Amusement park

          Elizabeth's Girl Scout Troop decided to go to King's Dominion for the day and camp nearby for the evening.  Since L♡♡ was coming to town and we had tickets for an Orioles game the next day; we decided that it would be better for Elizabeth to just meet up with her troop and enjoy the amusement park, but not camp.  This gave us the opportunity to take L♡♡ to the park.  We hoped that she would enjoy all the rides.  Our previous exchange students have enjoyed going.
  Since I am really big and pregnant and would not be able to ride any of the rides and could not handle all the walking or the heat, I got to stay at home and enjoy the crickets chirping, ... I mean the peace and quiet.  Ahhh....  Quiet, what a stranger you have become, PLEASE visit more often!
  Honey took all the kids and here are a few pictures from his day with them.

Keener & Rolo

Christopher and Keener

It looks like they had a great time.  They were exhausted when they got home.

Unfortunately there are not any pictures of Elizabeth because she spent the day with her troop, but I am glad she enjoyed a day with her friends.

Honey did capture a picture of one little creature that I am glad did not get angry with him.

Yuck!  Those skunks really can leave a bad smell.  

Picnic

Honey's office has an annual picnic which we like to attend because they have found a good combination of location, timing and food.  The location has just the right amount of shade, which should not be discounted because there is nothing worse than a picnic that is hot and miserable.  It also has a playground, ball field and bathrooms close by.  As any parent of little ones knows, there is nothing worse than a LONG walk to a bathroom.

Here are Honey & Elizabeth enjoying the shade.

We took  L♡♡ with us, event though she arrived just yesterday afternoon.  We have a busy first few days planned for her, but we are so glad that she is here.

Keener seems to be having fun with her already!  Goofy Girl, always making silly faces!

Faking it.

Now that summer has started, I live at the pool almost every day.   With swim team and dive team, it is inevitable that I go every day.  Keener  loves going and most spends a lot of time swimming by herself or with the other 2-4 year olds that hang out near the entry steps into the pool.  The main difference is that she is the only one who is able to swim at the age of 3.  Like Rolo, she is 95% self taught.  I learned a lot from Elizabeth and Christopher about how to teach a child to swim.  The biggest mistake that I (and others) make: showing fear.

  Teaching a kid to swim is all about the fake.  You have to pretend that you are not worried about her drowning.  You have to pretend that when she goes under the water and comes up coughing, that your child must have had a wonderful time doing so.  You need to congratulate her on how much fun she must be having.  Tell her that she did a good job putting her face under the water.  Tell her she is a great swimmer. Why?  because, then she will want to do it again.  So how does this work? You have confused your child.  She is thinking "That wasn't very fun, why is Mommy so excited?" Then she becomes interested in making swimming fun.  She has to figure out a way to find the joy.  She also will start to watch the other kids swim and learn from them.  This is not to say that I do not use other swimming devices (the baby swimming ring, the vest, and a swim noodle) to help my kids learn, but "the fake" is my most effective weapon.
    Right now my only problem is the other parents who keep trying to "save" her.  As if I would not be watching my child in the water!  Oh well, they can enjoy their own clinging child pulling down their bathing suit and scratching them to pieces for a few more years, while I enjoy watching mine swim!

Cherry Pie!

       Last Thursday we went strawberry picking and cherry picking at my favorite "pick your own" farm, Homestead Farm.  I just love their farm. They have the sweetest golden retrievers.  They have such a family friendly set-up and are so nice.  And the produce has always been divine.  I went with my neighbor and her girls (seen here before) and I can not believe how beautiful the weather was.  It was in the low 80's and overcast with no humidity and a slight breeze,  Ahhhhh  what a wonderful day!  

     I didn't get to making the cherry pie before  my "fun Thursday."  So I finally made one today.   Keener and Elizabeth pitted all the cherries, Elizabeth measured and mixed the cherries with sugar and flour, while I made the pie crust and assembled the pie and made dinner.   There is nothing like a fresh pie to make you feel better. Yum! Yum! Yum!  

      I generally use the pie recipes in the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook (As my taped, but still falling apart copy can surely attest to!! )  The nice thing about their fruit pie page is that is only calls for the fruit and some flour and sugar to make the filling.  I prefer pies this way because they depend on the fruit for flavor and not a lot of spices or other fillings.  I find that simplicity is best where pie is concerned.  Go make yourself some fresh pie and enjoy that it is summer with a lots of fresh produce to eat.
*****I decided to update this page and add the recipe:

Simple simple Cherry Pie recipe.

• For filling; Mix 4 cups pitted cherries, 1 cup sugar, & 1/4 cup flour. Pour into favorite uncooked pie shell- in this case I made one with lard (below) so it would be flakey. Cover with top pie shell and decorate if you want. Cook @375 for 30 minutes covered with foil, then 30 more to brown the pie top and voila' yummy pie.  (I of course forgot to cover it for the 1st thirty minutes; so in my case I covered it for the 2nd half of cooking. It still turns out the same.
• For Double Pie crust - (I use an electric mixer) Mix 2 cups flour & 1/2 tsp salt, add 2/3 cup lard, beat until it looks like peas, add 6 TBS COLD water. Mix 30 seconds or so until mixed. Divide in 2. Roll out one for the bottom crust, put into pie pan. Roll out second crust and cover pie.

  

What a day!

       So now that I have had a few days to recover, I should let you know that Thursday was NOT a good day for me.  Early in the morning, I started having contractions and was generally not feeling well.  It just goes to show what happens when you start  thinking "Wow! my contractions have stopped for almost 3 weeks, maybe I'll get a break for the last trimester......" 
 "Wrong!!
I barely was able to make it through the morning, but luckily I had a movie backup for one of my sick days.  We watched Around the World in 80 days.  During the movie I called Honey to say that he might need to come home early because I was not feeling well and was having pretty bad contractions.  We finished the movie and used it for our daily geography and history discussion.  Then we did our daily scripture readings and were all set to start reading Greek Myths and Aesop's Fables. 

•  We are using D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths which I simply love.  It has useful illustrations that are detailed and pertinent to the myth.  Each myth leads into the next, so there is a cohesive flow to the book.  The kids really love hearing the myths.  We have already read through Usborne's Greek myths book which was a good introduction, but not even close to the quality of D'Aulaire's. 

     I started to realize that I was not going to be able to read.  I was not able to talk during the contractions, NOT a good sign.   My Bradley Childbirth class (all those years ago...) told us that one of the signs to go to the hospital was when you could not speak through a contraction.   Uh Oh!  I told the kids that school was over and to put things away while I called Honey and told him to come home ASAP.  Then I got on the phone with the doctor, and various friends to make arrangements for the kids.   Then the real fun began!
      I got to ride with a very nervous Honey in rush hour traffic while having contractions.  Scary does not even begin to describe the ride.  
     We get to the hospital and darn it all, but NONE of the contractions are showing up on their monitor.  WHAT?!!!  Here I am having regular contractions and not a bleepity bleep one has the decency to show up on the machine!  After 5 hours in the hospital, a lot of prayers, a lot of patience, and a lot of tests, it turns out that I have an infection.  The infection is irritating the uterus causing me to have "non-productive" contractions.  Great!!!! (said with LOTS of sarcasm.)  I could have saved my uterus the time and told it that I was already non-productive.  It wasn't really necessary to prove it to me!
       So now that I have had a few doses of antibiotics, a few war wounds from being a pincushion, and a few days to rest,  I am feeling a lot better.  I am happy to have left the hospital with my baby still growing inside me,  that was the best part of the whole day!!

Playtime in the water.

       Keener has enjoyed playing in the old sandbox and using it as a pool for the summer.  It makes my afternoons easier to have her occupied.  She has a LOT of energy and has a HUGE personality.  Isn't that such a nice way of saying that my child can be a brat?
Since I love her, I accept the good and the bad?!  She is so strong willed that at times I find it hard to balance.  I want her to be the fiercely independent and adventurous person that she naturally is, but I also need her to learn to be respectful and obedient.  It is those fights for obedience that are difficult.  But hopefully with perseverance, I will be able to achieve a happy medium.

Peonies for me

        I love easy flowers and the Peony is certainly one of them.  Easy to care for, beautiful in bloom and low maintenance.  Despite all the variety of flowers that I have growing in the garden,   I do not have any high maintenance plants.
Who wants that?
Who has the time?
      I have developed basic rules for  my yard and gardening and the first one is to limit weeds at all costs.  That is easier done with mulch than with chemicals.  There can never be enough mulch, well,... almost never .
      The next "rule" would be that edging is so overrated!  I avoid that at all costs.  Again, mulch comes in handy.  I just make the flower beds end in mulch and allow several inches of buffer for the lawn mower  and leave the rest alone.
      My non negotiable rule is that I am unwilling to put up with persnickety plants.  If they need special attention, then I do not need them.  The only plants in my garden that fall into this category are roses, which for some reason like me.  I am just lucky I guess.  I have never had any trouble with them, so they get to stay.  There are so many easy plants but here are a few of my favorites:

• Azalea
• Butterfly Bush
• Iris
• Gladioles
• Hosta
• Lirope
• Lilly- white Easter and Daylilly
• Native Virginia Honeysuckle
• Peony
• Roses

These make up the core group of plants which I have in my yard.  I hope that you enjoy the sunshine and fresh air as much as I do.  Until then,  Happy Gardening!

So what did you do today?

"So, What did you do today?"

"I built a wall"

           Not to outdo Honey, I built another wall in our yard while he was off watching the lacrosse games.  I am a little tired of the backyard looking a little junky.  I have been spending a lot of Honey's time making it look a lot better.  We've moved several Forsythia and hostas and some impatiens against the back fence to make it look better (Our neighbors behind us need to be a lot more inspired with their yard). The never ending pile of mulch (See this post for a picture) is being used to make them look like more formal flower beds.   I am trying to make the backyard be a play area for the kids, but not look only like a play area for the kids.  Along those lines we have gotten outdoor storage for their toys and are trying to make everything else look a little nicer.
      So I thought that since the last wall was fairly easy, I'd try one more little wall to help finish off the other end of the "trash patio."

    
      This one is next to our side neighbors with whom we are very good friends.  I planted two blueberry bushes behind the new wall and hopefully next year we can share some blueberry pie with them.  Of course, now I have plans to extend to walkway (from the trash patio) around to the back of the house and connect to the back patio.  Poor Honey, just when he thinks he is done....

Lacrosse, Lacrosse and More Lacrosse

Duke beating ND in Overtime 

for their first NCAA Championship.

I have had the pleasure? this weekend of being a lacrosse widow while Honey went to the NCAA championship games in Baltimore. Three days and five games. Christopher went all three days as well.  My only word for this is Obsession.   But I am glad they had fun.

They had a nice kids zone outside that Christopher got to practice shooting at the goal.  Good thing there weren't any scouts, one shot went over the top into the parking lot. Ooops!  

Elizabeth went to the finals on Monday, she likes the game, but 3 days is a little much for her too.  Rolo went the first day, but I had forgotten to send the camera along so I don't have pictures from that day.

Father H came along on Monday too.   

I'm glad everyone had a good time, but now life can get back to "normal".  Whatever that is supposed to mean?!

Month of Miracles.

          Whew!  I'm through with May!  I called this the "Month of Miracles" because baby's chance of surviving if born any day during the month went from 10% to 85%.  What a dramatic difference 5 weeks makes.  I started the month at 25 weeks and ended at 30 weeks.  Every day made a huge difference in the life of my newest little one.  I am very excited to have 10 weeks left and looking forward to meeting the newest little family member.
      I just hope I can stand the heat of summer.  I love the heat and hate it at the same time.  I try every year to not turn the A/C on until June 1st and so far so good.  It seems silly, but I think that I should try to get myself adjusted to the heat a little bit.  Besides, I do love the fresh air and I love just having the doors open so the kids can run in and out.  It eliminates the "CLOSE THE DOOR!!" rant that I am forced to make when the A/C is on.  I love hearing the birds, squirrels, crickets and  the sweet smells of summer like honeysuckle, lilac, roses, gardenias.  Mmmmm, makes me want a glass of sun tea, a pool and a good book.  I hope your summer is starting off nicely too.

Yard work

           Well, I've put Honey to work in the yard.  It is only fair, he didn't "get" to do anything last year.   As I said in a previous post, he built me a little trash patio for storing our recycling container, trash containers, hoses and such. I am very pleased with the outcome.  It is nice to not have a huge muddy mess to deal with.

This is an updated picture of the Astilbe and Hostas that are beside the side door.  Much better!  

           Since he did such a great job, I decided that my vegetable patch needed to have a little more structure  to it.  I am trying to use the vegetable patch as a small continuous homeschooling science and gardening lesson.  We planted the seeds in little starter trays but the plants were quickly outgrowing their temporary home.  After talking about the terrain and my needs, we decided that a small wall would be ideal.  I went to Home Depot and got the stackable wall "bricks".  Thankfully there were people there to load the cart and the car.  That stuff is HEAVY!
            I am very grateful that Honey is so meticulous about things being level.  It made the wall look great and I am very proud of him.  The bottom row took about an hour to do but it was worth it when the next rows went up so fast.   With the bottom row level the next two rows quickly (10 minutes) were added for a very nice wall for a mere $80.

Elizabeth and I quickly got the plants in and voila' our vegetable garden.  Now we just need to watch it grow!!!

Poor Puttycat!

My poor cat is "loved" very much by Keener.  He now does not even bother to run away, although he is getting better at hiding ahead of time.  Along with her siblings, Puttycat is getting the dressed up, riding in the babydoll carriage and made to play with the "other" stuffed animals.

 He also gets carried "child style" (She child carries him around his waist so that half of him is flopping over her arms and the other half is dangling).  I think with all this "love" the cat is earning a faster path to heaven than the rest of us!

I think his eyes say it all.  And Puttycat, I agree!!

Happy Mother's Day!

Our Priest printed this in the weekly bulletin, so I cannot take credit for finding it myself, but this is so beautiful that it is the simplest way to say Happy Mother's Day to my wonderful mother and all the other mother's.  May you have a very blessed and happy Mother's day!

The Most Important Person

on earth is a mother. She
cannot claim the honor of

having built Notre Dame
Cathedral. She need not. She

has built something more

magnificent than any
cathedral-a dwelling for an
immortal soul, the tiny
perfection of her baby's
body…The angels have not

 been blessed with such a
grace. They cannot share in

God's creative miracle to bring

new saints to Heaven. Only a

human mother can. Mothers

are closer to God the Creator

than any other creature; God

joins forces with mothers in

performing this act of

creation…What on God's

good earth is more glorious

than this: to be a mother?

-Joseph Cardinal Mindszenty

Rolo becomes a littly "Gappy"

Rolo lost the other of his top teeth and for a little while will have that precious "gappy" look.  I just think it is adorable.

This last tooth was one that did not want to come out, but luckily it finally did.  It's fun to watch the kids go by the milestones and sad at the same time.  You want to savor every day that you have with them and enjoy them being kids for a minute, but too often daily tasks get in the way.  I am going to try to enjoy that sweet smile for the few weeks while it lasts before the new teeth come.  Keep up the smiling Rolo!!!

Pebbles and Pearl

 A good mother.

My neighbor had a pregnant horse named Pebbles (Okay, technically a she's pony; but to me it looks like a horse!)  Pebbles went into labor and my neighbor got stuck at the barn without her cell phone charger, so in anticipation of a long night,  I brought the needed charger out to her late Sunday night.  I am very much a night person, so to me it is not a problem.  Elizabeth (also a night person) went with me.  While I was there Pebbles did not have her foal, but I decided that letting Elizabeth sleep at the barn on "baby watch" could be a learning experience.  Let's be honest, who wouldn't want to see a foal born? So I let Elizabeth sleep at the barn on bales of hay with my neighbor.  Much to poor Elizabeth and my neighbor's dismay, the foal was not born that night,  and they had to come home.  The foal was not born the next night either.  Finally Pearl was born on Tuesday night.   She is a beautiful little foal, and fits her name perfectly.  Elizabeth went to the barn and took the pictures for me.  I have yet to see Pearl.    So thanks Elizabeth for the pictures, I can not wait to see her.  There is something so precious about a baby, human or animal,  it is still amazing what God can create.

        Sweet Pearl 

Mother and baby

Here is a wonderful and famous hymn to remind us of the simple beauty of  creation. (A link is included if you wish to also hear it)
All Things Bright and Beautiful
Text: Cecil Frances Alexander 

 Refrain:   All things bright and beautiful, 

 all creatures great and small, 
 all things wise and wonderful:  
 the Lord God made them all.

1. Each little flower that opens, 
 each little bird that sings, 
 God made their glowing colors, 
 and made their tiny wings.  
 (Refrain)

2. The purple-headed mountains, 
 the river running by, 
 the sunset and the morning 
 that brightens up the sky.  
 (Refrain)

3. The cold wind in the winter, 
 the pleasant summer sun, 
 the ripe fruits in the garden:  
 God made them every one.  
 (Refrain)

4. God gave us eyes to see them, 
 and lips that we might tell 
 how great is God Almighty, 
 who has made all things well.  
 (Refrain)

Olympics, Family style.

We have been studying ancient Greece (using SOTW) and I decided to let the kids have their own "Olympics" and Greek Feast. The kids planned the contests and made the medals.  The hardest for them was planning the obstacle course, but they persevered and planned a fun path through the backyard.  It included swinging, jumping jacks, trampoline bouncing, jumping over obstacles and running up the  ramp, across the bridge and down.   I am very proud of their planning.  They learned to negotiate what events would be included.  Christopher only wanted events that he could win (Don't we all).  He REALLY protested against the Limbo contest, but he lost that negotiation.  Keener had such a huge advantage, but couldn't figure out how to do it.  Very funny.

I discussed the food feast menu with them, but Elizabeth and I made most of it.  As usual there was too much food, but it was so yummy.  Most of the ideas came from this web site http://greekfood.about.com/od/discovergreekfood/u/classic_traditional.htm.

Here is the menu:
3 different types of olives-green, brine (kalamata), gaeta (olive link here) ,
dried figs, apricots, dates and golden raisins;
almonds
hummus and pita
Tyropita-3 cheese stuffed flakey pastry
Spanakopita- spinach and cheese stuffed flakey pastry
Camomile Tea
Tzatziki (Yogurt Cucumber Garlic dip)-SUPER EASY to make!!!
Froutosalata-Fruit Salad with honey dressing- yummy!
We also had two different types of fresh bread-thanks to the store bakery!

They had so much fun practicing the past couple of days and  then participating today.  It was such a great way to start off a week.  We had perfect weather and everyone had fun.

So here are the results:

Crabwalk
1st     Christopher
2nd    Elizabeth
3rd     I---- (Our neighbor)

4th     Rolo     

5th     Keener

Bear crawl

1st     Christopher

2nd    Elizabeth

3rd     Rolo

4th     I---- (Our neighbor)     

5th     Keener

Hopping

1st     Christopher

2nd    I---- (Our neighbor)

3rd     Rolo

4th     Keener    

5th     Elizabeth

Frisbee Toss

1st      I---- (Our neighbor)

2nd   Rolo

3rd     Elizabeth

4th     Christopher     

5th     Keener

Wheelbarrow Race (Teams)

1st      I---- (Our neighbor)/Christopher

2nd   Rolo/Elizabeth

3rd     Keener

Long Jump

1st     Christopher

2nd    Elizabeth

3rd     Rolo 

4th     I---- (Our neighbor)     

5th     Keener

Limbo

1st     Elizabeth

2nd     I---- (Our neighbor)

3rd     Rolo

4th     Keener

5th     Christopher

 

Obstacle Course (Time)

1st     Elizabeth (1 min 12.2 seconds)

2nd     Christopher(1 min 18.7 seconds) 

3rd     I---- (Our neighbor) (1 min 47.4 seconds)

4th     Rolo (1 min 49.9 seconds)

5th     Keener (2 min 35.0 seconds)  

     Keener was adorable doing the obstacle course. The other children helped her.  It was so wonderful to see them cheering her on and helping her not get sidetracked.  She did however tend to stop to fix her socks.  If she wasn't looking like a European tourist with her socks up to her knees, she just wasn't happy!  Made me laugh just to see her stopping to do that.  

Awards Ceremony Picture 

Trash Patio

Completed Patio

For the past two weekends I have put Honey to work.  The area on the side of the house which leads into the laundry room was becoming a huge problem.  With all the snow and rain, the side of the house became a mud pit.  I think it was a bigger cause of my muddy floors than any other area of the yard!
So I put Honey to work building a trash patio, for lack of better words.  We store our trash, recycling and Composter  out there as well as our hose and sprinklers.  Since there is a slight slope, we needed to build stairs as well.  Luckily all the materials in the project were FREE!  That's what happens when you buy a house from someone who was a handyman with 1000 unfinished projects.  I have found probably 20 of the LARGE plumbing pipes buried in the yard (stored in the yard is more like it), another 20 small pipes and multiple shapes and sizes of pavers and bricks.  I have since gotten rid of all of the pipes since I have no use for them, but the pavers keep getting rearranged.
      Honey is very good at making sure that everything is level.  Me? not so much!  So he did a fantastic Job of creating the patio and a new planting bed.  I put in  a few Astilbe and some free Hostas (I divided them up from other parts of the yard)  Hostas must be one of the gardener's favorite friends!  I think it will look even better in the summer when everything is in bloom, but for now, here is the new flower-bed:

You can just see the Hostas poking through the soil.

This is the Forsythia that I used in vases in the house while it was in bloom, but am trying to see if any will root.  Then I can expand my "wall of Forsythia" in the backyard.

Here is a picture of the pile of mulch that I had delivered, I think there is such a thing as too much mulch!

Playday in the park

Today was a GORGEOUS spring day.  I just love the spring weather.   I took the kids to Clemyjontry Park to play on the fully handicapped accessible playground.  I went with my friend Mary (@ Passionate Perseverance) and her daughter Courtney. Courtney was a little sleepy today, but the vitamin D was good for her anyway.  (She has a Vitamin D Deficiency).  Mary and I traded seeds for our gardens.  We are going to be doing square foot gardens this year.  I'll let you know how that works.  I have been very busy planning the garden and getting things ready to plant.  This is my first year using the square foot gardening method.  My sister has used it with a lot of success.  I am looking forward to learning a little more about gardening.  Hopefully I will have LOTS of pictures to share.  I have a lot of experience with flowers and bushes, but not so much with edible plants.  Unless you count the pumpkins I get for free every year by throwing all the pumpkin guts into the garden in the fall after carving them for Halloween.  I would say that pumpkins are SUPER easy to grow, as long as you don't care how many you get!
                   At the park my kids ran, and climbed on EVERYTHING.  You would think that they would be tired, but they came home and played on the new trampoline for hours.  We did manage to sneak in  a little homeschooling via religion class.  The only important class of the week!   I use a Catholic teacher planner from Creative Communications.  It lists the Saints of the day and Holy Days as well as contains the readings for next Sunday.   It also has a word of the week that is contained within the gospel reading. We spend the week pre-reading the scriptures that will be read on Sunday.  It has helped the children to listen and gain a better understanding of what is going on in Mass.  It also has helped them listen with more interest to the homily. I have been very pleased with the information contained in this planner.   It has helped me to stay on track this year.  Something I always need help with!
 

Jumping in the Backyard

For the kid's birthday, we got them a joint gift of a trampoline.  I got  a good deal on a 12' one from Sears.   From everyone I know who has gotten one, it is a pain to set up because the directions are always difficult. I agree with that! But the reward is a toy that kids of all ages and abilities can play on at the same time.  Not to mention the exercise and "tire them out" factors.  The kids had a blast on their first day jumping.  Here are a few pictures from the HOURS that they spent outside playing.
Here are all the kids at once.  (For the safety folks: Yes, together the do not exceed the weight limit!)  Then a few individual photos.

   

                                                 

I will say that it appears to be money well spent!


Advice for putting together your own trampoline:
My bit of advice to the makers of trampolines is to color code 4 of the spring hooks.  That way you could actually follow the part of the directions that says to hook the 1st spring, then hook the other spring that will go directly opposite it.  This would be easy to do if there were not 50+ springs and you only thought is "if I mis-hook this, then I will have to redo the entire thing!"  So here is my solution to following the directions.  I started off hooking the springs every other one, then every 3rd, then every 4th, then every 5th one until I was completely around.  Then I went around and filled in the "missing springs."  My kit cam with a hooking device  for the springs that was VERY helpful.  Apparently not all trampoline kits come with this.  If yours does not come with this tool then look for some tool that you might have with an "L" shape (Like a large allen wrench).  It allowed me to pull the tension of the spring without worrying about pinching my fingers.

Happy 3rd Birthday Keener

Happy 3rd Birthday Sweetheart!

My last birthday of the month.  It is little Miss Keener's 3rd birthday today.  She is such a pistol!  Makes me laugh all the time with her expressions and sauciness.    She is such an opinionated girl.  I am so glad that my little girl was born 3 years ago today.  What a wonderful day.  We did not find out if we were having a boy or a girl, so it was a perfect surprise to have another little girl.  I love you so much crazy girl,  I hope you have a wonderful day.  I hope you never loose your spunk!