Joseph is 3

Joseph's birthday is in April so this is only 2 months late.  :)

Joseph is an avid cyclist...as long as Mom provides the leg power.

He loves to wear goggles, often to bed.

He's determined to do what he sees the big kids doing.
Also, I think he may be a southpaw.

This is his exasperated face.  He is probably exasperated that he
only got a one layer  birthday cake.  But he doesn't need 2 layers, does he?
He also has a "funny face" that he likes to shoot at the priest during Mass.

He loves being the center of attention.  

Joseph is planning to add varsity tennis to his schedule soon.

On his 3rd birthday a light seemed to turn on inside Joseph.  He suddenly became eloquent, independent and ready to potty train.  He has always been very close to James, his best friend, but he is starting to assert his independence with a loud, "STOP IT JAMES!" multiple times a day.  He is very excited about the baby and argued with the midwife about whether it was a boy or a girl.  He does not mind peeling away my many modesty layers over my baby belly so he can kiss her.  I do.  And, he has introduced a new word to the English vocabulary, "puggins".

Now you too know what the orange balls on power lines are called.

I'm 38!

Alright, I've been 38 for several weeks now, but now I'm both 38 years and 38 weeks pregnant.  I've been promising the kids to catch up on the April birthdays before the baby comes so I'm going to just do a quick one for mine.  For my birthday Bill and the kids gave me this lemon tree so I could try to grow lemons indoors.  Watering, humidifying, pot hunting, and pollinating have all taken on a level of obsession.  My parents gave me a label maker which has fulfilled a lifelong dream:  I am labeling all the light-switches in the house.  Apparently, this sickness is contagious because everyone else wants to use my label maker too.

If it looks like I'm snarling, it's because I had to tell my photographer
multiple times to warn me before he took the picture.  This is # 53, I think.

At present, I am not exercising, except for patience.  The midwife tells me the baby can come any time, but she is out of town until tomorrow night, so I've decided not to have a baby today or tomorrow.  Our school year is done and almost in the mail, so I'm looking forward to a long summer with a new little one to keep me company when I get lonely.

Easter!

Charles had to narrate the Tortoise and the Hare to me for an end of the year evaluation for Mother of Divine Grace School.  First I read him a very simple version of the story, only about 10 lines long.  This is what he "retold" to me immediately after.  

One day a hare said to a tortoise, "You are so slow.  I think I could beat you in a race on Sunday."  So on Sunday the hare and the tortoise went to Mass with their families.  When they got home, there was a letter from the judge asking them to meet him at 2 o'clock in the woods.

So when they got there at 2 o'clock, the judge was there with a lot of other animals.  So they began the race.  And the hare went faster, and they were trying to go for the biggest tree and back.  And the rabbit got to the biggest tree, and he was tired.  And then he ate his lunch, drank some water and went to sleep.



Thirty minutes later the tortoise arrived, and he did not disturb the rabbit so he could win the race.  So he started back and then the race had only 30 minutes to go on for. So the tortoise did a little bit faster so he could be there earlier.  When he got there, the rabbit was behind him, and the judge said, "Slow and steady wins the race."  And he got the first place cup, and then they went home.

The End.

Maternity Fashion Show

I had to do a quick rave about this awesome maternity skirt pattern I found:  Florinda Maternity skirt.

It is a simple A-line skirt which can be made with a panel, elasticized, or yoga waist. You can add a ruffle if you are the flirty, romantic type.  You can make it from fabrics that look more tailored if you are the more up-tight type, like me.  You can make it long.  You can make it short.  You can make it a slip.  Or you can buy everything and mail it to you mom like I did.  I LOVE my mom.

This is my current everyday favorite.  It is 3 layers of a gauze material over lining and has a serged hem.  Unfortunately, it shrunk a lot when I washed it, so I had to tug and iron it to make it approach what it used to be, and I think I'll still have to fix the lining.  It has a plain elastic waist (hitting right where my top stops in the pic).  Because I have this crazy gravity-defying belly, I wear a belly band just to cover my stomach. 

This is my fabulous Easter skirt.  I LOVE it.  I save it for Sundays, and since it also has a plain elastic waistband, I'll be able to wear it after the baby comes. 

This was my mom's first try.  Absolutely fabulous.
Until Fall ended and it was too hot to wear corduroy.  Sigh.  Maybe I'll get pregnant again.  

This was my one attempt, before I sent the pattern to my mom.
I wanted it to be longer that the top of my boots but cut it wrong.
If I pull it down far enough to sit where I want it to be, the panel shows beneath my shirt.  

I also have a khaki tencel twill one that I wear to American Heritage Girls.  I think it must be in the wash.  Tencel twill is more flowy than a typical twill and has a pretty sheen.  I like it.

Excuse me? You wanted to see my face? And an entire outfit? If I find my cheekbones again and a shirt that fits, I might consider it.

Hooray for Aunt Mary!

One day recently we had a neighbor boy over to play. When I came inside after talking to his mom, he and the kids were at the table playing Uno with Bill. I said, "Hey, your Aunt Mary just showed up if you want to go say 'hi'." He didn't budge, but every one of our kids jumped from their seats with shouts of "Aunt Mary!"

I said, "Not your Aunt Mary. His Aunt Mary." which was received with a squeal of glee from him and groans of disappointment from our kids.

Bill and I looked at each other for a second and then said to them:

"You don't have an Aunt Mary!"

DC Trip--by Thomas

Thomas and Anthony went to Washington DC for a weekend with their Boy Scout Troop.  They toured the monuments, museums and Congress.  

This picture is an orb. When you look through it, it shows you things upside down.

A group photo of our "team".

Anthony and I.

Here we are in the Old Post Office.

The lake in the sculpture garden is amazing. Don't you think?

The National Zoo.

Snake,

snake,

more snake.

Scouty Stuff

I must get a little caught up since we've had two birthdays already and are about to have two more.  But first I have to share:

Charles came in second at the Pinewood Derby!
He went to regionals but didn't place.

Also, 3 kids and I went "camping" with scouts this past weekend.  Unfortunately we left our house at 6:30 am Sat and were home again by 11:30 pm because of a thunderstorm.  However, we pitched a tent and then unpitched it in the dark and rain, went to Mass, ate s'mores, and had a lot of fun.  What more does sleeping in the tent add, right?

At the Catholic Camporee--Boy Scouts taught fire building, and that's what our kids did all day.

The girls loved it too!  I was in charge of helping kids make tye-dyed t-shirts so I didn't know what they were up to.   Good parental supervision, right?

Our AHG friends loaned us poles and bait so we could fish. 

That is one happy camper!

Don't I look like a star bellied sneech?