My Month Off

I haven't posted on here for a month! I'm sure you've all been on the edge of your seats wondering why... :-) I actually have a plausible reason for being so lazy lately. We're expecting Adorable Baby #4, and this first trimester hasn't been a whole lot of fun! When the kids are finally plunked in bed at night, I've been plunking myself down on the couch and reading books. My housework and blog aren't getting a whole lot of attention, but I have gone through some pretty good books lately!

It's been a busy, normal month here. Evan's had a lot of work (good financially, not so great for being home much!) Cheyenne's settled into kindergarten fine, I volunteer in her classroom every other Wednesday. I trade babysitting with Alex's mom so we can both get in.

Hmm, seems hard to summarize a whole month! Here's some of the few pictures I've taken lately.

Marilla as a little old lady. Mom gave the kids a bunch of hand-me-down scarves a couple of months ago, and they get used for all sorts of things. A lot of them were given to Mom by older ladies, and they are really retro! I love how Marilla is wearing an old lady scarf, AND clutching her purse in the approved old-lady style.


Cheyenne is also getting an A+ in fashion.

This was her get-up while helping wash apples for applesauce.

Marilla is definitely my daughter. How are you supposed to eat breakfast without reading material? Marilla and Elliott are both entranced with reading right now. It means the bookshelves get dumped on the floor pretty frequently, but it keeps them occupied! Cheyenne and I have been reading the Laura Ingalls Wilder books together. Evan's been listening as I read "Little House on the Prairie," and I think we both agree we have it pretty easy in this day and age! After listening to the work to build a house and dig a well, Evan's grateful for his nail guns and truck!

This picture is from tonight. Since I was pulling the "I'm a pregnant mother who's about to puke" card, Evan was making supper. I guess it wasn't coming fast enough, so Marilla hunted down the raisin bran box and started eating fistfuls of dry raisin bran. While I salute her choice of cereal, eating it dry is a bit much, even for a raisin bran fanatic like myself.

Elliott with a puzzle he did all by himself! Cheyenne's been doing this one a lot, too-- she has it done in about a minute! It took Elliott quite a bit longer, but I was impressed he persevered.

Of course, half the time, they start doing the puzzle on the kitchen floor while I try to cook supper or unload the dishwasher. Handy!

Sweet face!

And another sweet face. Wow, what a charmer!

I like this kid!

My African violet has finally ended the strike it started when I divided it in May, and has grudgingly pushed out one bloom. There are more buds there, though, so I'm hoping it starts blooming again like it used to!

My house looks like a bomb went off in it. I have managed to get all the kids' winter clothes and coats out, but now I have four overflowing laundry baskets of summer clothes that need to be dealt with. I still have 2 1/2 bushels of apples to make into applesauce, and my fridge is full of stuff I've been ignoring in my present queasy state. I'm hoping I can make a dent in it all this week-- or I may just get some more books read! :-)