35+

Pip has already passed the 35wk mark, and I'm just now getting to a new report because it has been busy around here. As soon as last post ended, Pappy brought Paul back from Houston, and we started school! It's already been a full three weeks, and each week has been quite different from the last. I'm getting used to the curriculum, Paul's getting used to the new layout of school, and Ada & Jack are getting used to the new routine. All in all, I give it a solid A-. There are a few things that still need tweaking (curriculum-wise) and a few things that need shuffling (schedule-wise), but we're doing it, and we're enjoying it! Yay! So, all of that means that when we're not schooling, we're otherwise engaged in keeping house, outside play, inside play, errands, meal prep, gardening, etc, not leaving much time for blogging. Plus, with the beginning of the schoolyear came all the beginnings of every other activity: homeschool swim team, Boy Scouts, art class, ballet (Ada), orchestra (me!), not to mention doctor appointments, my 34th birthday, Dylan's and my 10th wedding anniversary, and other extras that sound busy but make it all worth it, like a day trip to the beach.

Here are the shots we managed to take over the last three weeks:

 33 weeks

 34 weeks

35 weeks

 Pappy making the most of a short visit

Look at what we helped happen!! We planted local milkweed in our rain gardens quite a while ago, and earlier this summer, we were eating outside as we watched a monarch come flitting around, laying eggs on our milkweed. We were so excited that it "worked", our efforts paid off. But the next phases were still to come. We watched the growth of little caterpillars, the leaves off the milkweed disappear, and then one day we found this big fatty-fat hanging from one of our chair cushions! We came out the next day, and - bam - chrysalis! We kept an eye on it for over a week, and then one morning, it was cracked open and empty. While I wish the kids could've seen that part, too, it's pretty awesome having seen the whole thing happen in our own backyard.

 classroom before the first schoolday

 Paul's 1st day of 1st grade!

 

a small glimpse into the hard-working view of our homeschool
(as opposed to the extras we get to experience, like the above concrete mixer pouring next door ;)

 Assumption of Mary dessert: Mary's blue mantle + clouds

 

 levee walk after my 34th birthday dinner

 he's such a silly poser and loves pictures ... and seeing them immediately

 waiting room shenanigans

Long Beach, MS - a perfect below-adult-hip height for 500yds and flat, so the kids could just swim and play and walk away from us and get comfortable in the water - especially Jack! I mean, Paul loved it, of course, but Jack surprised us so by wading chin-deep in saltwater and giggling as the tiny swells passed just over his head and he kept bopping along, wanting to go further & further. And for Ada, it was the first time she didn't have to be touching one of us in the Gulf - she enjoyed venturing a little on her own, too - yay!

Just because. Wouldn't we all want to nap this hard?

 Restaurant des Familles for our 10th wedding anniversary

And now I've realized I may only have one or two more updates before this baby arrives! We've got some stuff to do to get ready! So while I might not have the time to say and show just what we're up to, know it'll involve locating and cleaning the baby clothes stash, the co-sleeper, the infant carriers, installing the 4th carseat, packing a hospital bag ... oh yeah, and going to more appointments, doing school, and all the other normalcies of keeping up with the family. Life is good!