Is it spring yet?????

Well here we are in the first day of spring, seems a little chilly to me. Hopefully things will warm up soon!! I am eager to get out in the yard and do some work. Although, being about 6 months along now, I doubt Brian will allow me to be throwing logs over my back. Anyways, I think I let everyone know that we are having another girl. We are throwing around names and seem to always pick at the very end. Tessa, Felicia, Fiona.....I don't know, leaning more towards Tessa. It's cute. Things are going well around here. We had a bout of the stomach cramp flu about 3 weeks ago; went through all 5 of us. Ugh. Glad to be well again.

Joshua is glad to be out riding his bike again. The moment the snow was gone and it reached above 40, they were all out riding. There are still heaps and mounds of dirt across from our house (when will the builders ever finish?), so they have been using these to construct a BMX style course. It is quite amusing to watch them, they have a video camera out there and everything. Joshua is in his second half of the school year. His science fair will be soon. He is doing an experiment that involves extracting the iron out of breakfast cereal. Pretty interesting. Hopefully it will work the way we want it to. Joshua is also interested in joining football for the fall. He has never played before which makes me a little nervous that he won't know what he's doing, but oh well. He is thinking it over, since it is quite a commitment. They have practice 3 times a week for 2 hours during the school year and 4 times a week for 3 hours during the summer. We will see.

Brianna is currently making a fort out of sofa cushions for her and Mia. Mia loves it. She had her birthday in January and is now 7. Did those years fly by or what? We had it at a bowling alley, the first birthday outside of the house for her. She had a blast with her friends. I think it was the first time that most of them ever bowled before. Brianna is getting even better at her reading and I am so happy about it. She is seeing how things tie in together. It is nice to see the expression on her face when she realizes that she did it and didn't have too much of a hard time. She has also taken some classes at Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary and enjoyed them as well. Another exciting thing we did with Brianna was to go to the Providence Performing Arts Center. We took her to see Fiddler on the Roof (one of her favorite movies), with the original actor from the movie playing the lead. It was quite a good time and Brianna was taken with all of the beautiful architecture of the inside of the building.

Mia just now learned how to do a somersault while playing in the sofa fort. It is very funny and she thinks so too. She is chatting up a storm these days. She is just about 20 months now. Time flies. She just loves Rosie and tries to pick her up all the time. Thank God Rosie is a 10 pound Jack Russell and not a 100 pound Lab-she might have a hard time. She is learning the concept of cleaning up. Although, cleaning up usually turns into taking out something else she finds while cleaning up the first item. It ought to be funny seeing her with the new baby in a few months. Every time I see her try to pick up Rosie........hhhmmm, that might be a problem.

Brian and I had a fabulous time in Mexico. I am so proud of him for being nominated for the trip. He is such a hard worker and loyal employee. He went up with all the others and received his recognition. Mexico is beautiful. It is also very different from America though. I had to adjust to going through military checkpoints while driving, and seeing kids running around barefoot in abandoned parking lots. We really have so many freedoms and opportunities in America, and most people take it for granted. Anyway, Brian is also looking forward to digging in the yard. We had a load of loam delivered the other day. It ruined our driveway, ugh. The dump truck was too heavy and...well, you'll see the pictures below. The builders have not given any of us a top coat of asphalt on our driveways, so it was just too much weight. Another thing to fix. :-(

So, hopefully by the next time I write it will be sunny and warm. Flowers blooming and nighttime fires is what I am wishing for soon!!

It's a new year already????

Well, it sure has been busy around here. The last time I wrote was about 5 months ago!! To start things off, we found out about 2 months ago that we are expecting again. A little surprise. I was busy feeling terribly nauseous for the first month after we found out. Now that I am feeling much better, I am trying to catch up with everything I've been neglecting. Brianna is very excited and Joshua is guarded.....that is unless we have a boy. This is his last chance, I'm sure. He is putting all his effort into hoping it is a boy. We will see sometime next month!!

Brianna and I started our homeschool year again in September. She is steadily advancing in her reading skills and feeling more confident about it. She is also learning how to tell time. We have taken a few trips since September. Plimoth Plantation was probably her favorite so far. She thought it was so funny (and cool) that they say yea and nay for yes and no. We, of course, had to speak like that for about a week afterwards. Brianna is involved with homeschool co-op this year. Last semester she took classes about storytelling, crafts and desserts. This semester she will be taking jewelry making, crafts and God's Green Earth (about recycling). She is very excited. We finished making a volcano today as well. She found an old kit of Joshua's in the basement that he never made. So upstairs it went and we had fun (yuck) getting our hands nasty in brown plaster yesterday. She formed the volcano and today she painted scenery on it. We waited for dad to get home so she could "make it explode". Mia did not like that part very much. 

Joshua has established a few friends in our immediate area. He loves to ride their quads and dirtbikes. Boys being boys, they drilled a hole in one of the sleds and dragged each other around behind the quad during the last snow storm. I have visions of the ER all the time with these boys. They are nice boys and they live very close to our house, which is nice for him. He is not very fond of school at the time being. Although he loves the "social" aspect of it. We'll keep trying. A few months ago, he and his father purchased a go-cart (think more like dune-buggy). It has required more repairs than it has seen rides, but oh well. Men like projects I guess. 

Mia is walking, running and talking lately. It is amazing how well she communicates with us. She knows a few ASL signs and uses them, but her language skills have also jumped recently. So funny. She loves daddy and has him wrapped around her finger. She took a slight head dive in the driveway last week and you should have seen the complete PANIC on his face. Of course, it hurt, and she did have a few scratches and a bump. But, boy, you would have thought she severed her arm!! Dads, their not use to seeing these kinds of things often, you know? Anyway, she is such a good baby (she still qualifies as being a baby right...I hope). She is also trying to figure out the whole potty thing, which is kind of early for me. The other two didn't finish training until 3 years old. She likes to go sit on it once she has already finished. Hhhmm, aren't you supposed to do that BEFORE? Oh well, she'll get the hang of it.

Brian has been a working machine lately (anything new?). He is enjoying working on the go-cart with Joshua when he has free time. Now that golf season is over he can relax at home on the weekends. Nice. He is such a dedicated worker, he recently won an award from his company (along with 40 others). So we are going to Cancun next month-all expenses paid! Yahoo!! It will be so much fun, we can't wait! Of course, Brian is already packed (his style). I will pack the day before I'm sure (my style). We have never been anywhere out of the country before, what a treat. 

I have been here, there and everywhere. Managing things, being sick, refereeing kids and animals (what was I thinking getting that second dog?). The last 3 months are a blur. We had Halloween for the first time in our new neighborhood. Brianna was a princess, Joshua stayed home to give out candy and Mia rode backpack style. ;-) Thanksgiving was delicious over my parents' house. Thankfully I was feeling well enough to eat. Christmas was fun and burdensome at the same time. The children had a good time and loved their gifts. Of course the highlight is signing the "12 Days of Christmas" at my parents' house. Complete with costumes and accessories. This year I was Maids-a-Milking (funny); which I distinctly remember being stuck with many times before. Brian was 2 turtle doves, very interesting, you had to be there. 

So here we are in the new year. Things look challenging with the economy. Hopefully the future will look brighter for those suffering job loss and financial struggles. The baby is due July 15th, so that is something to look forward to! Hopefully I'll write again sooner than later .