May

May was a great month.  We started the month out on our road trip.  When we came back, the kids and I hit the ground running with school.  Adam and the kids also gave me a lovely Mother's day filled with good food, a nap and cute presents.  Lily bought me this fun cookie with her own money!  I couldn't believe it.  She was so excited to give it to me.   I think she only had $5 to her name and spent a portion of that hard earned money on me.  She is such a sweet girl. 

Adam hilariously got me a 'lite brite'.  Anyone remember those?!  I had fun showing my kids how it worked.  I also got a bunch of Lindt chocolate!!  Happy Mother's Day to me!

I also made the conscious decision this month of switching Alex to a formal piano teacher.  I remember taking from my own mom for 5 years and how I really didn't progress after a while because she and I fought so much.  It really helped me to be accountable and see progress by going to a teacher NOT in my home.  I found a woman who teaches piano at our local community college and know several of her students.  They all play very well.  We'll see how Alex does under her.

My kids, like most, love computer games. I finally caved and bought a nintendo switch.  Our kids love playing Mario Cart.  I also bought Donkey Kong.  Alex and I can play together.  I'm just laughing that there is a time when I'm better at playing video games than my son.  The time will be short lived, I'm sure. I've limited our play to weekends only.  Alex has to earn time during the week by practicing the piano to be able to play the switch on the weekends.  So far, it seems to be working.

Nesting seems to have hit rather early.  I've been nesting since 25 weeks I think.  The usual, going through closets, selling furniture that we don't use and de-cluttering in general. I went through the kid's clothes and drawers and stored things or gave them away.  I also completed many little jobs that have been sitting: sewing on scout patches, ironing girl scout patches, and making burp cloths.  I also finally bought another quilt for the guest bedroom, as it never had one.  Yay!  And there are even a few birds in the print *smile*

                                                

One of many burp cloths for baby sister. 

I should also mention that at this point in my pregnancy 22ish weeks, I had become completely fed up with my OBGYN.  She came highly recommended by several people but I could not stand having to wait on average ONE HOUR to be seen.  No one has time for that.  Especially when my appointments usually took 10 minutes.  I'd always wanted to have a midwife and a home birth since I had Alex.  Adam was always against it for safety reasons.  I finally convinced him that, after having four kids, that he knows my labors are very easy and routine and I could probably deliver my own child if I had to.  He agreed and I set out to search for a midwife!  I found a midwifery/ birth center in Allen (20 min away) and just love them.  The experience is entirely different.  I can bring my kids with me, and they have toys in every room.  They are friendly, quick and non-invasive.  It was an 180 degree switch from where I was at.  If all goes to plan, I'll be having my last child at home and I'm thrilled!

Look at that handsome devil :)

Alex finished up his baseball season playing with his team, The Indians.  I really, really loved his coach.  Such a cool guy, really encouraging but still pushed the kids.  Such a different experience from Alex's last baseball team. Sadly, Alex will be going up to 10U and his coach (and son) will still be in 8U next spring.  I'm sure Alex will find another great team. Alex hit TWO home runs in his second to last game.  All together he hit seven throughout the season.  His attention span is way better and he understands the game better too.  It was fun to see him grow.  It was also fun to see Lily and Elliott get into the game as well.  Elliott especially would sit on the bleachers for at least half the game and cheer and watch.  Elliott actually got 'recruited' by one of our neighbors for his baseball team.  We told him we won't really be playing the in the fall because games are scheduled on Sunday.  He said he still wanted Elliott to come practice with the team anyway.  Elliott is very excited!

 I didn't plant a garden this spring (Feb/March) because I felt so awful from being pregnant.  But by April I noticed that I had a bunch of volunteer tomatoes come up.  They inspired me to get my act together and plant summer crops in May.  We put in some peppers, green beans, corn, squash, watermelon and cucumber.  I put up a makeshift fence to keep out the rabbits (I did it at 11pm one night.  Nesting does crazy things to a person) and so far it's worked!  Hooray!

At the end of May, Lily had her Ballet showcase.  She's been taking for 2 years now and I like her teacher, the content she's learning and the price but hate the drive.  Lily hates the drive too and didnt' really like ballet.  She complained all year but I still made her go.  I finally decided she could take a break from ballet for six months to see if she misses it.  In the fall, she'll be trying out gymnastics instead.  Here is Adam, Alex and I waiting for Lily's performance to start.

Gotta have a silly one !

Lily had two dances.  The first was a flower dance and the wore white and purple costumes.  The dance was quite long and she did a lovely job.

The second was a short and cute soldier-like dance, where she was wearing the green costume above.  It was fun to see her on stage.  She has such a darling, petite frame that just flitted around the stage.

Lily loved performing but still said she wanted to take a break. *sigh*  I hope she wants to try it again because she was a good little dancer.