First Half of March

Let's be honest, not much has been happening the first half of March other than trying to adjust to 5 kids. The first week after bringing Davy home, Richie was home from work and mostly dealt with the 4 older kids while I limped along. We did zero school, as I had promised the kids (mostly Miles)who had been desperately wanting a break. The second week, My Mom came up to help and took the lead, and we did a tiny bit of school. Emphasis on the tiny bit, just to help us ease into things. The 3rd week, I tried my best to get back into a school routine. But pair that with Daylight savings time, and we were "making it", but just barely. Thank goodness I haven't had to cook dinner in about a month! For real! People have been so generous, and between the meals and family offering to watch my kids etc, getting back to "normal" is slowly becoming a reality.

When Miles was almost 3, a generous, anonymous person gave this train set to a teacher Richie was doing his student teaching with. He gave it to him on his way out the door for Christmas break, so we stuffed it in the van, and laid it out with the other meticulously chosen or made presents on Christmas morning. The train set was the obvious favorite and provided Miles with endless hours of play. He was mildly obsessed. It eventually found its way downstairs and wasn't played with much. But the week Davy was born, it made a resurgence. We figured Benson would be able to appreciate it now. He became obsessed! The other kids also really got into it again. It kept them busy while I took care of Davy for hours. Probably one of the best free things we've ever been given! :)


Keepin it real. This is how I look most days. :) And don't you love the fact that my postpartum hair loss from Benson finally started growing back, to give me an even more wild and crazy look? Just in time to lose that hair again!



I bought a few things off Amazon and saved some activities for when Davy came that I knew would be semi-educational and not require a whole lot from me. They enjoyed working through a kiwi crate about whales, water beads, Mad-Libs, and this fake snow stuff which was pretty cool.



Have I written here about Family Band? I'm pretty sure I have. Richie still faithfully gets the kids together to practice their instruments separately and together on Sunday before church. Sometimes it's more pleasant than others...but hopefully the kids are creating both skills, but more importantly some great memories to look back on.


Once again, thank goodness for Aunt Makenna. When our homeschool group kind of dissolved earlier in the year, we decided we'd stick it out, our 2 families, and finish the history curriculum. We only meet twice a month now and take turns hosting. It was my turn to host this week, but when I texted her about my plans, she (to make a long story short) took over, making my life a lot easier. We decided to celebrate "rainbow" day, which has become somewhat of a tradition. All I did was cut up some rainbow fruit. She had crafts and music time, and treats! We were so grateful!


Aunt Jenn came for a quick visit! She was up for a teacher conference thing, and stopped by so that the kids could fight for her attention and show off for her for an hour straight. She was like a celebrity. The kids were so excited, and Jenn was so attentive and way more enthusiastic than I usually am. :) Eventually I had to send them downstairs because I wanted her attention before she had to go. It was too short, but we did get to chat for a bit, which was so nice.