Baby Bellies

One of Mikayla's good friends is expecting a baby brother in a few weeks. Mikayla has always been a big lover of babies--both real and plastic--but I think she's finally old enough to realize that the baby is actually in the big belly. When one of my best friends had a baby in November, I don't think it was all put together. But now, being 7 months older, she's made the connection.

At story time the other day, she was asking her friend's mom all about her tummy and the baby. She came home and pretended she had a baby in her belly. Lilly also had a baby in her belly, according to Mikayla. And the other day she mentioned to Gramma that she was in Daddy's belly when he was a Mommy...think about that one for awhile.

So yesterday after nap time, Mikayla was snuggling with me until she was fully awake. She sat up and looked at me for a long time, then asked, "Mommy, do you have 2 babies in your tummy?"

Now I'll be honest, I was a little offended. I know she didn't mean it like it sounded, but as a woman you automatically think she's calling you fat. And I'm not, but I was beginning to wonder if I'd let myself slip and not realized it. "No, Mommy is not having any babies. Why?"

She got a funny, confused look on her face. "But you have 2 big bellies!"

When I followed her gaze, I realized where she was looking. "No honey, those aren't part of my tummy. My tummy is under them...."

That's Our Girl!!

I had to make a grocery shopping excursion last night. It was one of those that we needed a few things, but there were several things that were on the cusp. "We could use some bread." "We only have a few eggs left." You know how it goes. And since I was going to make it a big trip, I decided to add in our camping list for next weekend, too. Why not? It'll save me time next week.

As we were getting ready to go, Alayna ran upstairs to grab her purse. She's quite the saver and has some money left over from her basketball cookie dough sales incentive back in December. She was determined to find a special something for the upcoming summer. Well, Lilly heard that and decided, for the first time, that she also wanted to bring some of her money she's saved up. She asked if it was okay, I told her it was, and she ran up to her room.

"I got the one with a 5, is that okay?" she asked.

When we got to the store, she was scouring the racks, looking for that perfect thing she could buy with her own money. Alayna quickly found herself a pair of black flip-flops with a 2" heel for $8. Lilly didn't want shoes, she didn't want a new shirt. She wasn't sure what she wanted.

I finished my shopping and we were headed to the check-out line when Lilly said, "Wait! I see it!"

She ran to the rack, grabbed her purchase, and we headed to the check-out. Lilly waited patiently in line ahead of me, nervous but excited to make her first exchange by herself. She put the prize on the conveyor belt, waited until the clerk said the total, then handed over her $5 bill. She waited anxiously for her change, accepted that and her bag, said thank you and then helped me finish unloading the cart.

I was so proud of her! She was very grown-up and professional, remembering her manners and to speak clearly and loudly. I was also proud of her choice for that very first purchase: King-sized Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. They are one of mine and Andy's favorites. Yum. And she even told me, "Mommy, I won't eat these all at once. Just one at a time so I don't get a belly-ache." Is she really that old and mature already?!

We're gonna get you!

Something has been visiting us for the past few weeks. And it's getting old.

It all started earlier this spring. Every so often, the grain bins in the barn would be knocked over when we'd go out to feed the animals. We didn't know what was doing it, so we assumed it was our dog, Sunny, for some reason. Shortly after the first time, the bins were bungee tied to the wall and their covers were securely snapped in place. Then it happened again, with the huge 33 gallon bin knocked over while 2/3 full. Hmmmm, maybe it's not the dog. As a matter of fact, I remember her barking in the middle of the night...

The bins were re-secured, with some extra reinforcements, and we set up a live trap. That first night we caught...a cat. Poor Coonie was so upset and didn't talk to us for a day. He's since recovered, but there's still something getting into our grain bins. It was in there 3 or 4 nights last week. We honestly have no idea what it is. We're assuming raccoon(s) but there's a very real possibility it's also a small bear recently kicked out of mom's den. And it could still be the dog, though we've never seen her have a desire to eat the grain any other time. It's driving us crazy and costing us money.


I got a brainiac idea and asked Andy's cousin if we could borrow their trail-camera. They came over for a family play date and the men set up the camera. We were certain we'd catch the bugger, if not in the trap, at least on camera so we knew what we were dealing with.

Well, it didn't quite work that way...

I know the pics are hard to make out, but take a look at a couple details with me. In the first photo, it shows the time as 0:35, which means 12:35 am. The live trap is nicely situated right next the bags of grain (which the critter thankfully hasn't touched!) The camera flashes and still doesn't get a pic of whatever it is. 5 mins later, at 12:40, (the soonest the camera will take a pic) it takes another shot and you see that when the camera flashed the first time, it apparently scared the animal, causing the live trap to go rolling across the barn. Each time, no animal is in the picture that's obvious. If you look closely, it looks like there may be a leg on the left edge of the photo--a yellowish leg (which may account for the huge white spot in the center) But even if it is Sunny in that photo, since it's the second pic and taken 5 mins later, I don't immediately deduce it was her that knocked things over. After all, this is her property and she's very protective. If she heard a noise that she didn't make and wasn't normal, she most certainly would go investigate. Grrrr It's motion activated, so something caused the camera to take the photos. Grrrr Obviously, it was also too close to the area since it's all so bright and distorted from the flash (and they aren't meant for indoor photos, but I. Don't. Care.) Grrrr

So we still have some work to do. The visitor didn't strike last night, so maybe the flash scared it off for awhile. We can hope. But just in case, the trap is set and the camera is in (a new) place.

So, I'm beginning to suck at this

I'm beginning to suck at this blogging business. I do really well, then life gets in the way and before I know it, it's been over a week since I last blogged. Then I do really well for a few weeks, and I miss a week or two again. I suppose it could be looked at as a good thing--that life is keeping us busy enough that I don't have excess computer time. But sometimes, that's not the case. I still have that time, I just use it to read a book, or check FaceBook, or play games. Then I get yelled at for not updating the blog, which sometimes I admit just simply gets forgotten. I promise I'll make a better effort....

So, the last 2 weeks have been pretty busy. Alayna had 4H and is starting to figure out what she'll be bringing to the fair. She also got her expander put in, so we spend a lot of time picking food out of the crevices (yummy, huh?) Her homework is increasing a bit, as the class works on end of the year projects. She informed me just yesterday that there are 16 days left of school, then she'll be a fourth-grader.

Lilly has also been wrapping up her school year in 4K. She's really doing well with her reading and can read entire beginner books by herself. She doesn't spend a lot of time reading because her true love is art--she's constantly drawing pictures of the family, animals, etc, or coloring in her various coloring books. She does such a great job of staying within the lines and using lots of color, but in ways that make sense. She's definitely our little artist.

Mikayla is still learning tons each day. She's starting to recognize the letters and numbers, and her new favorite show on tv is Team Umizoomi, which is on Nick Jr. It's all about using math to solve problems. We don't watch a lot of tv during the day, but this is a fast favorite. Of course, she's still singing all. the. time. She sings songs from the radio, songs we've taught her, songs she makes up. She's always singing about something.

Our entire family was recently involved in our church fundraiser. For the second year, we've had a large musical production of Broadway tunes. This year, we not only performed at our church, but we were asked to perform at another church as well! The second show was this past weekend. I do the job of "key grip", or sound during the show, and Andy helps control things behind the scenes, like helping people keep track of time, controlling the kids, etc. All 3 girls sang "Do Re Mi" with the children's chorus during an ensemble from "Sound of Music." Lilly and Alayna were also little bride's for Grampa's solo of "Sunrise, Sunset" and Alayna played the role of Alphaba (the young wicked witch) for our friend's rendition of "Popular" from "Wicked." The whole event was so wonderful and lots of fun. I even got in on a little fun, by being a bit of a hussy while the men's chorus sang "Watching All the Girls Go By."

Andy and I are status quo, keeping everything running and going as it should. We have planned a trip for early this summer, so that will be a great time to unwind and get some time together. And when we get home, it'll be busier than ever with camps and visits and everything else ramping up. Such is life, right?

So, if you're still checking in--Thank You! I promise I'll try to at least get little blurbs on here to show that we are still alive and well. I know for some of you, this is the easiest and best way to keep up with our family!