Absorbing the last few days with three.

We're down to the home stretch now. Two weeks - three, tops - until we are a family of six (gulp!) instead of a family of five.

So I'm using my body's signals to tone it down a bit to snuggle and cuddle and absorb these three while they're still my only three.

So picnics are the order of the day.

And loving this little boy who grabs his boots and coat as soon as he sees me getting ready to head outside - even if the girls don't come, I can always count on him to be with me.

And while he is frustrated with how big Mommy's tummy is getting and doesn't seem to comprehend the fact that there's a baby in there, the other two do. Very much.

There is much impatience about "When will this baby be here?" and "You better wake me up for the birth, even if you have to take me outside into the cold to get me to wake up!" and "Can I listen to the heartbeat?"

(Can I tell you how much I love having a midwife that comes to my house so that I don't have to haul three kids to a doctor's office?)

And my favorite "Can I talk to the baby?"

And I think the feeling's mutual, between the baby and its siblings. This is the first pregnancy where the baby is so crazy active when it hears siblings running and playing - nearly turning somersaults wanting to be with them. This could be interesting.

It never ceases to amaze me, this feeling of "I can't imagine my life with another one." changing immediately after the baby arrives to "I can't remember my life without you."

What's been going through the sewing machine.

I keep forgetting to send you over to my other blog in case you're interested in the Great Stash Busting Project of 2011. I think these are all the ones I've forgotten to link to.

Easter shirts.



Ainsley skirts.



And the Pants Post.

Easter - five days later.

I wanted to share what we did for Easter because it was so much fun and this is kind of my journal.

One of our friends hosted an Easter party on Friday night, so we went to that. Hundreds of eggs for 25 kids and an adult hunt. So. Much. Fun.

The littlest kids got their own hunt in.



Gray was sure there were some more out there for him.

Then the big kids got a much more challenging hunt.


After dark, the adults had a hunt with flashlights. And kids. The kids were not about to stay in for that much fun.

This was my favorite part of the night - watching Gray tool around with three other boys about his age, making circles on bikes and trikes for an hour.


Matt has a tradition of setting up a treasure hunt every Easter. It gets better each year.

The kids get a map and have to follow it exactly - even if it means circling a tree until they're dizzy.

The girls have gotten pretty good at map reading.
And circling trees.
Gray goes straight for the candy hidden at each spot.

"Swing in the hammock" wasn't on the map, but it had to be done.

And then, for his big finale, the treasure - Pillow Pets.

In case you've ever wondered, this is what heroes are made of.

Budding out.

The bushes and trees at Hannah's violin teacher's class are screaming into spring almost overnight.

So beautiful.

Look what we got to do yesterday!

Spring fever demanded it, no matter how cold it was.













Partway through the playing, I realized that I was heading the same way with this pregnancy that I did with Ainsley's and if I didn't fix it, I was likely to be handing my husband the camera in the middle of labor and saying "Quick! Get a picture of my tummy while she's still in there!"

So I handed Hannah the camera and asked her to get a picture. "The picture is to show my pregnant tummy, so don't get too far back, ok?" Ok.

Whoa. That's close. Sorry 'bout that.

We're counting down in weeks, not months now. Deep breaths.

I really *am* that smart.

I was busy doing something yesterday when Hannah came up and asked me what red and yellow make. "Orange." and she ran off. I heard her tell her sister "You should go ask Mother a question. She's really smart today."

Ainsley appeared by me. What's seven and nine? "Sixteen." She ran back to Hannah. "You're right!!! She really is that smart today."

See? I really am. Today.

Blowing out winter.

It takes months to kick winter out. It won't be until mid-May that we are truly into summer weather for good. It's taking its toll on my oldest this year. We have had to stay inside all day, every day except for goat-milking and she's having a hard time with it. The wind is just too. strong. here when it blows.

So we find things to do. Lots of games - Connect 4. Guess Who. Gardenopoly.

Jump in the jump house.

Destroy the play room.

Go through the pattern books and match them up with fabric.

Work at the style table.

Sit in the sun coming in the window.

Dress-up.

I worked in the kitchen a lot.

So did Ainsley.

Found hidden stuff.

We made it through. We'll see what today holds.

Hannah's 'Boutique' Restaurant

We were stuck inside for some of the afternoon today as the wind howled, so Hannah made a restaurant. 'Boutique Restaurant'. I love projects like these because they take so much energy and concentration and time as she makes menus and plans and sets up tables and makes food. Then is the actual restaurant when we get the food. Yum.

This time, she took it to a new level. She drew coloring pictures and had crayons ready in case any kids came to her restaurant. They did, and they appreciated the effort.

She also had puppets ready if coloring bored them.

Ignore his face and shirt mess. He ordered three popsicles. She was a very attentive waitress.

I want to show you her dessert menu. This is the front.

Apparently, she's warning you about what will happen should you order from it.

It wasn't an empty warning. I ordered 'a bowl of chocolate ice cream'. This is what I got.

As you can see, I then ordered a few more spoons. Then I ordered the waitress to sit down and help us finish it.

I'll be going to that restaurant again. And taking more people to share my dessert with.

Hawaii in my kitchen.

If you're around Hannah for very long, you know that she *loves* Hawaii. It's one of her main obsessions. Hawaii and Style. Those are her two main obsessions. Well, Hawaii and Style and Superheroes. Those are her three main obsessions.

Let me start over.

The girl loves Hawaii.

We still don't know where she originally heard about it, where she got the idea that it is this beautiful place equivalent to heaven, but she did, and the past two years have seen lots of talk and learning about Hawaii.

Today she decided to make Hawaii in our kitchen. She ran into a problem. She's frequently made Hawaii in our bathroom which is easy - there's a bathtub there for the ocean. She had no such option in the kitchen. Well, there was the sink, but she didn't think of it and I didn't suggest it. I would have had to do the dishes.

She came up with another option.

The stuffed animal bucket.

It's funny how much work kids will do when they're focused on a goal. She and Ains hauled a lot of water to that tub, getting it just the right temperature.

She was Ains' waitress.

Then she got tired of being the waitress.