Oh boy, I've got Joy!

This year for pre-school we've done a very informal version of a Joy School with one other family. The girls have loved it though, and they look forward to every Tuesday and Thursday!

What to keep, what to throw out... aaaah, just get rid of it all

I think the weather affects my mood way too much. It has turned cold again, and I am so unmotivated to do anything. Almost all of the snow had finally melted, and it said in the forecast that we were supposed to get some rain. I thought that would be great; everything would green right up! It did rain in the morning, but then this afternoon it turned to snow. We have a couple of inches which didn't even melt by evening. Its still there, and it seriously is making it look like November again!
Enough about the weather, but it did affect our activities for the day. Instead of basking in the sun and going swimming, we stayed in and tried to locate the summer clothes for the kids. They've been complaining about their long sleeves and pants on the warm days, and I didn't want to go shopping until I knew what we already had. Well, clothes clean outs are all always more work than I think they'll be. Today was a little different however, because it brought up the whole idea of what "boy stuff" to keep. Do I get rid of old boy clothes that won't be used for years, or do I hold out for who knows how long if not forever. Bentley was not too cool with all his old stuff being thrown away. He was concerned that in "two years" when we have another baby it might be a boy, and we'd need the clothes and things. I asked him why in two year, and his answer was, "Haven't you kind of noticed that every two years we've had a baby?" He's right, so hey, it was good logic. Still, I'm temped to get rid of a bunch of stuff that won't be used for much longer than two years if ever.

The picture was taken during breakfast. I love the sleepy morning looks. I tried a recipe my sister, Kenzi, recommended for breakfast pizza. Very yummy, but the girls would have nothing to do with it, hence the cereal. Oh well, (as we sometimes say when the kids won't try the good food) more for me. I've had more success with that method then I've ever had with forcing them to eat things.

The good, the not so bad, and the pink.

Today was the long awaited day of the ultrasound. We told the kids that we'd be able to find out if it was a boy or girl, and they've been really excited. We had some definite opinions about which gender each preferred. Bentley was very set on our new little bundle being a bouncing baby boy, and Emma was sure it was a girl. Ali sided with Bentley, and honestly I was hoping to even out the numbers too.

Well, the good news is that everything is looking good so far... brain, lips, abdomen, heart, spine, kidneys, stomach, bladder, femur... they just went right down the check list, and everything seemed to be fine.

Following the post title, we did have one little surprise which some apparently might think is a bad thing, but I'm totally fine with it. My doctor was a little surprised that I was happy about it. His comment was that most women are devastated with this news. The little surprise was that the baby measured two weeks behind what the original due date had said. That puts the baby due September 23 instead of the 10th! With the start of school and all we have going this summer, I couldn't be happier. (Unless we could just hold off until, hum, next spring? I'm joking; but really, sometimes I wonder if I'm ready to add another beautiful bundle of joy to the mix... Ready or not!...)

And last but not least... we did find out the gender! Emma has been informing us all afternoon in a sing song voice, "I was ri-ight. I was ri-ight!" That's right, we're going to have

A GIRL!

Wow, three girls! To say that Bentley was disappointed would be an understatement. When we told him after school he litterally fell on the floor in a pile of tears. He continued his rants for the next 10? 15? 20? minutes while complaining about how angry he was. I tried to point out that its ok, because we'll love this baby girl, and now he'll still get to be my one and only little boy. After further discussion about how fun it is to have boy time to himself with Daddy, he finally changed his tune. He declaired later that he was happy about having a girl. When I asked him why, he said it was because he wouldn't have to share his time with Daddy when they go to do boy things. Well, I don't know if not sharing was really the goal, but at least he's not so upset. Emma has really been excited. Now we just need to come up with a name. I've been mentally avoiding the very thought. I think nameing children is one of the hardest parts about having them, so I'd decided not to think about it until after we knew the gender. Well, now we know! Girl names... hum...

Spring has sprung

This week has been full of, as Emma puts it, "beautiful days". Almost every time we've walked outside this week she declares, "It's a beautiful day!" She has been begging to go to the park, so we finally made it out yesterday afternoon. Ali slept through the whole thing. She had a traumatic fall at the Library Story Hour that morning when her head battled a table and lost. She's been hit and miss with naps lately, so at 4pm she was out when we got in the car. BT and Em played for a while, and then we decided we'd better do something about dinner. Today was another nice day, and we spent quite a bit of time outside again. Too much however, because I forgot the sunscreen and both girls have red arms. I hear its supposed to cool off over the next couple of days, but it sure has been nice to have some warm weather. I hope it returns soon, but you never know, we'll probably see more snow before summer finally emerges.

Readers' Theater

Bentley's first grade class performed for the parents at 10:10 am today. The five reading groups in the class each read a short play. Bentley played the Narrator in a story called "The Poster Contest." He did really well. I love it when I get to see him throughout the day. I'm amazed at how much time he spends at school. I know he's learning a lot, but it is still hard to have him gone all the time. I'm really looking forward to summer.

Easter Attire

I had decided that I wasn't going to do Easter dresses and all of that this year. Don't ask me why, but I just didn't feel like it. However, at the last minute I changed my mind. (And so glad I did.) I really do love cute kids in new Sunday clothes. Here they are on Sunday morning!

Easter Baskets

The Easter Bunny came through once again this year, and the kids were more than excited. They had fun hunting for their baskets and for eggs the Easter Bunny had hidden all over the house. Once again, Bentley was the last one to find his basket having found all the other baskets before he finally found his (with a little help this year). Grandma always out does herself and even had Easter gifts for the kids which they just loved. (Even though I think we left them at her house:-( Between those and "kitty", Ali's favorite sleeping companion, which we also left behind, we're definitely going to have to plan another trip soon!)

Easter Eggs

Thanks to a wonderful grandma, the kids did color eggs this year. My mom watched the kids for a few days, while Tom and I went on a mini vacation. When we got back, there were eggs and the coloring pack ready to go. I was impressed with the kids this year in that they actually wanted to eat the eggs after they colored them. In the past we've had boiled eggs for days, but I think they were all gone the same day.

Spring Break

School was out last week, so we decided to go and visit Gram and Papa:) All I can say is that time flies when you're having fun, because the time couldn't have gone any faster. I took the kids on Monday, and then Tom joined us on Tuesday evening. The plan was for everyone to stay until Sunday (Easter) and then Tom would take Bentley home, and the girls and I would join them on Tuesday. Well, between work and the weather, I didn't make it home until Thursday. It was a long trip, but like I said it didn't seem that way. We had a blast, and hopefully we didn't over stay our welcome too terribly. I have mentioned before that we go through Grandma withdrawals whenever we come back from a visit, but this time I don't think it was the kids as much as it was ME. With over 10 days of fabulous meals, help with the kids, fun conversation, a break from the mundane... I'm the one struggling to adjust. Thanks Mom, for making our visit a pure pleasure!




















On the Saturday before Easter, the kids got see the "Easter Bunny?" Bentley was fine sitting on the big furry lap, but Ali would only go near it with help. Emma... she out right refused with tears and all. Luckily a crazy looking rabbit isn't the reason we celebrate Easter.

Moment Captured

My cute sister, Kenzi, reading to the girls during our visit to Price.

Easter Egg Hunt

We were able to make it to the fun Fitness Center Easter Egg Hunt this year. It was actually snowing like crazy, and we wondered if we were just that as we drove there. Still, the kids had fun, and its always nice to to do something a little different when it comes to Easter Egg Hunts.

Happy Birthday Britta!

It's my fabulous sister's birthday today! She's turning 23, which apparently Emma informed her is very old:) I have to give her a hard time and remind her that "nobody loves you when you're 23"... However, she must be the exception 'cause... We love you Britta and hope you have a great day!

So I know where I stand... (or should I say sit)

This morning during breakfast Ali, as usual, said, "Sit by me, Mom". "Oh, how sweet," I think to myself, "It is so nice to be so loved." Well, I was feeling pretty good about myself, when Emma put me in my place:) She was talking to Ali, and as I was getting things ready and they were discussing, I think, the size of the bar stools, Emma says "She has a big bottom." I turned and said in my own defense, "I don't have a big bottom:)" Emma's reply, "It's bigger than mine." So I gently explained that, "Ya know Emma, girls really don't like to be told that their bottoms are big." Emma's simple reply, "Well, it is big." Enough said, and we moved on.

One more funny story for the morning. While eating my breakfast cereal, Kashi GOLEAN, Ali turned and looked into my bowl and said, "Ladybug". I told her it wasn't a ladybug in my cereal, just cereal, but after I had finished it she said, "tiny... (something unintelligible)... ladybug..." Then, with a very concerned look on her face and putting her head to the side, she said, "dead". Try as I did, I could not convince her that I hadn't eaten a ladybug this morning.