Big Catch Up!

Whew, you guys...this week. The girls are with David's parents this week and I was off on Monday, but I think I've been busier the past few days than I have been with the girls at home with me the entire month of March put together. But, a good busy...we've been very productive.

Last Saturday morning, we packed up...

and drove on south to stay the night with my parents. We had a wonderful visit with family. I always get a little homesick around Easter, so it was nice to be "home." Of course, I forgot my camera and only had my phone, but Dad took a bunch of good ones that I'll get from him later.

Then, we headed outside to hunt eggs. This is the girls' new favorite pastime. Oh my word, I never thought a kid could love hunting eggs so much.

Those bushes in front of them are sticky bushes. Guess who hid the eggs? Dad and David. Guess who put eggs in the sticky bushes? Dad and David. What...I mean, what?? Who does that? Sara hid them there for me when I was little, but that was different. Sisters are supposed to do that. Not Dads and Grandads. Sheesh.

Chubby elbows own me.

No, we didn't put any in the pool. Although...that's not a bad idea for next year......

We got all doozied up Sunday morning for church and went outside to take some pictures. Yeah, they weren't having any of it. This is the only one of them smiling and it's because we bounced them up in the air.

But Dad has some good ones he took after church.

Mmmmmm, honeysuckle.

Making sure Kangaroo is okay.

Sunday afternoon, we headed over to David's parents' house for a visit. The girls adore GranJan and Papa. And we got to visit with Laura Grace and baby Tinsley, too! The girls call her "Baby Tinley", so pretty close. They LOVE her. Harper especially. She just pats her so gently and wants to hold her all the time. It's hilarious and so sweet.

Then, David and I told the girls "bye bye", who promptly told us "Bye, Momma...bye, Daddy, " turned and went back to playing without a hint of sadness. Hurt a little, but so glad they're cool kids and aren't clingy. We headed home in the car, by ourselves, in the deafening silence. FREEDOM!!!!! Of course, when we got 5 minutes down the road, we talked about the girls the rest of the way home.

I miss them, but this week has been very very nice. I really needed it.

Monday was Sibling Appreciation Day. Don't worry, I didn't know about it either. Sara chatted me to let me know.

Yesterday morning, I had my 14-week check-up with Dr. Mac. No ultrasound this time. I was a little spoiled because I got an ultrasound at almost every appointment with the girls. I think I'll only have two more with this one. But, we got to hear the heartbeat, which was fun. This one's is a little slower than the girls, but I still think the girls' were fast because they were always all up in each other's space. Who knows. Dr. Mac said I'm measuring great and I can wait 5 weeks until my next appointment. We decided to find out the gender, so that'll be the big appointment! I've been taking weekly pictures like I did with the girls, but some of the weekly changes aren't super drastic and they're boring, so I'll just post the 4-week picture and the 14-week picture. Seriously, a picture taken in the morning versus a picture taken at night can differ as drastically as a 2 month pregnant woman and an 8 month pregnant woman. It's amazing how a glass of water can puff you up. What I'm saying is...the 14-week picture was taken in the morning, but by that night, I was about 3 inches further out.

4 Weeks

14 Weeks

Monday, I had the day off, so I painted. I haven't painted in AGES. I'm not great, but it's so therapeutic, especially when it's something you want to paint and you're doing it for yourself. The weather has been crazy beautiful all week long, so I sat out on the patio. No music, no phone. It was so nice.

I didn't have a canvas, so I got some leftover wood in the garage and covered it with newsprint paper and ModPodge. I got a match and burned some places on the paper just to give it some more texture.

I didn't have any white paint either...I know, right, not even craft paint...so I used some gesso primer leftover from college. I'm surprised it hadn't dried up. I use a palette knife instead of a brush.

Then, I used watercolor paints for the color.

Then, I used some charcoal and stubs to give it some depth.

David drilled two holes in the top and I put a ribbon through them for hanging it. It was nice to just do something normal for a few hours, you know. And then I went back inside and watched HGTV and did laundry. That night, I was feeling pretty good, so David and I went out to see Hunger Games. You guys...it was SO. GOOD. I cried and cried several times. An excellent tribute (no pun intended) to the book. I still recommend reading the book because they couldn't explain everything, but it was an incredible movie.

Tomorrow, I'm heading to the beach, so I'm pretty much in a super fabulous mood. And I'm hungry, so, y'all have a great weekend!