Mother’s Day is just a little over a week away, can you believe it?  Our plans are still a mystery to me, but there have been lots of whispering and planning going on between the boys and their Daddy.  I hate being out of the loop!  
    
A few Mother’s Day finds, courtesy of the WWW:

1. Thank you so much for the e-mails and comments on Thursday’s post.  I really felt the prayers.  With a little sleep and a few days to process everything, I think I am in a much better place.  Looking forward to a more positive week!

2. I had the huge honor of being my baby sister’s Confirmation sponsor this weekend.  The Bishop’s homily was amazing and even though it was geared toward the teens, I came away with so many nuggets of wisdom to ponder.  Funny how some themes are applicable to any age group.

3. Spring is here and I’m loving the fresh food we’ve been able to pick up.  Exhibit A: grape tomatoes!  They were as delicious to eat as they were to photograph. 

4. The D-Man has become Mr. Personality lately.  One of his favorite games is to have me photograph his many “faces”.  He says, “See this face” or “What about this face, Mamma?”.  Such a comedian…I just love that special boy. 

Hello friends!  First, I want to thank all of you for your kind comments on our news.  We really are so thrilled and are already counting the months until we can hold our newest addition.  Six months to go, but I know the time is just going to fly by!

So recap time: the month of March was pretty much a blur for me.  Weeks of morning (and afternoon and evening) sickness left me in “survival mode” and I spent a lot of the day “supervising” from the couch.  But with three little guys in the house, life must still go on.  When I didn’t feel deathly ill, I was making up for lost time with my favorite dudes.  Here’s just a peek at what we were up to last month: 

Since I was barely functioning on most days, we did an open-ended version of school.  That’s a nice way of saying: I got out the craft supplies and they were left to their own devices.  Watercolors were a popular choice.   

A new privilege: computer time on PBS Kids.  If they’ve been good listeners that day, M gets to play for about 20 minutes (or until I remember to kick him off).  A BIG incentive for good behavior!

Well it happened.  After years and years of fighting it, we finally bit the bullet and bought a new-to-us minivan.  I never, ever thought I’d see this day, but now that it’s here, I have to admit: I kinda love it.  Only fellow minivan mammas will understand! 

The weather has just been gorgeous lately!  Highs in the 70s and low 80s for weeks now.  We’ve been spending as much time as possible outside before the inevitable heat wave pushes us back indoors.  Chalk has been a family favorite around these parts. 

And finally, just a cute picture of baby J, who isn’t really a baby anymore.  This kid is full of personality and sass, always keeping me on my toes.  His latest: I tried singing him a song, and he put his finger to his mouth and shushed me!  Well then…ahem.  Good thing I fall in love with him all over again when I watch him sleep.

How was March for you?

Happy Monday!  Sorry for the unintended blog breaks the past couple of weeks…life’s going full force these days and I’m just doing the best I can to keep up!  I’m sure I’m not the only mamma who feels that way some days.  So in an attempt to play catch-up, here’s a little of what we’ve been up to:

1. Expensive toys are so overrated.  One Amazon box + crayons = an entire morning of fun.  It’s hard to keep up, but I think this was an airplane or a spaceship.

2.  I’m trying to eat less grains, per the recommendation of my personal trainer husband.  This has proven harder than I thought!  Apparently I am a fan of all things bread!  I’m making baby steps though and Lent is a good time to practice.  Tonight’s dinner is pork carnitas wrapped in lettuce…I’ll let you know how it goes!  🙂

    
3. Power Rangers are BIG around here these days.  We’ve been watching old episodes on Netflix and the boys are enthralled.  According to boys, I am the Pink Ranger and the boys are either White, Red or Black, depending on the day.  Oh, the fun that comes with a house full of little dudes!

P.S. To all of my Mamma Support Swappers: hopefully your packages to your partner have been mailed, but if not, please do so quickly! 🙂  I’d love to hear how the swap worked for you…if you ever do a blog post, please let me know!

How was your weekend?  Ours was pretty low-key, but still went by too fast!  How does that always happen? Anyway, I’m all over the place this morning.  Care for a glimpse?

1. I spent a good portion of Saturday afternoon working on next week’s school.  Usually I like to stay three or four weeks ahead…oops!  We are reading Very Last First Time so we’ve got Inuits, arctic animals, and oceans on the learning schedule.  I’m hoping the boys are interested…if not, I’m declaring it Polar Bear week.

2. Came across this article and thought it was so true for all of you newer mammas out  there: To the Mother with only One Child .  A must read.

3. I think I’ve started something big.  Puzzle mania has hit the house!  The big boys will sit for almost an hour (an HOUR!) doing puzzles over and over again.  Can I just say how glorious the silence is?  My new tip for Mammas: puzzles.   

4. I was honored to be a part of this list on Grace’s blog last week.  I may or may not have put off doing a mountain of laundry to check out some of the girls. 🙂

5. I have home improvement on the brain in a big way lately.  Gearing up to repaint the walls and all of the molding in my living room…well hello crazy burst of energy!  Where did you come from? 

My husband took the day off, so we’re taking the day to run an errand or two and enjoy our time with Daddy!  I wanted to just pop in quickly, though, to share a blog post I found last night that really resonated with me.  I was nodding my head throughout the entire thing.  For the most part, I think I succeeded in creating “a Christmas of yes” this season.  You really must read it.  You can find it here.

Happy Wednesday!  My brain is all over the place today, so I thought I would share a few things:

SCHOOLING.  We are reading Madeline this week and learning a little about France.  It’s been a bit of a challenge coming up with some “boy activities” – most of the adorable things I’ve seen online have been pretty girl-inspired.  I’ve decided to devote all of next week to a beginner’s look at the human body (the link to Madeline and the human body: remember how she had to have her appendix taken out?).  I found some really fun crafts and activities too, so it should be a blast.   

BAKING.  Like I mentioned on my 27 Goals List, I’m trying to get in shape and lose a little more of the lingering baby weight.  So why in the world did I make this delicious Pumpkin Crumb Cake (half-eaten slice pictured above)?  It’s so easy and good for both dessert and breakfast (not that I know that for certain…ahem).  The recipe is from barefoot in the kitchen and can be found here.

CLEANING. I have been on a simplifying mission this week.  Goodwill, get ready!  With the boys’ birthdays and Christmas coming up, I want to make sure we only have what we absolutely love in our home.  All the extras are going.   

PONDERING.  This quote I found on Pinterest:

Just because I chose to mother first, doesn’t mean my life is over once they are grown.  Or I missed out on what could have been.  It just means a new season has begun!  Julia Child didn’t start cooking until she was in her 40s, right?  There’s hope for me too.  

What are you up to this week?