Kites and Ponies

Time sure does fly when Kevin is home, he got back last Wednesday and it feels like he just walked in the door. Today he started an active duty army position, the best part about that is the free health care!!
Spring is definitely on the way - my crocuses are blooming and other spring flowers are emerging from the ground. We can go outside without worrying about freezing winds and spitting snow, and Brandi is getting a lot of attention. Lex just adores her, as you can see.









On Saturday we got her out and the kids all took a turn riding her - though Arabian blood flows through her veins sometimes you would never guess it. She was a perfect sweetheart as I walked her around with the kids perched on her back, they felt like they were on top of the world. Hunter yelling 'Yeehaw!' and Gwen giggling and saying 'Weeee!'
But my paranoid mommy instincts are always intense, especially around horses, so I'm pretty sure we made the right decision in purchasing the kids a pony. She gets delivered on Friday, and she's just the right size for Hunter and Gwen (and eventually Lex and his brother/sister) to learn to ride. If they fall, it's not far, and she is a very good natured and sweet pony that taught two other little children to ride and now needs a new home. Ponies aren't in hot demand so she was very affordable, and so far has not even been fed grain, so the feed bill will be low. I hope Brandi is thrilled with her new pasture mate, I know the kids will be.
One evening after flying kites and petting Brandi, we went for a walk through the woods.











Gwen was attempting to strike a pose, Lex was making as many faces as he could, and Hunter wanted to show off his second missing tooth.












And do you know what she is laughing at??



Probably not - so I'll show you. Hunter was wearing a pair of pants just a bit too big for him. My kids are skinny and either need belts or adjustable waistbands - Hunter didn't want a belt. You can gather from this photo that his pants are a bit too big.



Seconds later, he was flying a kite with his pants around his ankles, and Gwen dissolving into laughter. It really was pretty funny.

Well, I think I'm out of photos for now, so I had better be off to bed. The baby thinks he/she needs more sleep these days so if I can I like to oblige. Nine more weeks until my due date, and I'm still not ready. But I will be, when the time comes.

Stay tuned for pony pictures on Friday!

Guess What?

I'm somebody special!!
I got something at work on Wednesday that attracted a lot of attention. I got a dozen of these



AND a dozen of these!



All the way from Wisconsin. Of course I loved them, and the kids did too. Kevin is definitely my number one husband - LOL!

Oh, and thank you ladies so much for you kind comments about my goliath belly. You make me blush, truly, because I do NOT feel very attractive at all. Especially with people staring at me as though I'm about to deliver right then and there. We had an ultrasound at 28 weeks and there is only one baby, though that one baby is a big one. Makes me think for sure that this baby is a boy, since boys tend to be bigger than girls. But what do I know :)

Since Wednesday morning (before the balloons and roses) things have been going pretty smoothly, with the exception of late evenings when my legs look like tree stumps. When I went out to feed Brandi Wednesday morning it was a balmly 27 degrees, and that made me happy. Of course my favorite horse is depressed, which made me sad, and I've been looking for a "budget pony" to keep her company and perk her spirits up. It's past time she get a pasture buddy. Horses aren't meant to be alone, and if they're alone for too long, they get depressed (seriously!)
Today, Friday, it's somewhere around 60 degrees, and I have kites ready for the kids when they get home from school. Gwen has a field trip for Pre-k, and Hunter is going to spend all day thinking about those kites. My spring flowers are FINALLY starting to show some life, just when I was afraid that all of those flowers the kids and I planted last fall would fail to bloom. And Kevin will be home late Tuesday, at least a day ahead of schedule. I'm trying not to think about the other MONTH of classes he will have to take this summer, for a total of 6 weeks. I need to be a good military wife and understand that he has to go - so I'm going to do my best.
With the coming of spring, and knowing that with Kevin here I'll have more time, I'm starting to remember what I like to do again. Besides photography, I love to garden (flower and vegetable), and I love to ride horses. After delivery I'll be picking that up again, much to Brandi's chagrin I'm sure. I'm also going to start jogging 2-3 weeks after delivery, just to speed up the weight loss that I know I'll have to face.
So it's a Friday before a warm and balmy weekend that looks suspiciously like spring. And since I broke a pair of shoes this week (don't ask!) that means I need to go shoe shopping, which is always fun.
Have a nice weekend everyone, and if you are getting warm weather, enjoy it!!


Lex playing peek-a-boo behind the balloons!!

A comparison

I was looking through pics this afternoon and came across something funny. It's amazing how your tummy changes after four kids :)


26 weeks pregnant with Hunter



26 weeks pregnant with #4 - taken two weeks ago

I'm not Ready

I'm not ready for this!
For Kevin being gone again - for Lex finally deciding he's interested in potty training (which is great, but he likes to sit on the potty for about 15 minutes without DOING anything). I'm not ready for doctor's appointments with three kids in tow, loads and loads of laundry and dishes, Brandi emptying her water trough while it is still 20 degrees so I can't use the hose to refill it, and dragging the trash to the end of the road again. For my van to start acting up two days after Kevin left. I knew it would be something.

My hips feel like they're falling off - those of you with kids do you remember that stage? Sleep is awful when it does come, and even during the day it hurts to walk around. I'm Oscar the Grouch, and I just want to SLEEP.
Okay, I'm done ranting. I hope.


Kevin and Xena, pre-kids


Ever since Kevin returned, he has wanted a new dog. One to "replace" Xena, his favorite of the bunch. I miss her all of the time, I see her in all of the photos we've taken over the years, - and she was a once-in-a-lifetime pet. It will take forver to get over losing her.
But a new dog won't make it easier, and since we still have three dogs and a new baby on the way, I've been putting the brakes on another pet. I'm hoping it holds and Kevin doesn't decide to come home one day with a new dog in tow. Thankfully he's started paying more attention to Roc, taking him for rides in the truck, and playing with him in the backyard. I hope that keeps his mind of a new dog for YEARS.

I just need to get over being angry at the military for scheduling Kevin for NCO school so soon after Iraq. I'm sure they thought they were being generous, considering I'm not due until May. Maybe if they tried lugging around buckets of water with a belly the size of Mount Everest to water the horse, they might understand my consternation at doing it alone.
Honestly? I think I'm taking tomorrow off work. I need it, a day to clean things up, finish some laundry, keep from losing my sanity. Or maybe I'll save it until Friday - we'll have to see.


New haircut!


Doesn't Hunter look thrilled?