Cultural Fair

This evening was the Cultural Fair at Faye and Drew's school.  The school was decorated with some of the artwork the kids have made throughout the school year. Each class learned about a different country, made artwork, and learned a song from the country.  Their class learned about Thailand.

In our yard

I've found lots of interesting things in our yard this spring.  I was thrilled a few weeks ago when I found out we had a magnolia tree! I absolutely love the smell of them, and they are so pretty too! We also have a forsythia bush, a lilac bush, and a couple lily of the valley(which just happens to be my favorite flower scent, despite its toxicity). I know that lily of the valley spread, so why we seem to only have about two plants is beyond me. Our lilac bush only has a few flowers, but I will try to prune it(?) and get it to bloom more next year.

We have a few of these plants growing around our yard as well, does anyone know what these are?  

We also have a purple flowering tree in our front yard.  I'm terrible at identifying trees.  Any one know what this one is?  I took a close up picture of the flowers too...

A few weeks ago I noticed a birds nest right outside our side door, on top of the light fixture.  Over the past few days I've been trying to get a picture of this bird, but the second it sees any motion it flies off.  I had a little spare time this morning so I stood very still with my camera ready and I finally got a picture. It took me about 10 minutes of zero motion... have  you ever tried to stand perfectly still holding a camera for 10 minutes?  Its not easy. There were two birds, but they weren't fighting, so I'm guessing I got the mamma and the papa!

Mother's Day

We had a very lazy Mother's Day yesterday.  The weather was cold and I opted to stay home and do nothing. Andy suggested going to the White Sox game because they were giving out White Sox tote bags, but it was a late game and way too cold. I guess I should clarify and say I had a very lazy Mother's Day yesterday, as I think Andy was quite busy making me lunch and cupcakes and cleaning up! Faye and Alex brought me breakfast in bed - buttered bread - and gave me the things they made for me as soon as I woke up.  Faye made me a very funny acrostic poem (I'm apparently not a nerd, nor a terd, and also not a ninny), and Alex made a very cute card as well. Drew has been not feeling the best since he got his RPE on Friday, but he made me a card and gave it to me in the afternoon. 

The kids and I started taking some silly pictures - and once Andy joined in they got really silly.

Yep, that's my family!

Mother's Day Tea

Alex's preschool class held a Mother's Day tea party at school this morning.  They sang us songs and made us muffins and lots of other goodies.  Alex was so excited to show off everything he made. He told me last week he was making things for me, but that it was a secret.  He's usually not very good at keeping secrets, but he did great this time.

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!!

Magnolia tree

When we moved in last summer I had no idea what this tree was - I never even thought about it being a magnolia tree! I just noticed it blooming about two days ago, although it could have been blooming longer, since I hardly ever go on that side of our house.  While its not as big and beautiful as some I've seen around town, it was a very nice surprise!

Three months

I just realized it has been three months since my last blog post. This time of year I get really out of sorts. I blame it on the lack of sunshine, and this spring has been especially dreary.  We've had record amounts of rainfall in the Chicago area this April, along with very cold temperatures, and even last night the forecast said snowflakes were possible.  Added to that I still feel like I'm trying to get the hang of things since our move, and I'm just not 'getting' it yet.  I assumed Faye and Drew would have a difficult time moving away from all their friends, but they adjusted very quickly.  Alex and I have had the worst time adjusting, but things are slowly starting to feel more normal for both of us.  As for Andy - who knows? I think as long as he has a computer in front of him he is comfortable.

 The last 3 months:

• I've had terrible allergies - sinus issues that give me terrible headaches and earaches. I now take a Claritin D every morning and use my Neti pot religiously.  I feel a little like a criminal when buying the claritin - you have to show your drivers license and sign some paperwork.  Its too bad people abuse this stuff and make people like me who need it for actual allergies have to go through all that. But my allergies are now under control and I feel pretty good most days.
• Drew is now seeing an orthodontist.  He had ridiculously tiny baby teeth, and now there is no room for his adult teeth.  He is getting a bonded RPE(rapid palatal expander) in a couple weeks. Eventually he'll also have a couple brackets on his front teeth to correct a cross bite.
• We actually had decent weather on Easter.  We stayed with Andy's parents and the kids had a lot of fun flying kites. Karen made a lamb cake - someone( I won't name names) taught the kids to stick a knife in the cake and drip strawberry juice on the lamb. Maybe the kids shouldn't really be vegetarians?...although I don't think they did that this year.
• Andy and I visited our rental property the day before Easter. The dishwasher was broke - turned out to be a clogged drain so it was an easy fix.  However, the place was a  dirty mess, filthy carpet, with a cat in the basement(not using its litter box) and a pit bull(or some sort of mix) living in the house.  No pets are allowed...We're not sure what we're going to do with it once they move out, but hopefully we'll be able to clean it up and sell it.
• I got a new vacuum. My very first brand new vacuum. Thank you Andy! I know it was a slick deal or I wouldn't have it, but it works great and I've been vacuuming almost daily(sometimes twice a day - maybe).  Its a Dyson DC33. Now I just need new carpet to go with it.
• Our dog Velvet got really sick. She's feeling a little better now, but she hasn't fully recovered yet and I'm not sure if she will. She'll be 13 next month.
• I've been spending a lot of time knitting.  I've made a ton of washcloths and just finished up my very first lacy project. I had a really cute model!
• Faye wants to join the swim team. We went for a swim evaluation and she was a little rusty, so she'll do a swim class or two first.  It has been about a year since her last lesson. 
• Alex is finally starting to relax and talk a little at preschool.  He celebrated his un-birthday this week! Kindergarten registration is next week - is he really that old already?

I'll try not to wait 3 more months before my next blog post... but who knows?

Sweet

Our boys can be so sweet - when they're tired anyways.  Every night Alex asks Drew to read him a story, and Drew reads anything he wants without ever complaining.  Occasionally they fall asleep like this...

I didn't think about grabbing my camera and so I snapped this with my phone.  It was dark and therefore not a great picture, but they were so cute all cuddled up together I had to share this.  Some of you know my crazy, high energy, more often than not terrible mannered boys.  They can be good and sweet. Notice my shadow in the background~the crazy momma taking pictures of her kids while sleeping. Oh, if only they could be like this all the time!