the adventures of april

April has been relatively quiet, especially the past couple weeks. We've been staying home, and I've been attempting to settle into this new stage of low energy me, high energy kiddos, and patience.


IMG_1422Up three/down three was the result of several very, very tough days in a row that left me at a complete loss. When morning #5 started out about the same way that the others had been going, I remembered an idea a friend had told me and grabbed a couple paint strips and a sharpie. We now have a system that forces me to look for the positives to reinforce and also gives me the freedom to give warnings and administer discipline without worrying that I'm doing it too often or not often enough. I'm sure it won't last forever, no system does... but it's brought some sanity to daily life around here and I'm grateful.

We were excited Lela could come dye Easter eggs with us! We also went outside and hunted for some plastic eggs and candy. We've been loving this beautiful spring weather.
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A few other fun things lately, clockwise from the top left: 1) a 10 mile bike ride with Tonya during Saturday naps was very refreshing and much-needed! I have been forcing myself to get out and get some exercise to combat the fatigue. 2) popsicles on the porch during some of these particularly warm days... a fun treat to look forward to after naps! 3) "helping" wash ambulances the other night, and 4/5) frisbee golf in Galesburg with Grant's mom and dad and Elise and Noah last Sunday afternoon. It was such a fun way to spend time together!
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Garage sales are still one of my favorite things, and North Peoria never disappoints. Last weekends finds included matching Lands' End backpacks and that hat. He calls it his "farmer hat" and usually insists on wearing it with his black rubber boots while going out to "feed the animals".

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IMG_1440Cotton & Corduroy continues to keep me busy when I'm not breaking up fights and running laundry and trying to find something that sounds good to eat, but every now and then I still need a no-pressure creative project. This dress (below) was one of those. My inspiration came from Hanna Andersson; mine is definitely not identical, but it was really fun to be able to pull it together with fabric I already had. I used a free pattern I found on Pinterest, which is for a size 3T, I made just a few adjustments for a better fit for Ivory, but she's petite so patterns usually are pretty flexible for her. :) It was easy and turned out... that's always an exciting combination.


And finally, I'll leave you with this... I caught her studying the last page of "Fancy Nancy - Budding Ballerina" very intently and discovered she was just learning the five positions of ballet... definitely very practical information. :) This week from the library we have "Fancy Nancy - Too Many Tutus", which is about the same amount of practicality. But, who doesn't love a little bit of drama in their lives? If that's all the drama we have right now... that's fine with me. :)

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