Week 22: Rushing toward summer

We spent a pretty quiet holiday weekend at home, playing with the kids and trying to get stuff done around the house. Besides the weekly catch-up on dishes and laundry, my focus right now is getting the basement straightened up so the boys can spend more time down there this summer.

On Memorial Day we introduced Charlotte to the backyard. The kids haven't spent much time outside lately because it seems like it's been either rainy or too hot (and we're trying to manage Zach's allergy symptoms). But she enjoyed running around, and even rolling, in the grass and chasing after the ball and bubbles.

We celebrated Gabe's last day of school with cupcakes. He's just so big now :) It's going to be exciting to watch him get on the bus with Zach this fall.

We have ups and downs with the boys weekend room-cleaning routine. Sometimes they are more motivated and sometimes not, though I feel like I can't get mad at Zach for wanting to sit and read much of the day. Lately it's been taking pretty much the whole weekend for them to finish. But it is good practice, and they are proud when it's clean. Gabe was happy about lining up his "guys" on his bed, and Zach and I are eager to finish sorting his legos by color.

Also, they talked me into letting them spend their allowance on a Star Wars crochet kit. I will be shocked if anything comes of our practice, but I promised I would teach them a little and see what happens.

Our wildflower seeds have resulted in pots full of greenery and just now a few little white flowers. Definitely suspenseful. The veggie plants are growing well, and we're worried maybe a little too well. I already pulled out a good portion of the tomato plants about a week ago when they were just starting to take off. The peas are clinging to the strings and seem to be in a race with the tomatoes. We are all very curious to see actual vegetables growing.

Week 21: Graduations

It was a busy week. Zach moved from Tiger to Wolf in Cub Scouts and Gabe had his Pre-K graduation. He wasn't feeling great, and also I think he was a bit overwhelmed, so we got very few smiling photos. But his best friend was there with him, and then over the weekend he got to go to her birthday party. Unfortunately they will not go to the same elementary school, but we've arranged to set up some play dates.

In other news, Charlotte finally broke the glass on our coffee table. She is always banging her toys around on it, and we knew it was just a matter of time, even though it survived many moves and the two other kids (though Zach does have a tendency to lean on it so he possibly helped her out). I heard her tapping something on it the other day, and it sounded like she'd gotten a hold of a coin. I went in quickly to grab it from her and found that the situation was really much worse. The glass was cracked down the middle, with one toddler-fist-sized sliver removed which she was holding and tapping on the table. But she didn't have a scratch on her, and she seemed confused about why I was suddenly rushing to take it from her. We'll eventually get the glass replaced.

Last photo of the table intact. Zach isn't the only one who leaned on it.

Gabe's "Through the Years" poster for his graduation. Apparently we never told him his middle name is Justin.

Week 20: Where does the time go?

Last week included Frank taking Zach to an outer space exhibit, me taking pictures of the plants, and Charlotte taking selfies. I also drove up to OWU for Alumni Weekend.

We stayed in one of the dorms.

Roommates from almost 19 years ago...seriously, where does the time go?

So, so happy to have been able to catch up with all these friends.

Sunday brunch at a friend's house. Great food and company before I hit the road.

Week 19: Mother's Day photos and other stuff

Currently we are tackling a never-ending to do list and have been go go go with the kids. Still suffering through allergies with Zach, picky eating with Gabe, general nutty-ness with Charlotte, and watching our plants grow. Frank is my hero for doing so much for me on Mother's Day, including washing my car and shopping for groceries. Enjoy the photos!

Week 18: Goofy and growing

It's mostly pictures of Charlotte around the house these days. She's into hats (and making things into hats), sitting on the couch with all her stuff, or playing with her baby dolls.

The only other news here is that we've been planting: peas, bell peppers, and tomatoes on the deck and wildflowers in the pots out front. We are all very curious to see how they do.

Look Emily! It fits now :)

Zach wants to be the official plant waterer.

Gabe wasn't feeling well and stayed inside. He's become the official "bug in the house!" reporter.

We planted the wildflower seeds a week ago.