Where have we been?

An Ode to Papa...

Micaela made Nathaniel a Birthday Cake! (No, they never wear clothes..)

Breakfast at the sandbox...

Well, it's not been a very busy week, but it has been relaxing. Our last assignments were turned in on Wednesday, and we've spent the last few days planning Micaela's fourth birthday. She'll be having a flower tea party, and the girls will be decorating straw hats with ribbons and silk flowers, making necklaces, playing games, and enjoying a four course tea with their mothers. Her birthday falls on mother's day this year. Micaela, Ian, and I are making cookie dough tonight. I'm also making invitations and paper flowers, since we can't afford many real ones :) Micaela's going to make pressed flower place cards. She pressed lots of wildflowers last week, and I'm going to open up the press tonight to see how they did. Does anyone else have any creative, inexpensive ideas? Micaela wants everyone to know she wants things for her bitty baby. For those relatives who want to send her a gift, you can shop for her favorite things at American Girl She also loves dress up and pretend play. And she is begging for a cat and a trampoline. I think that both of those things are out of the question.
Ian is getting excited again about separating from the Air Force. He told me today that he'd like to put the house on the market in July; although, he thinks we will try to stay here till the baby is several weeks old. We just paid for my tuition and both our books for the summer semester yesterday. It took about 2/3 of our checking account balance. That shook his resolve a little, but then he got a message from the training manager at TVA that he wants his application changed and resubmitted soon, and that gave him hope.
The kids have been spending a lot of time outside because the weather has been so nice. It has rained quite a bit (for Texas) lately. Our garden is looking pretty good, and Micaela's flowers look nice. The boys have been digging in the bare areas in the yard after the rains. Micaela is the instigator, but the boys have been staying so filthy! I haven't taken pictures yet though, because I'm usually trying to herd them to the tub without staining the carpet.