Spring finally..I think

I think Spring has finally sprung, at least this week anyway. I can tell because the girls room only look like a tiny tornado went through them this week. Once homework is done, they're outside until dinner and then usually back out until bedtime. We usually watch a show before bed but someone misplaced the remote and nobody cared that much to find it until Friday evening.

We went and visited the Newfie breeder last week, and of course now every sentence starts with, "When, well if we get a Newfie....." We really loved the dogs but they're really expensive, we need to figure out our fence situation and we already told the girls we're not doing anything until fall so hoping we can figure something out. I have puppy fever too! Probably has something to do with being on my own during the day in the fall ;)

Busy week at our house, Harper's almost done with speech therapy (yay!), book fair family night which always equals at least $50 when we go, Choir and music performances for Lily & Lacy during which Harper commented rather loudly "Wow, this song almost sounds like real music" Guess that's a compliment from her.

So, last week we got a ton of rain and whenever that happens, we get a small pond in our side yard near the big tree. We're loading up to go to school, well supposed to be loading up and Harper is nowhere to be found because she's checking out the pond & of course falls in it. She totally soaks herself down to her undewear with mud and rain. Don't worry though as she's stripping down in record time she informs me "It's really God's fault because he made it rain and he made me fall" I just stared at her.

When we were at Atlanta zoo, there was a volunteer sharing information about how much apes and humans are alike. I overheard her telling her sisters, "Well, I am 97% ape and 3% human" I corrected her but like usual, she probably only absorbed about 25% of what I said.

We usually pray in the car before we head off to school and on Friday, Lily's was "and Thank you God for giving us mom & dad so we don't have to be homeless hobo kids" However, a few minutes later when she was driving me nuts with her drumstick pencils (who makes pencils with drumsticks on the end?? the book fair!) and I told her I was going to use those pencils for firewood she said, "I wish I was a hobo kid so I wouldn't have any rules"

Yep, that's Harper wearing shorts, a tank top and her cozy winter boots. Notice the monkey wrapped around her neck, she took off the lion mask she had been wearing. It was only 65 degrees but I pick my battles. 

Saturday morning and Harper had opened the window, was sitting in it, robe flying in the breeze while she sang LOUDLY to anyone walking down the street. 

Summer List! Powering through 6 more weeks of school and then it's our favorite time of year!

Lacy checked these books out at the library because well, that's what Lacy does!

Oh Look, it's our rain made pond just right for a swim before school 

Haley painting her own nails for the first time, so serious!

Lily's Easter cake

Oh, look it's a cup on the floor. What it really is the evidence of one of my sweet girls drinking all my lemonade while hiding behind the kitchen island. 

Harper's picture of a Newfie...with a crown...and some weird bird..and six legs. 

Picture roundup

Getting back to normal after a crazy month, not sure what normal is anymore! Here's some pics of our month...

Lily's first SOLO cake...when you fail, try and try again which she did. So proud she didn't melt down and just fixed her mistake. A cup of baking soda instead of a teaspoon of baking soda will cause a huge mess in your oven and tastes HORRIBLE.

Lily's successful cake!

Haley Mae after her kindergarten shots, she tried so hard to be brave but the tears were falling anyway. Nothing a blizzard couldn't fix though. 

I think we've decided to start researching dogs, we all REALLY want one and seeing the girls with my parents dog sealed the deal. We prefer a big dog and this one definitely is that. We're still lab lovers but they're so high energy and need a much larger yard to run than we have. Our next option may be a NEWFOUNDLAND, yes a 120-150 pound newfoundland. They're big but not as high energy as labs, don't need as much running room. It sound ridiculous but the thought of having a dog to keep me company when I'm an empty nester in the fall helps me...hoping to check out a breeder in the next few weeks so we can meet some of the dogs to see if it's a good fit. 

Harper's newfoundland dog she drew, you know with  a crown and a bird floating above it's head

Haley busy with a juice box at the very last EVER preschool egg hunt we will have

Oh my Lily, for all the times she pushes boundaries and challenges me, there are a million more times that she spontaneously does the dishes for me after breakfast, comes downstairs to workout with me, loves to help cook with me. 

A fresh air break on our way back to KY from GA before Harper threw up....

Harper got up early at Grandma & Grandpas, early bird like her grandpa & her Mom. She would hang out with Kizzy and my Dad, eat her cookie crisp which is only consumed at Grandmas!

Atlanta Zoo, for the price of all of us, it was cheaper to buy a membership...the world is not always kind to bigger families!

Harper wanted privacy on her iPad in the car...you know, because we're all so interested in  Harper's minecraft. 

Totally worth the 2 day drive for moments like these!

The girls at my grandparents farm next to the trees we planted when I was younger than Haley Mae

Harper's leprechaun trap, it's my 3rd and best yet Leprechaun trap concept. 

My Grandma

My Grandma passed away Saturday morning. I wish I had written down my feelings when my Grandpa passed away and didn't want to have the same regret. Alzheimers is a horrible, horrible disease that seems to take the very essence of who you are long before it should. However, Alzheimers also made her not as aware that her other half, my grandpa was missing the last 3 years. I have so many memories, memories that I had forgotten I had until the past few days. I can remember as a girl at the farm in the kitchen hearing Paul Harvey come on the radio on WGN, I HATED Paul Harvey as a kid, couldn't stand his voice and now since I live here and listen to WGN, whenever I hear Paul Harvey I smile.

My grandma always had a giant scrap bag of fabric kept upstairs in the bathroom cabinet for some reason. My sisters and I would use them to make barbie clothes or try to make barbie clothes. I remember only being able to watch one "program" a day when we stayed at the farm and her shooing us outside. I guess I'm like that with my kids too! I remember her letting us cut flowers from her flower garden that was on the side of the barn, we made arrangements with them and put them in the flower show. Taking us to the community pool in the summer. I get compliments on my cinnamon rolls but they don't even compare to hers. You can't even imagine how badly I wish I had her recipe.  I was cleaning up the girls room tonight and found a doll quilt she made for Lily when she was born. 10 years ago I wasn't as sentimental as I am now, I didn't treasure that the way I do now. Now, with my own kids I'm starting to see how fast it goes. I remember ham for just about every lunch she fixed for when grandpa came in from the fields, strawberries with half & half for dessert. Shucking corn and being squeamish about all those little black bugs. Giant snow drifts, snowmobiling for the firs and only time with my grandpa. Planting evergreens, one for each grandchild on the far side of the farm.

The past few years I've prayed and prayed for my Grandma to be at peace, now she is and she's with my Grandpa. My Dad said that Brad Paisley song "waiting on a woman" is what he thinks of..in the video there's a man sitting on a park bench in Heaven, just waiting. This morning I thought, Grandma probably got Grandpa his coffee like she did every morning and as he expected. It's so funny because when I was much younger and knew nothing about marriage I used to think "how dare he expect his wife to get his coffee, grandma should tell him to get it himself" and now I know how wonderful it is to show you love your husband by serving him, taking care of him.

I hurt for me, I really hurt for my Dad. When Grandpa died, there was still Grandma to focus on but now it's the finality that's hard. I hope to take the girls by the farm after the funeral, I would love to have a few pictures of them there even if they don't get the history, I do.

Haley's FIVE!

Haley's FIVE! She glad to be five but don't ask her if she's excited to go to kindergarten, she'll tell you a quiet "no". Here's her polar bear and the fish he's about to eat.

Here's Harper & her backpack full of mittens. Why, you ask does she have a backpack full of mittens? That morning there was BIG DRAMA because poor Harper had no mittens, none and she was so upset. I said, "you may want to check your cubby" and she did. And she found about 10 pairs of mittens.

Hmmm...this looks like a noose but it's actually my sewing measuring tape that was being used for a leash. There are now knots that may never come out.

Haley got strep throat for her birthday, she was actually excited because she knows you get lots of iPad time when you're sick.

Haley's sheep cake...rough looking sheep but there aren't a lot of tutorials on how to make a sheep cake

This child LOVES shoes so she got a few pairs of dress up high heels just her size

Doesn't everybody wear high heels with their pajamas?

Haley & I tried out the new coffee shop in town, she made the mistake of taking a big sip of just about boiling hot chocolate

Sweet sisters sitting halfway patiently through Lily's basketball awards

Another week, another 4 trips to the Pediatricians office

God has His hand in everything as He is constantly reminding me, I was a little disappointed our weekend in Indy didn't go as planned but then after coming back early I knew He had worked it all out. Lily woke up with a fever the next morning & got worse throughout the day, if we had to drive back as schedule, she would have been miserable. Round 2 of strep was moving through the house. Got her diagnosed Tuesday, started on meds. Jason went to Dr. Tuesday & got his meds. Wednesday afternoon, my friend was filling in for the school nurse & Harper had visited her twice not feeling good. Took her in, STREP.  Got her meds, she was home Thursday and then Thursday night Lacy started feeling sick. Took her in Friday morning, STREP! Haley is really stuffy but she's had two strep tests and they've both been negative. Really hoping she's feeling better for her big birthday this week.

Again, I had to adjust expectations as we had lots of fun stuff planned for the weekend that just didn't happen. When Lily & Lacy were little, I really struggled with things not going as planned, kids getting sick, MY expectations of what should happen but didn't. I'm certainly not perfect but it's progress.

Of course Lily is trying to one up her sisters as she always does, "Wasn't I the sickest Mom? Didn't I have the highest fever? I've been sick the MOST right?" We just kind of look at her blankly when she says things like that.

Harper funny from a few weeks ago, she had a friend over and was giving her the grand tour of our house. The guest room is always warm during the day and it attracts ladybugs so there's always at least a few ladybugs on the carpet. So Harper describes the room to her friend, "This is the room where the ladybugs go to die"  I can't wait for her friend to repeat that to her mom.

Our Super fun, super quick Indy trip

We've been planning a family weekend trip to Indianapolis for the past few months & the girls have been SO excited to spend the weekend with their cousins. Unfortunately, the weather cut our weekend way too short but the girls had a great time while we were there. Except for the sleeping arrangements, we've made a family decision that we just can't do 6 people in a tiny hotel room anymore. Harper sleeps like a wild animal complete with animal like noises, grunts and flailing limbs. While I love my children, love being with them, I very much need my 8 hours AWAY from them each night.  

At the kids museum, pretending to go to China

Is it weird I think this picture is so cute? Well, except for Jason's ridiculous mustache that is finally gone. Haley Mae has really gone from a full on Mama's girl to a Daddy's girl. She even asks HIM to put her little clip on earrings on. 

Haley being a statue

Harper actually being still like a statue, for a whole 10 seconds 

Pretending to scuba dive

The crew on a train car

After touching a REAL dinosaur bone

Pool fun at the hotel, definitely the highlight of the hotel. Grant was anti pool. 

Harper taking care of business

Better than normal week

Our family accomplishments this week:

Lacy has 262 AR points, these are points she earns for reading books & taking comprehension tests on them. Her goal was 69 sooooo I think its accurate to say she went above & beyond. We've tried to encourage the girls with "Newton girls go above & beyond"...guess she was listening!! Lacy has amazing reading skills, not unusual for her to read books at a middle school level. 

Lacy was named "Student of the Month" for her grade, might be due to her "above & beyond" achievements. 

Lily scored her first points during her basketball game (yay!), had a great steal and is really rocking her defense. Pretty sure she doesn't even let the girl she's guarding breathe too hard....

Some funnies this week:

Harper announced at breakfast "I'm going to be a magician when I grow up. It's super easy, all I need to learn is how to work that hat"

Harper doing her Valentines which are caterpillars made out of hearts correcting Haley by telling her, "No Haley, those are antennicals"

We had rented a redbox movie on our snow day & it was nowhere to be found. I told the girls they were going on a movie hunt after school. Lily said, "Why don't you give whoever finds it .50 cents?" I said that's a great idea. Five minutes later Lily says, "I think I might know where it is" runs upstairs and magically the movie was in her purse. She still asked for the money, I declined. 

Harper & Haley talking about how God is their friend,etc. which was music to this moms ears and then I heard Harper say, "God is my best friend because he doesn't argue with me"

Harper after her playdate this morning, "I had a good time but not the best time because she didn't always do what I want"

Pictures from our week:

Because apparently when I say, "No doing glitter on the carpet"  it can mean  "Dump a whole giant container of glitter on the floor" My favorite part of this mess is that I walked in and saw it, pretty much shrugged my shoulders & grabbed the vacuum. This shows my growth as a mother over the past 10 years...messes just don't matter most of the time.

Harper kept finding all these icicles before school on Friday so of course they're now sitting in freezer, I'm not sure why but I like to pick my battles & icicles in the freezer just isn't one.

My sweet grocery shopping, errand running, house cleaning, laundry & everything else buddy. Can't even think about my empty house in the fall without tearing up. Like right now, moving on....

100 days of school celebration shirt, Harper picked out 100 feathers for her shirt and I made the bird which suits her personality perfectly!