Odds and ends keeping us busy

April seemed to be busy for us, but not with too much out of the ordinary, just life stuff.  Here are a few more pictures to sum up our month.

Family game time

always on the go

The girls camped in the backyard with Daddy one night

Smiles

Crazy hair days, Eric dubbed him Calvin from Calvin & Hobbs 

Church picnic was lots of fun!

With yummy food

We did a marching band parade around the block with friends

And had enough instruments for each to have 2 or 3 of their choice

The kids, err I mean band, was ready to go by 7:15am, however I didn't think the neighborhood would appreciate a marching band of such caliber at that time of day.  Instead we went about 1pm, you know right at nap time.

Fair

It seems odd to me to have the county fair in April, but truthfully it is too too hot in the summer to even think about it!  Friday we braved the weather, it had rained in the AM and cooled off fast when the sun began to set, and had a really good time.  Last year just CJ and Eric went, and Eric claimed that all there was was the midway to the fair (this is our basic city boy vs farm girl typical type of argument, as I rarely did much of the midway but spent a whole week at the fair growing up, meanwhile he would go on wrist band day and ride rides until he was sick, okay I don't know if he got sick, I just made that part up, but that was the extent of his fair time.).  This year we all went, and I showed him, and the kids, the fun animal exhibits, the cool projects that kids brought, and a whole host of free learning activities.  We ran out of time and energy long before things to do!  And no fear, we spent time on the midway too, although I did rule NO GAMES this year.

The petting zoo was really fun with tiny baby goats, llamas and big black chickens

The shark exhibit was fun and unexpected.

The girls braved several rides 

CJ loved the house of mirrors and windows maze, and went through it twice. The second time hit her head pretty hard on a window she walked into.

Thankfully neither of them will be driving any time soon.  They did terrible at bumper cars, but had a blast!

There is already talk about next year and all we want to see and do.  First off, we need to go before 3:30 to have a chance to see all the cool shows and check out the exhibits. And I suspect that as the kids get older, they will also get braver and there will be more rides to tackle --although they really did go on nearly all they were big enough to ride and had lots of fun.

He did a face plant and got a pretty good bump on his head, but recovered quickly and enjoyed watching the dragon roller coaster the girls were on.

Puddin' Pies

Puddin' Pies

The place for all things cute!!!

Check out Cynthia's designs!  One of my many talented friends, and she has her own online shop where you can get your own Puddin' Pie dress.  Just click on the title or any time you see Puddin' Pies to go directly to her store.

The girls LOVE LOVE LOVE their dresses!  

Cynthia asked me to measure each girl from shoulder to knee to ensure that they would be long enough. CJ was 23.5 inches, Sweetness 21.5 --which explains why length in 3T is such an issue for her!

These dresses are perfect for on the go girls, who live in the desert!

Sure, it doesn't exactly look like a desert in these pictures, but a near by park has wonderful, lush, run through barefoot grass, and that seemed like a lot of fun.

If you have a special little girl in your life who would love another summer dress, then check out Cynthia's shop for all things cute, Puddin' Pies!

Just so you know, Kjetil got in on the park action too.

And swings! We love parks with swings!

Health update

We're here, we're busy, but who isn't?  Mama bird has decided to either fiercely protect her eggs, or that we pose no threat.  She no longer leaves the nest, ever. The girls are excited that she just watches them as they walk by.  Before when she fluttered away, it would scare them.

Do you remember the strawberry post?  I spoke too soon.  Kjetil does seem to have an allergy.  And while I was giving everyone's systems a rest from the berries, Eric wasn't.  Yesterday we had finally made it to day 3, when Eric gave him a peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwich for lunch. So today we are back to day one. And I think our communication is back on track.  I don't think it is a severe one, I do think he'll be able to occasionally have a few strawberries, but not two times a day for several days.  My mom has the same allergy.  But first, I must just get them out of his system so we can start over!

Grandma Martha has had her influence in the girls as well. Yesterday Sweetness failed a hearing test for the second time.  After the first one, I got a referral from her doc to see an Audiologist. I now have the school's paperwork and failed testing information to give next week at her appointment.  My mom has had a hearing loss since birth, and it appears to be a genetic issue as her nephew as an identical loss and they were part of a genetic study.  We'll know more next week if this is the same type of hearing issue and how severe it is.  Both tests, she has failed the left ear.  I found it funny yesterday when they said, maybe she didn't understand --um she did for the right ear, and this is not her first test, I don't think comprehension is the issue.
CJ is as healthy as ever, but has never liked milk much.  Neither does Grandma Martha nor I, although we know that is because of a lactose intolerance, I suspect the same in CJ, and currently just monitoring our dairy intake takes care of the concern.

These are very minor bumps along the road, and I am very grateful for our health and that our concerns have been minor thus far.  Eric is very busy and rarely home, but he has a job, he likes it, and he is healthy.  He is busy getting 2 departments ready for a major inspection coming up in May, along with getting his own flights and training done.  I would love to say I am looking forward to the inspection being done, but I know it won't really be a less hectic schedule at that time either.

Enjoy the spring weather!

Spring, first hand

In our flower pot, outside our front door on Thursday, we found......

And we get to watch mama take care of her egg as well.

The kids are thrilled even if impatient.  A great nature lesson outside our front door.

Friday morning:

Seeing red

Strawberry red to be specific.
  Through the wonderful Bountiful Baskets program we are able to order extras.  While we don't know what produce we'll get in our basket each week, when we order extra, we know what we're getting extra.  So when I order 5 loaves of yummy 9 grain bread, I know that is exactly what I'll be picking up extra.  Last week I was able to order a case (or 4) of strawberries and a case of mangoes.  It started out as 3 cases to be split with a friend...but as I began to think of how many it takes to make jam, I panicked and we added another case.  AND a local store was having a sale, so Eric picked up 8lbs for me (twice) ahead of time so I could get started.  That would be 16 pounds before Saturday, and then I picked up 34 pounds more.  This week they are offering 12lb cases, and while I normally don't order on B week, above mentioned friend and I are going to share a basic basket and another case, but shhhh... don't tell Eric.   What did we do with 50 pounds of strawberries?  I'm glad you asked.

  4 pounds will fill my dehydrator.

Tried my hand at strawberry pie, mmmmm!

A request from Eric, that I could not deny, cheesecake.  I also made "strawberry shortcake" to send to work with him.  They loved it and wanted the recipe.  Smart man said, "it's a secret family recipe"  and it is, just happens to be Betty Crocker's family secret, not ours, and not really short cake.

And we got 10 pints of jam.  Canning is really not my thing.  I may have over cooked one batch in trying to get the lids to seal...eventually they all sealed, but you can see the difference in color.  I did make one batch ahead of time that didn't use pectin and I froze it.  However, ran out of freezer space, and that includes the deep freeze, and Eric said it was time to try canning.

Also made 4 batches of muffins, 2 different recipes, cut and froze 4 quarts --did the same with the mangoes, only got 3 quarts out of the case. and of course a fresh fruit salad and just good old fresh strawberries to snack on.  Thankfully none of us appears to have an allergy to berries.  However, I have not let anyone eat any for 2 days to give our systems a rest.  We have some waiting in the fridge that need to be eaten up and I think some dipping into chocolate will easily take care of them!

The next case, we plan on dehydrating --and maybe another batch of jam, if I feel up to the challenge.

Where does the time go?

It is already WEDNESDAY April 7th!  Not only does that mean I have 8 days to finish my procrastination project the IRS likes to call taxes, but also that the month of April is well on its way, Easter has come and gone, the weather is becoming more like summer and we're all just plain busy!

We decorated eggs, and ate eggs, most of the time removing the shell first, but apparently not always required.  We attended the love feast and Maunday Thursday services, I learned on the way home that the cry room is not actually as sound proof as I thought it was, thus we skipped the evening Good Friday Service.  We did attend Easter morning breakfast and services, and participated in an Easter egg hunt at the church.  We celebrated with friends over lunch and held another egg hunt for the kids and I, being mom of the year, took no pictures on Easter Sunday.  However, CJ has a wonderful understanding of the HOPE that Easter brings with the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Tuesday I took Kjetil in for his 15 month appointment.  I had high expectations of him to be at least 25lbs, or more, but he's not quite to 24 and a half yet.  He is healthy and 32 inches tall, likes to ham it up, finds his sisters funny, and loves to play the "Da! Da! Da! Da! Da!" Daddy quickly tries to squeeze in a "What?" To which he replies with a smile, "hi"

Took the kids to the park to enjoy our wonderful weather after the doctor appointment. CJ has rediscovered her love of the monkey bars, I think it has been a while since we've been to a park that had monkey bars. Last Wednesday was Kindergarten round up, she is so ready and very excited for the next chapter to begin with school.

I think this is my new favorite picture of sweetness.  She has recently asserted that her favorite color is "Blue, NOT purple." And it is the turquoise/aqua marine type of blue she likes, not the solid basic crayon blue color, and she'll clarify that with you.  Yellow is her second favorite color.

Everyone enjoying frosted mini wheats to start their day.