because I didn't let her pick any crocus.  I wanted the bees to have as much food as possible, considering our two dozen crocus seemed to be the only food around - and yes, I was choosing my bees happiness over my child's.  In the top, right hand picture below I noticed Violet "braiding" Emma's hair in the backseat of the car.  This is an improvement, as usually if Violet is touching Emma's hair in the car, it's to yank it and let her know who the boss is.

The above pictures were taken on our way to Ikea, one wet and rainy Sunday afternoon.  It has been a really rainy start to spring and there is nothing like a road trip to Ikea to make a rainy day feel like a holiday!  On our list at Ikea was more shelving for my Harding Honey business that the kids and Will put together for me.  I have one bee hive that has made it through the winter, which is the first time this has ever happened.  This hive was a wild swarm that I caught last May and so I have decided to actively pursue wild swarms this year.  Will built me three swarm traps and I am hoping that my theory is right and I can eventually have only free-bees that have already proven themselves strong enough to live through a northern winter.  Every spring the bees that I buy to replace my dead hives come from a much warmer climate and I believe that is partly to blame for my bees never making it through the winter.

My busy season is starting at Harding Honey, truly once the first weeds start to bloom, and I did my first kids class of the season for an energetic Boy Scout troop and loved how interested they were in honey bees - and anything else with a stinger.  It definitely is a different type of environment at my house with only girls around me most of the day.  I would love to see how Luke would have added to the atmosphere at our house.  Maybe he could have helped me to diffuse the insanity tonight when one sister realized with glee that daddy had put away another sister's clothes in her drawer, and well, finders keepers until the original owner notices and we have a genuine tug of war on our hands!    But, I'm not sure that Luke would have enjoyed all of the craft store shopping the girls and I love so much.  You know I would do anything to hear him whine at JoAnn Fabric that he wants to go home.  Here are Lucy and Emma below, helping me with my latest project of making flower crowns.  Lucy did an awesome job of combining colors for each crown and Emma did a great job sorting and grouping the supplies for me.  Violet did her best to run back and forth through the laid out supplies, while trying not to step on them but then stepping on them anyways.  I guess it was a fun obstacle course challenge for her.

My kids do have two boy cousins to help them understand somewhat what a brother on earth would be like.  Their two boy cousins are the cutest, so that helps sell the role too.  Emma got to meet her newest girl cousin finally this past month and we were able to get an updated group shot of all of the earthly cousins together in one spot.  You know I love pictures like that.  Maybe someday when they are all adults they can try to cram together on the couch and recreate it.

 We had fun with friends this past month and in clockwise order from top left below: My friend showing us how to make maple syrup with a tasting afterwards, my friend's son trying maple syrup for the very first time, me and a long time friend at her head shaving party that she hosted to prove that losing her hair to cancer could still be a joyous event, my kids in front of the book mobile (our friends were still checking out books inside of it!), and finally, my girls and our friends enjoying a pretend picnic.

We did plenty of real eating this past month including strawberry rhubarb pie that was ah-may-zing, Irish soda bread for St. Patrick's Day that was so good I've made it about once a week since, sweet potato muffins with too much molasses in them and so not very good (unfortunately I five timed the recipe too) and finally, a little fairy I found hidden in the potatoes in a bowl on my counter.

 Living with my comedian, best friend husband and the three little girls who share so many of our quirks and talents and faults is never boring and I am so grateful for my life.  They may push my buttons and wear me out, but at the end of the day (after they are tucked into bed AND sleeping) I can't help but think how lucky I am that I get to live this life.

Violet is Almost Three!

This is the last individual monthly post that I will write about Violet, and that makes me sad.  In less than a month, my baby girl will be three years old and already I can see that her month to month changes are slowing down and she is weaving herself more and more into the regular everyday stories of our family.  In fact, this past month especially, Violet is proving that she may in fact be the biggest storyteller in our family!  She has begun to tell us elaborate, imaginary stories where she is usually the main character, is five years old, and likes to do silly things.  The stories usually start with, "Remember when I was five years old and I..."  Besides her silly stories, she has also been relaying fiction as though it is fact.  When we were at my nephew's birthday party a while ago, he opened up a present that was clearly his favorite out of all of the gifts he had received, based on his reaction.  Violet didn't miss a beat, and told him quite proudly that we had given him that gift.  It was a little awkward when I had to explain that no, we didn't give him that awesome, fun gift.  At that same party, Violet announced to a roomful of family members that I was pregnant and had a baby in my belly.  Again, the awkwardness as I tried to explain that Violet likes to tell stories all the while feeling like my family believed the two year old more than they believed me!  To me, Violet is testing out the differences between fact and fiction and so in times when it matters, I will state, "Violet you imagine that there is a baby in my belly because you love babies so much!"  Let's hope I'm NOT making a huge mistake and raising a pathological liar!  Here's to my creative girl and may I be the first person to receive the signed copy of her New York Time's Best Selling novel.  I'm going to be truthful when I say a dedication to her mom would not make me unhappy either.  

Here Violet is below, after she asked me to take a picture of her and her doll Rosie who were wearing matching clothes - "pink pants and striped shirts mom!" I just love the excitement level of two year olds and it is one of the things I miss as my kids get older.

Violet loves babies still, and while shopping she will beg to visit the baby dolls.  Each time we visit the resale shop by her sisters' dance studio, she picks out a baby doll and something to push or pull the doll around the store in while I browse.  She has always been really great about putting the baby doll and the stroller or wagon back when it is time to go get her sisters from dance class.  Except for this one time last month.  I knew we were in trouble when she told me her baby's name was Lil' Cutie as she had never named the dolls before.  I knew that hearts would be broken when she gave the doll a pretend bath in a used baby bath tub.  And, I knew that this baby doll was as good as ours when she hid the doll in a changing table that was for sale and put a kids basketball net in front of it when I said it was time to go.  She had never done that before and I was so torn - mostly I was afraid that if I let her buy this baby doll, that every time we ever went to a store again she would expect me to buy her a baby doll.  But also I was worried that when we came back next week and Lil' Cutie was perhaps gone, that Violet would be heartbroken.  In the half hour that Violet and Lil' Cutie had together, clearly a bond had been formed unlike any other previous baby doll.  And so I noted the times on the door of the resale shop and realized that despite Will working late that night, he could in fact swing by there on his way home from work as they would be open until 10 p.m. that night.  All the way home from dance class, Violet told Lucy and Emma about her daughter Lil' Cutie and all the memories they had made together.  After I had tucked the kids into bed that night I called Will and told him the story.  He didn't even hesitate when he asked me how late they were open.  Below is the text message he sent me, confirming he had found the right Lil' Cutie, (exactly where Violet had hid her!) and next to that picture is Violet, reunited with Lil' Cutie the next morning.  It all worked out because Lil' Cutie is 100% plastic so I was able to wash her clothes before I went to bed that night, as well as give her a thorough disinfectant bath.  I even got the sticky residue from the price tag that was on her forehead off.  And the best part is, Violet loves her Lil' Cutie so much, and has never once asked to buy any doll after this.  What a happy ending to the love story between Violet and her long lost daughter Lil' Cutie.

I cherish my time with Violet while we are waiting for Lucy and Emma in their various classes.  This past month we were able to enjoy the playground together each time Lucy and Emma were in their yoga class.  Will even got to tag along one night as the girls had a make up class in the evening that week.

I feel like I never have enough time at home to play with Violet one on one, which is why I am even more grateful for our time together when her sisters are in class and I am away from the household demands and can focus just on her.  Below are all the ways that Violet finds to contentedly play by herself.  She has been spending more time playing Legos and Barbies lately, and still loves playing with PlayDoh.  Lucy and Emma always play together, and so most of the time if Will or I can't play with Violet, she is on her own.  It doesn't seem to bother her too much, but it does make me a little sad that she doesn't have a Lucy or Emma of her own.

 Will worked a lot of late nights in March, and it was definitely a push for me to pull off after school activities, dinner and bedtime.  Violet wants "Uppie" when she is tired, and I can't make dinner holding an almost 40 pound child.  One night I sent Violet upstairs for a time out in her room after she started throwing a tantrum.  Violet's temper is very short lived once she is in a timeout, and so I didn't think anything was wrong when it went quiet upstairs not long after I had put her in her room.  When the timer went off and I didn't hear her come downstairs, I finished cleaning up dinner and headed upstairs with Lucy and Emma for bedtime.  Imagine my shock when I turned the corner on the stairs and found Violet sleeping on the top step.  I (almost) always put the gate up at the top of the steps too when Violet is in a time out, so I was kicking myself for forgetting, while simultaneously thanking God she didn't roll down the steps in her sleep!

 In the right hand picture below, Violet wasn't so lucky as when she fell asleep on the stairs.  She was twirling in our dining room and hit her head on the piano bench so hard that an instant egg-sized bump formed on her head.  This was of course on another night that Will was working late, and I started to panic.  I had never seen a bump like that before and I am usually the type of person who doesn't hesitant to go to the ER or even call an ambulance.  Will is usually the more calm parent and likes to avoid the ER and especially an ambulance at all costs, as he know the precise dollar amount our copay is and how much is left of our deductible at any given time.  As Will wasn't home, nor able to answer his phone I was extremely worried.  I called our doctor and he was able to give me practical tips and insight that helped us to avoid an ER visit.  Needless to say, I didn't get very much sleep that night as I was watching Violet for concussion symptoms but by morning time Violet was back to her old self.

 In the left hand pictures above, Violet and I are snuggled on the couch as we both had the stomach flu.  Violet of course bounced back much quicker than I did and so the books and snuggles were me trying to find a way to stay on the couch for as long as possible which is nearly impossible with a toddler.

All of the girls were a big help to me while I was recovering from the stomach bug and Will was working crazy hours.  Here Violet is below, restocking the toilet paper in the bathroom.

 Violet is a complete goofball and may be my funniest child yet.  And although I hesitate to say any of my kids are better than any other sibling at something, I think Lucy and Emma would both agree that Violet is a comedian.  She can impersonate anyone from the tone to the sarcasm in their voice, and is always trying to do things to make us laugh.   Half the time she is just being herself and her quirkiness makes us laugh, but the other half of the time she is playing her audience.  In the bottom pictures below from the top left in clockwise order: Violet pinching her own cheeks while mimicking me, saying, "I just love your chubby cheekers!", Violet sucking on an icicle she found in our garden, Violet asking Will to carry her sideways on his shoulders, and Violet "sleeping" on a bed that she made for her "own-self."

 Violet, sharing your second year of life has been delightful despite our various challenges (sleep, Ectodermal Dysplasia and more potty accidents than I could ever keep track of).  You have grown so much in this last year though and have almost conquered potty training, sleeping and have even started to understand how to help yourself not overheat.  I am sad that I can't keep you a baby forever, but at the same time I can't help but smile when I think about the honor and joy it is to watch you grow up.  I am so glad that I was picked to be your mom!