Easter & Random Stuff

Our Easter was rather low key this year. Jimmy & Addy were up early and anxious, so I waited with them in the game room trying to keep them entertained until Timmy, Addy, & Daddy were awake. In their terminology " FINALLY" we went down stairs to see what the Easter Bunny had brought. They each had their baskets full of fun! They all had chocolate bunnies, Easter pez, chalk, and a few special eggs, then they got individual stuff. Jimmy got a star wars lego set, Addy got a barbie game for the plug and play piano, and Timmy got some hot wheels. Elly got a purple bunny & an Easter book in hers. The best part from my perspective was we already had it all! All I bought this year was the chocolate bunnies (88 cents each), 1 big pack of sidewalk chalk ($1) and 3 bags of candy at the dollar store to fill the eggs. All the basket fillers were items I had previously bought on clearance of 75-90% off. And the bunny Elly got, actually an old one of Addy's she has long since forgotten redressed in some outgrown preemie clothing. Cheap you say? I think I prefer the term resourceful! After the hunt we enjoyed some homemade pizza, and a carrot cake from scratch (yummy). In the afternoon the kids and I made confetti eggs for some smashing fun. And that was our Easter.

Recently we had 3 birthday parties to attend in one day. The kids of course LOVED it! I mean a day full of cake and friends, it's like a dream come true. So anyways, I tried my hand at being crafty for a few of the gifts. One was for a handsome little 1 year old boy for which I made some personalized blocks:

So I got the idea from a magazine, and of course mine didn't look near as good as those in the magazine. But they were still fun. You can't tell in the picture but the fabrics besides being different colors also had some different textures, and the blocks make noise! They have little shakers in them. Another party was for a 5 year old girl, and I made her 3 bows, a bow holder, and some bracelets. But I didn't get pictures of those. I had fun making all the stuff.

Other things... Being in the house all day with the exception of getting Jimmy from school in the afternoon, is getting old! So just about every evening I escape for awhile to do anything. Some evenings it is running errands, others it is just working in the yard on little projects. Just something to get myself out. And thankfully Dave has been very helpful and supportive in me getting out...

So I've never loved the entry area by the front door, last year we put in a simple rectangle bed, and it was better, but I still wasn't loving it. So one of my outdoor projects has been tackling this. I reshaped the bed, so it has some curves and I can definitely say it's looking better. I wanted some nice bricks to line it, but landscape bricks are pricey, and soon to be jobless I couldn't justify the cost. So I went to work with what we had already and here is what I came up with:I used the random pieces of black edging we had in the garage, and then I lined it with bricks from our yard. As any of you locals know the yards here seem to grow rocks! We've been making a pile in the backyard of rocks for the past 3 years and so I put them to use. It's not perfect, but I thought it looked a lot better than just the black plastic. I scattered many packets of flower seeds that we had, and am hoping that they fill the area with pretty colors.

This is our peach tree, 3 years ago it looked like this... a stick in the mud, literally. Now it is this full size tree in our yard, and for the first time it is bearing fruit. I am so excited to have fresh peaches! I just hope we are here to enjoy them...


I've been struggling lately with our unknown future. With the thought of knowing we may have to leave this place that I have come to love so much. I am one who doesn't do well with change. I like having a plan, and sticking to the plan. Right now, change is eminent, and there is no plan. I like feeling settled, and right now I don't feel it. I don't know how others do it, for example Military families who are moved every 2 or so years around the country, some even out of the country. We have been blessed in the fact that Dave has had several interviews already, and many have seemed promising. The problem is an internal struggle. The ones that would keep us here are not family friendly, in that they have LONG stressful hours. The ones that would be family friendly take us from here, far from here, far from extended family, far from everything I've ever known...and that scares me. I apologize if this is too much info, or if it seems I am whining...but this blog is my personal journal, therefore I putting my thoughts and feelings down. Part of me thinks I shouldn't worry about it, and live in the now. Enjoy what we have! But it's always there in my mind weighing me down and I don't think I'll be at ease until things are settled once again.