More May

It's finally getting warm enough (just barely) to break out the swimming suits and sprinklers. The kids have been loving it!


We've been munching on lettuce, spinach and radishes from our front garden bed! It's been a fun garden experiment this year. Since this picture, we've ripped out the spinach and radishes to make room to plant some squash plants up front, to free up some space in the back yard. Fingers crossed!



We've wrapping up the school year! (YAY!!!) This last time at Makenna's house we learned about the visigoths and huns, who weakened Rome. So we made these cool invader hats and they had to do "invader training".


I hosted our group joy school this month. Our theme was fairy tales and mother goose. We focused on The three little pigs, the little red hen, and Jack and the beanstalk. I didn't manage to take very many pictures this time! Here's a picture of Miles and Gwen with their loaves of bread they made when we did "The Little Red Hen". Also pictured is Lindy making a "beanstalk" by putting fruit loops on a spaghetti noodle. (She did this all by herself! I was impressed!) We also had the kids plant bean seeds, with the intent that they would grow up and reach the giant's castle in the clouds. The kids got a kick out of that. We transplanted them to our garden last weekend.



I was feeling pretty dizzy one day and had started swelling. I'm no stranger to swelling, but I don't remember it starting so early. Anyway, I left a message for Richie, but when he tried to call me back I didn't have my phone with me. He called 5 times, and then got worried. So he sent his mom over. :) She came to check my blood pressure and hang out for a bit. She even gave me a foot massage to help the swelling go down. What a gal, right? It was a nice addition to our morning. Here's Gwen getting her blood pressure checked.



We got a new truck! We've been saving for months and months, and looking for months and months. We finally found one that seemed to meet our needs. Say hello to our unnamed 2003 Chevy Silverado. It has a big enough cab for all of us to fit in it, so the kids think it's pretty cool. "Funny" story: The second we drove it off the lot, the check engine light came on. What luck, eh? So we found some things wrong with it, that ranged from $1000-$3200 to fix. The dealer said his mechanic would handle it. We were truck-less for almost a week while they "fixed" it. Richie drove it to work this morning...and the check engine light it back on again. So... This is a new experience for us. Let's hope all's well that ends well, right? :)



Here's an obligatory belly shot to mark my progress. I'm not a huge fan, and Richie thinks it's silly, but I don't want this baby to feel any less documented than the others. I think all of the kids have had at least one picture per trimester, so we're still on par for this one. I'm bigger than I remember being at this point with any of the others and the swelling has already started (especially in my left foot. By the end of the day, it's a little ridiculous). The second trimester has been the best, of course. But now that I'm 27 (measuring 28) weeks along, I'm entering that third trimester with some trepidation. I can feel the fatigue settling back in, and all the realities are becoming more....real. Honestly, I don't have much time to sit and think about this new phase of life we'll be entering come August. I'm mostly ok with that, because I'm afraid I'd start freaking out a little. But it also makes me sad that the reality of being #4 baby is that my time is divided even more, already, and he hasn't even been born yet!



Miles and Gwen had their year end dance recital. They killed it!! I wish I could upload video here. They both did two dances and were the starts of their classes. (In my humble opinion anyway.) I should take more pictures of them in their dance outfits since I didn't pay to order the professional pictures their class offered, but this will have to do for now. They both look a little nervous here. :) But once Gwen gets on stage and the music starts, she just lights up! Miles knows all the steps by heart and does them on beat, perfectly. I had a hard time not crying every time it was their turn. Miles says he doesn't want to take dance next year, Gwen is still interested I think. We'll see what their interests are in a few months and what everything costs. :) Watching our kids grow up is amazing...and expensive.