My New Homeschool Cabinet

After getting tired of all of our homeschool books, games, kid's activities, my cookbooks, etc all being on a big messy shelf in the dining room I decided it was time to add to the Honey-Do List.  And my husband stepped up to the challenge! 

Before-ish.  I forgot to take a picture before I took everything off!

Everything that was shoved on that shelf!

Daddy relocating the outlet that was behind the shelf.  He's a handy guy to have around!

Half way there!

He wasn't done painting, but everything couldn't stay on the table much longer!

The finished product!

Isn't it beautiful?  It's huge and wonderful!  I love that I have everything easily accessible without being in the way.  And whenever the kids put something back it doesn't immediately turn into a mess. 

Nesting?

I have been obsessed with stocking our pantry, raising chickens, homesteading and the possibility of raising meat rabbits lately.

Daddy laughed and said I was nesting.

Umm, well I guess that would make sense. 

We are getting chicks next month.  Daddy still needs to build my new chicken coop - our old chicken coop is falling apart.  Fortunately they will not be old enough to go outside until they are 4-6 weeks old so he has a little leeway.  I am so excited.  Claire can't wait to get the baby chickens.  She will be helping feed them and collect the eggs when they start laying, but for now she will be in charge of socializing them.  At this age that just means snuggling little balls of fluff.  I think she will enjoy her job!  :) 

I can't wait to post updates on our "little backyard farm".

It's a ........

GIRL!  

That's a girl alright!

Precious Profile

4D - I hope she grows into those ears ;)

 Claire adored seeing the baby and you should have seen the grin on her face when the technician said it was a girl!  It's a sister!  I was shocked.  I really thought it was a boy!  Well, to be honest when I first found out I was pregnant I immediately started thinking girl, but when the morning sickness hit full force I started leaning towards a boy.  I had no morning sickness with Claire and a lot with Chandler and I have been so sick with this pregnancy I thought that pointed towards boy!  It just shows you that every pregnancy is different.

After we went in the waiting room to wait for the doctor Claire drew a picture to commemorate the occasion.

That is me on the table with the baby in my tummy.  I promise my belly is not that big!  :)  The thing in the upper left hand corner is the ultrasound machine. 

Now for pulling out Claire's old clothes!  I'm excited to deal with pink and flowers again!

The Wait is Killing Me!

Tomorrow morning I have my big ultrasound.  I am so impatient.  I can not wait to find out if I am having another son or another daughter.  Claire is praying for a sister!  Daddy and I agreed to let Claire come and she is ecstatic.  I hope seeing the ultrasound pictures will help soften the blow if Little Bit is a boy!  We Googled ultrasound pictures so she would know what to expect.  I think she will find it fascinating.  Chandler is going to spend a little quality time with Grandma while we go.  I think he's a little too young. 

Now I just need to settle on a name.  Daddy and I are driving each other crazy when it comes to baby names.  We have settled on Fiona if it is a girl.  For a boy I lean towards Miles and Daddy really wants Declan (DECK-lan).  We discussed compromising on Miles Declan since Daddy had his way on Chandler's name.  I think that seems fair.  But I like two middle names (yes, I know I am strange), so we still need to decide on that. 

Oh, I just can't wait until tomorrow! 

The Pantry

Last winter was a hard winter in our house.  But thankfully due to my tendency to keep a stocked pantry we were okay even if I had to get a little creative for meals.  I know there is a good possibility that this coming winter may be rough too.  This area is extremely seasonal economically and if the weather is bad Daddy is unable to make it to work.  And we will have extra mouths to feed this winter!  So I have been slowly preparing, but now it's crunch time.  Downstairs in the basement was my sister's old bedroom.  Now it is my "almost there" stocked pantry! 

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I had already gotten and only have a few odds and ends that I want a little more of (i.e. pasta, sugar, baking soda, etc).  We also have an extra fridge and upright freezer so I feel pretty good.  It's amazing how reassuring plenty of food in the cupboards can be! 

Oh, Wonderful Thing!

I felt the baby move last night!  I thought I might have felt Little Bit a few days ago, but last night was for sure.  What a precious feeling!

Morning Sickness Vent

I am now 17 weeks pregnant and I am still nauseous every morning.  At least the 24 hour part is edging off except for especially bad days.  I have not been the best mother lately.  The heat and the nausea put me in a lousy mood and I have been so cranky with the kids.  Claire keeps patting me on the arm saying "I hope you feel better tomorrow Mama."  Oh, such guilt. 

And to top it all off my daughter is SO ready for us to start school back up.  Yesterday she pulled out her math book and did a lesson on her own and today I found her at the table doing handwriting pages.  I desperately need to pull everything out and get organized.  Thank God I know it will eventually end - and then I will have a squishy little baby to distract me!  ;)

My daughter is a planner

Today Claire turned to me and asked if Daddy and I would watch her children when she grows up so she can go on a "special date" with her husband to Burger King.

I have to say this - she really plans ahead!

Oh, and Daddy and I said "Of course!"  :) 

He will be a good husband some day

Yesterday when Chandler was supposed to be taking a nap I found him in the bathroom.  But he wasn't making a mess.  Oh, no.

I found my 3 year old with a washcloth in his hands "cleaning" the tub.  "But, I just cleaning Mama!"

It was so tempting to tell him to finish before getting back in his bed. 

Yes! Finally Potty-Trained!!

Chandler is officially potty trained!  At 3 years 4 months he finally showed interest and after making it to the bathroom a few times we headed out to pick up some cool new batman underwear.  We've only had a few accidents since then and most of them were because he was busy playing outside.  He's even staying dry most nights!  I am very impressed!  Slightly less impressed with him discovering "Daddy's way" to pee, but it's not causing too much of a mess.  At least he's tall!

It's nice to be diaper free in the house - at least for a few months!  :)  Pregnancy is going well.  Still nauseous in the mornings, but I got to hear the heartbeat.  What a beautiful sound!  Next month is the ultrasound and we are debating letting Claire come with us.  She is so excited about the baby and is praying every night for a sister.  Hopefully she won't end up too disappointed! 

June - a month of sickness and moments of fun

I have been a bad blogger lately.  Though to be honest everything has slipped to the side this month.  Morning sickness (i.e. every hour of the day and night sickness) has been killing me.  I had to go to the doctor because I was so lightheaded and we found my blood sugar was much too low.  So I had to choke down food every hour.  Bleck.  I was hating food.  Everything tasted awful and the thought of any type of food just turned my stomach.  I couldn't even step into the kitchen because the smell of food was horrific.  I have been so blessed to have my mother living with us right now.  I don't know how else we all would have survived.  I spent most of the month of June laying on the couch or floor.  Thankfully I am at 13 weeks now and most of the sickness is wearing off.  I still have moments, especially first thing in the morning and bad days, but it's easing.  I mainly have a stupid overactive nose right now.  I smell awful odors that no one else can sense.  Very frustrating! 

I did suck it up enough to throw Claire's 6th birthday party.  Yes, my baby girl is six! We planned on a outside picnic, but woke up to rain so we had to have a quick location substitution to my Grandmother's house.  But it turned out to be a great day. 

Playing outside in her party dress and play shoes

Awesome flower cupcakes that my mom made

Claire requested Roast Chicken and Cranberry Sauce for her birthday.  ;)  We rounded it out with cole slaw, potato salad and pasta salad. 

Blowing out her birthday cupcake

Last week we got to enjoy Claire's late birthday present when my grandmother, Claire and I went out to the theater for an evening to see Peter Pan.  What fun!  Our local theater troupe did a wonderful job and we all really enjoyed it.  The best part was that we got to talk and take pictures with all the actors in the lobby after the show. 

Claire and I all dressed up for the night out

Claire and Grandma ready for the show!

Claire said her favorite part was the mermaids.  And they weren't even nice mermaids in the play!  She was thrilled to meet one.

Captain Hook and his newest recruit

And what do you say to that?

Claire was playing outside and ran in and told me "Mommy! I saw a grasshopper giving another grasshopper a piggyback ride! It must have been a daddy and baby grasshopper!".

Umm, yeah ..... that's it .....

 Just smile and nod ....