Pre Spring Break

My sister is in town, so blogging time is limited.  Monday I made it to the Pilates class, and then went shopping afterward in the city.  It was odd to go after lunch.  I had fed Melanie just before we left and she fell asleep again on the way there.  She slept through the trip to the Scout office, and Fred Meyer, and most of Costco!  She seemed happy enough, so we drove home and she only fussed when we were about 3 minutes away from home.  Unfortunately Amy fell asleep on the way home.  Without her brothers to keep her entertained she took a nap.  Melanie however stayed awake the whole time, and I fed her and then unloaded the van.  I unbuckled Amy so she could get out when she woke up.  She didn't wake up until the boys got home from school.  That reminds me.  I had just gotten to Fred Meyer when my phone rang, and it was David's school.  My friend Bonnie was on the other end.  David had turned in his reading log but I hadn't signed it.  She wanted to know if I could come by and sign it before school got out.  I knew I had at least an hour of shopping and a 20 minute drive back.  I asked if I could just give the OK over the phone. Since that worked last year (yes he forgot last year too - this year I remembered but he had left the paper at school).  She thought that might be OK.  Any other day I would have been home, but that day I chose to shop in the afternoon.  The rest of the afternoon was pretty busy - typical for Monday.  Piano, baseball and dinner.  I wasn't sure Aaron would make it in time to pick up David, so we went to get him, but practice went much later than usual, and Aaron ended up meeting us there.  He brought me some flowers white roses and lilies.  Then I drove home to get dinner ready.  Amy chose ice cream for dessert.

Tuesday I also made it to Pilates while Amy was at preschool.  Melanie fell asleep on the way home and I had time to shower and eat something, and Melanie woke up 1 minute before it was time to pick up Amy, so I left her in the carseat and drove over.  I got her out when we got there so she wouldn't cry.  I got something for Amy to eat, and then I fed Melanie.  I had put the pork in the crockpot after dropping the kids off at school, and while Amy was eating lunch I shredded it and added the BBQ sauce.  The rest of the afternoon was just getting the house in order for house guests.  They arrived at about 5:00.  Eva, Dave and JoJo.  JoJo was the foreign exchange student from Germany that stayed with them last year.  For her birthday her parents bought her a ticket to come back to the US for Spring Break.  So Eva and Dave are taking a road trip to see some family while she is here.  We ate dinner at about 5:45, and at 6:30 we went to pack meeting while Eva, Dave and JoJo stayed at the house and got settled in.  David got his Athlete and Craftsman pins.  Only 3 left before his arrow of light.  He's almost done!  We got back around 7:30.  The kids got ready for bed, and Melanie had fallen asleep on the way home.  Aaron and I had a phone conference a little after 8:00 and it lasted longer than we expected. So we didn't get much time with out guests that evening.  And then Melanie woke up so I nursed her.  Aaron and I were up late working - him on work stuff, and I on cleaning up and computer stuff.

On to Wednesday.  I felt bad that JoJo's air mattress had a leak and was flat by the middle of the night, so she ended up on the couch.  It was interesting trying to get everyone ready as we were taking kids to school at the same time Eva, Dave and JoJo were heading out for a day trip.  Our blender broke again.  For good this time.  We'll have to replace it.  It's lasted us almost 14 years, that's not too bad.  I think we'll stick with a similar model.  For the price of the Blendtec or Vitamix I could buy 5 of these.  If they last 10 years each I will still have spent less.  When I got back from dropping off the kids, I put Melanie down for a nap and exercised.  I couldn't go to Pilates because I was making breadsticks for a lunch at Aaron's work.  It was for his assistant's birthday.  He also made an ice cream cake.  I had made the cake on Tuesday, and he filled it with ice cream that night, and took it to work on Wednesday.  After dropping off the breadsticks we went home and had lunch.  It was also laundry day, but other than that we just played around the house.  Amy and I made Easter cookies for Aaron to take to mutual.  He was in charge of the activity and made up a scavenger hunt for the kids.  Part of the purpose was to get pictures of landmarks in the area as the scouts are doing things to earn their "citizenship in the community" merit badge.  We just had some tacos for dinner - pretty simple.  Then baths for the girls and a shower for Timothy.  Then off to bed before Aaron got home.  Melanie went down really easily.  I was surprised.  I was preparing for more crying since we'd only done crying it out twice and then she fell asleep in the van on the third day.  She fussed once, found the binky and put it back in her mouth, and fell asleep.  I think it helps that I nurse her less than 30 minutes before I put her down.  Aaron got home around 8:30 and I was still cleaning up in the kitchen.  Melanie woke up at 8:45, so I fed her again, and then went down to work on the computer.  Eva and Co. arrived a little after 10:00.  They crashed soon after they got back, and so did Aaron and I.

Pictures of Spring, Melanie and Timothy

 More daffodils coming up

 The grass getting greater

 pretty flowers on the trellis

 leaves on the raspberry bushes

 more raspberry bushes

The strawberries still have dead leaves in them.  I'm having a hard time finding time to go outside to clean up the garden.  With Melanie in my arms I can't do much, and I can't put her down, or the dog with attack her with his tongue.  I have plenty of things I need to do inside when she's sleeping.  I wonder if the monitor would reach that far anyway.

 buds on the cherry tree

 Melanie was rolling all over the living room floor.  She started under the playmat and ended up under this chair

 she also rolled to get closer to the TV

 The wonderful sourdough bread we made.  It wasn't too sour.  I guess we wait longer next time.

 This is how Melanie falls asleep sometimes.

Timothy and his missing tooth

CIO

If you frequent parenting forums you know what CIO stands for.  If not it means "crying it out".  I have done this with all my kids.  Maybe it's because I'm a selfish mom.  I can't spend hours on end trying to get my kids to sleep.  Yes I understand "babies don't keep", but I hold her plenty throughout the day.  I treasure bedtime like nothing else.  Sometimes I have a lot of house work to do, other times, like tonight I just need to do something for me - blogging, facebook, a movie, a book, time with Aaron. 

I waited way too long with David.  He was 8 months old and could already pull himself up to stand.  It took a really long time.  Timothy was much easier, he was just a very laid back baby.  With Amy I was lazy again.  I got her to cry it out initially, but she woke up frequently throughout the night, and I would just go nurse her, or snuggle with her.  She is just now (at 4 1/2) consistently sleeping through the night.  So now that Melanie is 5 months old, and rolling all over the place, I decided she needed to learn how to get herself to sleep.  Especially with me needing to nurse her to sleep the previous 5 nights.  So Sunday night I just decided to do it.  I didn't even consult Aaron, I just did it.  I fed her at 7:30 before I put her down for bed, so I wouldn't worry if she was hungry or not.  I read her a couple of books, I sang her a couple of songs, and then wrapped her up and put her in her crib.  I stayed in there to help Amy deal with the crying, and to make sure she was safe.  She rolls around so much she kept getting her leg stuck between the slats.  She pushes herself backward sometimes.  I eventually gave up on the swaddling.  It only took 45 minutes for her to stop crying and fall asleep!  And she slept until 1:00 am!!!  I fed her and she woke again at 5:00am - that is a major improvement.  When she woke up at 6:15 this morning she was happy, and didn't need to eat, so I waited until about 7:30 or so to nurse her.

Tonight was a bit of a different story.  I followed the same routine, and it only took her 30 minutes to go to sleep.  However she woke at 9:30 and I nursed her.  She woke again at 10:30, and I checked on her, pulled her leg out from between the slats, gave her the binky, and patted her back and left.  She cried, but only for about 5 minutes.  Let's see how the rest of the night goes.

March Madness AKA - Our Busy Week

Monday was pretty busy.  After dropping kids off at school the girls and I did some grocery shopping in the city.  Mostly for the Relief Society dinner.  Of course I neglected to put a few things on the list, so they were forgotten.  I had to put Melanie down for a nap because she woke up really early, but she didn't transfer too well since the kids were noisy in the van.  So I had to stop and feed her because I didn't want to hear her scream for the last 5 minutes to the store.  I stopped at Wal-Mart and even though it wasn't originally on the list I ended up getting a few things I needed.  While we were at Fred Meyer Melanie actually fell asleep in the wrap, and I had to turn her around.  She slept through our trip to the shoe store and part of Costco.  I was nursed her in the van and then Amy told me she had to use the bathroom, so we went back into Costco.  Melanie almost stayed awake the whole way back home.  She didn't stay asleep long though, and was not happy when she woke up.  I had a ton of things I needed to do, and she wouldn't let me put her down!  For 3 hours I had to hold her.  She wouldn't eat or sleep.  Well, she would sleep, but not unless I had her over my shoulder.  I was trying to make another pound cake, and cut up all the ingredients for the chicken salad.  And make lunch, and posters, and handouts, and labels.  I also needed to send emails and make phone calls, and I didn't get hardly anything done.  I didn't get dinner in the crockpot like I was supposed to either, so I had to come up with something last minute, again.  After the boys got home Melanie was doing better, but then I had to run David to piano, stop by the library, one last trip to the store.  I couldn't find strawberry lemonade anywhere!  Then it was back home to cook more chicken (not for dinner mind you), and get David to baseball.  Then I worked on making the chicken salad, and threw together some peanut butter noodles using the leftover peanut dipping sauce I made last week.  Aaron picked up David on his way home from work, and we ate dinner just before 7:00.  The kids played a game with Dad while I worked on more food stuff (mini cheese cakes).  After the kids were in bed Aaron helped me cut the pound cake, and I frosted and layered them. I worked on computer stuff (emails, poster, handouts etc.), and eventually gave up and went to bed. I was exhausted.

Tuesday started out much better.  After my frantic complaint on Facebook, Melissa offered to take Amy after preschool.  I had several uninterrupted hours to work on things. I took the boys to school, put Melanie down for a nap, put a movie on for Amy, and started making the posters and putting the glaze on the petit fours.  They aren't hard to make, but they take a really long time!!!  A tip from me - don't used canned frosting even if the recipe says "just melt it a little and pour it on".  It doesn't look pretty, and doesn't get firm like the glaze.  The glaze was much easier and prettier.  I took Amy to preschool, and Melanie was a joy - thank goodness.  When she fussed I just held her and poured glaze with the other arm.  And she took long naps!!!!  I watched some TV shows on the computer while I worked and I realized at about 12:45 that I hadn't eaten any lunch.  I guess licking the frosting off my fingers kept me satiated - don't worry I washed them.  At about 2:10 I called Melissa letting her know she could bring Amy home, but it went straight to voice mail.  At 2:45 Melissa called and asked if she could bring Amy home while she coached track.  So Amy came home and was sad to not be playing with Paige anymore.  Pretty soon the boys came home and then Julianna (and Maria and Jose) came over to help put together cucumber sandwiches.  Kim came by to get the chicken salad and croissants and she put them together at her house.  At some point Cheryl called and said Costco didn't have any veggie trays.  What??!!!  So we got fruit instead.  At about 4:30 the sandwiches were done, and I attempted to clean up the kitchen, and finish last minute things.  The kitchen was still a mess, and I hadn't even started a dinner for the kids.  Aaron called just as I went out the door saying he could come get the kids at 6:00.  For some reason he was not on call as he usually is on Tuesdays.  I was so glad, I really needed his help.  All of the babysitters fell through for the nursery.  So he ran to the store to get the strawberry lemonade and ice, and when he got there I asked him to get a can opener and the creme puffs I forgot at home in the freezer. The kids all ate some of the dinner before Aaron took them home.

In the mean time Melanie should have been tired, but didn't take a nap, and didn't act tired really. However when 6:30 rolled around Melanie decided she was hungry.  So I asked Julianna to start the meeting for me, and I finished feeding Melanie as the opening prayer was being said.  We had a rather small group, but the food was good, and he decorations were great.  (Why didn't I take any pictures?) Tish found some old fashioned hats, gloves, broaches, and jewelry for the centerpieces.  She also made chocolate covered strawberries that were huge.  I had a short game of elegance and poise, a "walking with a book on your head" relay.  I also read something from the Relief Society History.  Mostly we just got to chat.  I was glad to see that Shari came, so I got to introduce her to everyone.  With a small group there were a lot of leftovers.  I left some in the fridge for Aaron and the youth the next evening.  I took home a lot of food.  Toward the end, when I was closing the meeting and introducing the next meeting, Bonnie was holding Melanie and she fell asleep finally.  I put her in her carseat while we cleaned up.  She stayed asleep until we were just about done.  We loaded up the car (since Aaron had taken the van) and I drove home, and she wasn't happy about that, but it's not that far.  When I got home there was further proof that I married the most awesome man ever!  First, all the kids were in bed, second, I noticed the kitchen was spotless, everything put away, dishes done, table clean, floor swept and mopped too.  When I went to say goodnight to Amy she said they'd had frozen yogurt.  I verified with Aaron that he had taken them up to the frozen yogurt place we visited on Saturday.  He took them out for a treat and then put then to work we they got home.  The living room and bathroom were clean too!  I fed Melanie while Aaron unloaded the car.

Later when I put Melanie down for bed, she smiled up at me and then promptly threw up, with milk coming out of her nose!!!  She was still smiling.  Her sheet was soaked, as was her blanket, so I asked Aaron to help me change the crib sheets.  He won't hold her if he is still wearing the clothes he wore to work - we don't need to pass on anything more than the colds she gets frequently.  After he got a new sheet on the mattress I put her down again, and thankfully she went right to sleep.

Wednesday was mostly just laundry.  I decided instead of my normal workout on the exercise bike I would go to a Pilates class.  A few ladies are meeting at the church Mon-Fri to do a Pilates workout.
There were just 5 of us, but it was a 45 minute DVD and it was a great workout.  I was pretty sore the nest day.  Amy had fun because her friends from preschool were there, and they played in the nursery.  I brought Melanie's swing, and she did great for the most part.  About halfway through she was a bit fussy, so I pulled her out and held her for a bit.  Then I set her on the floor on top of a blanket.  Eventually Linda asked if she could hold her for a few minutes.  After the video was over we headed home.  I think Melanie fell asleep on the way home, or maybe I put her down for a nap - either way I showered and then made lunch.  I don't remember much else about the afternoon.  I didn't think David had scout since they were going somewhere the next day, but Aaron called and said all the other Webelos were there, so I drove him over and he was only a few minutes late.  Melanie was giving me a hard time going to bed, and I ended up nursing her to sleep.  After Aaron and David came home and the kids were in bed Aaron helped me iron the rest of the clothes, and then we went to bed a little late.  Timothy came down at about 9:00 to let me know he lost his tooth.  That gave the tooth fairy little time to forget to come.  Usually she forgets and has to sneak the money in after he has already woken up and can't find the money.

Thursday - March Madness begins - for basketball that is.  It was also preschool for Amy and Pilates for me.  This time Melanie did great until about halfway through when I fed her and then she played on her blanket until we were done.  By the end of the day I was really sore - it felt good.  Aaron had gone into work for a couple of things and then to the store.  He was home working on things when I got back.  I showered and then picked up Amy.  Melanie stayed with Aaron.  He fed her some oatmeal cereal but it was a little thick. 

Then Melanie slept while we had lunch.  After lunch Aaron and Amy painted the bathroom.  We got the paint a while ago, but never got a chance until now.  The color is "bridal bouquet".  It's a little more pink than I thought it would be, but I think it works.

Aaron picked up the boys from school so they would have time for a snack before going on a Cub Scout outing.  They went to the Humane Society to deliver donations they had collected.  They were short drivers, so Aaron took them up and back.  They got back in time for David to go to baseball.  Timothy and Aaron stayed there while Amy and I made dinner.  Melanie wouldn't sleep at bed time again, so I nursed her to sleep - I was seeing a bad pattern developing.

Friday Melanie woke up around 6:30.  So I put her down for a nap at 8:30 thinking she would wake up at 9:30, then I could feed her and go to Pilates.  At 9:50 she was still sleeping, so I decided I'd just go late when she woke up.  She slept until 10:30!!!  By the time I fed her I knew I would miss the entire thing by the time I got to the church, so I stayed home and after lunch I put her down for a nap and rode the bike.  She woke up 2 seconds after I finished.  That afternoon I don't remember doing much.  When David came home he had a certificate and a new water bottle for being Citizen of the Week.  Apparently his teacher said it wasn't any one thing that he did, but rather that he deserves it every week, so they finally gave it to him. 

Saturday we cleaned house. Aaron took David up to the city to do some shopping.  Hardware store, outdoors supply store, and a few in between, including McDonald's for lunch.  Glad I wasn't there.  Ick.  I spent most of the morning cleaning.  There's nothing like expecting house guests to motivate me to clean the house.  Melanie took another long morning nap, so I got a lot done.  Somehow I missed cleaning my own bathroom though.  That afternoon Aaron and David worked on a Cub Scout project.  The rest of us just played and watched basketball.  Even with picking Gonzaga to win the whole thing, somehow I'm still tied for 1st in the tournament challenge I entered.  And somehow I didn't finish filling out my bracket on the other challenge, and so I lost before it began.  Aaron grilled up some steaks that night.  Delicious!

Sunday Aaron let me sleep in.  I was so glad Melanie didn't need to eat.  She'd kept me up way too much that night, and she won't go to sleep as well as she used to.  Aaron made a yummy blueberry/huckleberry breakfast cake.  We got ready for church, and Melanie didn't fall asleep on the way there, so Aaron got her to sleep early on during church.  I fed her during the last talk.  It was great to hear talks about conversion.  There were some great stories shared.  Amy went right to primary - yay!!!  Melanie was a bit fussy during Sunday School, but we made it through just fine.  I ended up conducting again as Julianna was helping in the nursery and Cheryl had to go home.  Nikki G* gave the lesson and did a wonderful job.  Melanie got tired toward the end, and I took her out in the hall as she moaned before falling asleep, pretty easily.  I was grateful to David who put hymn books away for me while I held her.  She slept until I put her in the van. After lunch Aaron and Timothy did some home teaching.  Aaron attempted to invite the K* family over for dinner, but they refused, and said they owed us a dinner.  So after an early FHE we went over to their home for dinner.  They made spaghetti, and we made some sourdough bread - it wasn't quite sour enough, but we only started it a couple of days ago.  The kids always have fun together.  Crystal got to hold Melanie for a bit too.  We enjoyed some conversation before Aaron (and Jonathan) had to go to the youth fireside.  I took our kids home and got them ready for bed.  The rest belongs in another post.

Melanie at 5 Months

Monday Melanie turned 5 months.  I attempted to take some pictures of her in the morning.

 She didn't smile a whole lot

 But she was pretty tired

 After running errands in the morning she did this for about 3 hours

Part of me wonders if she was constipated from the mashed potatoes

 Eventually she settled down, and I took some pictures of her before bedtime

At 5 months old Melanie:

• can roll over front to back and back to front but always the same direction
• takes 3-4 naps a day
• eats about every 3 hours - even through the night :P
• loves to smile at everyone
• has a great squeaky laugh when she finds something is hilarious
• doesn't fall asleep in the car for short trips (less than 20 minutes) unless it's nap time
• doesn't have much hair (with Amy I could put pig tails in her hair at this age)
• can reach for toys and grasp them
• puts everything in her mouth
• can take the binky out of her mouth, but doesn't always get it back in the right way 
• loves tummy time
• loves baths since I started bathing her with Amy in the tub
• sometimes rolls over when going to sleep
• loves diaper changes
• wants to be entertained
• doesn't like being alone
• is generally really happy - as long as there are people around to interact with her
• has eaten a little solid food, but not regularly
• weighs about 15 lbs
• 
  

Pinewood Derby Take 2 and St. Patrick's Day

I'm behind again, but I've been really busy.  March brings about plenty of projects including the Relief Society Birthday party.  I neglected to mention a few things last week.  Tuesday evening I was picking up Timothy from cub scouts, an I saw Shannon coming down my road.  I waved as I waited for her (there's really only room for one car at a time).  She stopped, and opened her door.  I rolled down my window and she brought out a pan.  Remember when I said I'd bring you a meal after Melanie was born?  I never did it, so here's a meal for you."  She is so sweet.  I realized later that evening she probably never brought me a meal earlier because she had horrible morning sickness.  She is now 6 1/2 months pregnant.  I had already started a butternut squash soup, so I put the pan in the fridge and we had her chicken pot pie the next day, and leftovers Thursday - it was delicious!

As for Friday, Aaron left for his scout campout around 5:30 - or was it 4:30?  Anyway.  We had a simple dinner, and then the kids watched a movie while I worked on Relief Society stuff.  Saturday I somehow convinced them to get their chores done quickly.  At 10:00 was the district pinewood derby.  Since the boys did well at the pack pinewood derby they wanted to enter the district one.  I had to squeeze the kids into the car - not an easy thing.  And I put David in the front seat - which I hate to do.  I also forgot the camera.  But we made it on time, and they checked in their cars.  The races started at 11:00, so we had some time to kill.  They were playing Cars on a projector screen, but the kids were still restless, so two of the adults in charge volunteered to watch the kids out on the playground.  Amy wanted to go, so I told David to watch out for her, and the three of them went out to play.  Melanie and I stayed inside.  I didn't know any of the other parents, so I didn't really talk to anyone.  At 11:00 they took pictures of the boys, and did a flag ceremony, and then started the races.  There were 5 divisions: Tiger, Wolves, Bears, Webelos, and open - for siblings or parents.  There were only 4 Wolves entered, and only 3 Webelos.  So David was guaranteed a trophy, and Timothy would probably get one too.  Timothy got first place in the first 4 races.  David got 2nd, 1st and 3rd in his races.  Later Timothy's car was raced 4 times in a row and got 1st, 1st, 4th and 1st.  That 4th place must have been a fluke.  The kids watched the Cars 2 movie when their cars weren't being raced. At some point Melanie got tired and I put her in the wrap and she slept for about 30 minutes.  I was texting Aaron throughout the competition.  The final results were that Timothy got first for Wolves and David got second for Webelos.  They also raced the winner from each of the cub scout divisions (when Timothy raced 4 times in a row) and they determined a grand champion which was Timothy!!!  I wish I'd had my camera.

We didn't get back until almost 1:00, so I nursed Melanie and we had a late lunch.  Aaron called to say they'd be home just after 2:00, but it was actually closer to 1:30. The wind picked up and it got a little chilly while the boys were waiting for parents to come get them.  I helped unload as much as I could, but I was holding Melanie.  Aaron didn't have much time to unwind.  At 3:15 Br. P* picked him up and they went to the priesthood leadership part of stake conference.  I tried to keep Melanie awake, but she was really tired, so I put her down for a nap at 5:45.  Maddie arrived here at 6:00, and I took Melanie with me to the adult session of Stake Conference.  I was glad she transferred to her carseat and went right back to sleep.  The kids had some chicken nuggets and watched Ratatouille - which we recently acquired.   Melanie woke up about 3 minutes before I got to the stake center.  I found Aaron in the lobby and we found a seat, and soon Melanie was hungry.  We enjoyed the session for the most part.  Melanie got fussy so Aaron took her out.  He didn't have much luck getting her to sleep.  I was wondering when he was going to come back, and after 45 minutes I began to watch the door every time it opened. I decided to go find him when the current speaker was finished.  Then I saw Justin B* pop his head in and motion for me to come.  Melanie was really upset, and the only way to calm her down was to feed her.  I didn't have a burp rag or nursing cover, but found the mother's room quickly.  She nursed fine until a mom came in with a crying newborn.  Melanie was fine after a minute.  I ended up talking to  Abby R* in the hall for a while.  Her Maddie is only a month older, but she is such a big baby.  It was good to catch up with her in person.  After the session was over we decided to go out for dessert.  We tried a different frozen yogurt place that we had a coupon for.  It was really good.  Melanie fell asleep on the way there and stayed asleep even all the way home.  In fact she slept until almost 2:00 am.  Amy had fallen asleep in David's room - which is pretty normal when we have a babysitter.  When Melanie woke up at 1:55 am I walked in there and Amy was standing front of her bed.  It startled me at first, but since Melanie wasn't crying, just awake I tucked Amy into bed, and then got Melanie out of her car seat and nursed her back to sleep.

Sunday morning was a little busy trying to get everyone ready for church.  We attempted to leave early enough for the soft seats, but didn't get there early enough.  Melanie fell asleep on the way there, but woke up when we arrived.  After we found a seat and got settled I fed Melanie and hoped that she would stay happy, but just like normal at church she didn't want to just sit with no one to entertain her.  So Aaron took first shift and put her to sleep even though she had just taken a nap.  Eventually she woke up and I fed her, again.  Amy kept wanting to get a drink after every talk.  I ended up letting her go during the songs.  2 + hours is a long time to sit for anyone.  I really enjoyed the talks that were given, and I got to listen to most of them.  Our ward was in charge of putting away the chairs, and a friend was being ordained after the session so we stayed for a while to get those two things done.  We talked with the G* family, they had moved in Friday night while Aaron was on the campout.  We also saw Timothy's 1st grade teacher Sis K* and we talked for a while.  Eventually we got home and had a late lunch. 

With it being St. Patrick's Day, we had our typical corned beef and cabbage, mashed potatoes and salad.  I didn't make rolls, mostly because I didn't have time, and I'm trying to not over eat.  I'd rather eat dessert.  I gave David a few choices (since he was in charge of refreshments) and we ended up making these grasshopper cookies. Delicious!  Aaron took some to work the next day.  Aaron did some home teaching with David.  They took Max with them, since we got him from their home.  We also got to do Facetime with Aaron's family for a little bit.

And a few pictures:

 Melanie was really interested in watching us eat, so Aaron offered some mashed potatoes to her.

She devoured them

 While we ate dessert we sat her up in the booster seat, and gave her a toy to play with

 She isn't sitting up by her self yet, and she didn't last long.  I think she was just tired.

The grasshopper cookies

Signs of Spring

Highlights from the week:
Monday - Aaron got called into the hospital at 5:00 am  it was a long day for him.  We saw a brand new baby cow on the way to piano lessons.  David started baseball practice.
Tuesday - there was a mix up with preschool but it all turned out OK.  Timothy had scouts, and Aaron was on call again.
Wednesday - busier than I had planned.  I was going to do pilates with some friends at the church, however Aaron needed to provide a lunch for a meeting he was in charge of, and didn't have a plan.  So I volunteered to make something and bring it over.  I never did get my exercise in that morning.  I read on Facebook that a friend of mine had been pruning her fruit trees, and cleaning out the raspberries bushes.  I had attempted to do the same earlier, but Melanie didn't like me leaning over with her in the wrap, and Max kept trying to lick her when we got low enough.  So when the boys got home from school I gave the kids a snack, told David to watch Melanie and I did some pruning.  I got the roses and the raspberries.  I stopped at some point to put Melanie down for a nap.  I was able to get all of the stems in the garbage can, and there was barely enough room for the garbage for the week.  I think that counts as my exercise.  That night there was scouts for Aaron and David.
Thursday - preschool for Amy.  I read up on how to prune my fruit trees, and pruned the apple and cherry trees while holding Melanie.  Although there are two really tall leader branches that I can't reach without a ladder, so that will have to wait.  Any time I put Melanie down Max came running over, like it was an invitation to play with her.  It was also Pi day so I made this pie

a combination of recipes it's an Oreo grasshopper pie.  It was also my mother-in-law's birthday!  Happy Birthday Mom! Baseball for David and Round table for Aaron.
Friday - Amy and Aaron went to the dump.  Melanie and I did some shopping in the city.  Then I helped Aaron prepare for his campout, and I worked on stuff for the Relief Society dinner next week.

Otherwise I took pictures of Melanie on Tuesday

And pictures of Amy and I playing Candyland

Thursday was a beautiful day and I saw plenty signs of Spring

 new raspberry shoots

 buds on the cherry tree

 The honeycrisp apple tree

 The Braeburn Apple tree

 Buds on the braeburn

 The pasture grass is getting greener

 The maple tree

 Our hardy tulip

 Then I saw that Max had torn up some of the landscaping fabric under the bark

 He also thinks this is a great place to take a nap.  I don't know if you can see where the branches are all smashed down.

 our first crocus

 Apparently we missed an onion last fall

flowers on the trellis

And today I took some more pictures

 rhubarb trying to come up - in Max's shadow because he wouldn't get out of the way.

 the crocus blooming

 the lilacs are showing a little green

 the peonies are starting to come up

 The daffodils are getting bigger

 the first of the narcissus bulbs Aaron planted last fall.

 the buds on the flowering dogwood

Um, I think this one was on accident.  But it shows Max, and the green spots in the lawn