28 Weeks!

I am 28 wks today! I can't believe it really has been passing by so quickly lately. I guess I have been really busy with preschool this last month that it has just flown by. I am wondering if time will start to drag on once preschool is over and I don't have anything to keep me busy :) Although it really is time to not be busy. I fell down the hill today in my backyard. When I told Josh he wanted me to go into the Dr. right away but I feel fine and I am afraid that they will keep me all day.

We have preschool graduation tonight and tomorrow! We had a practice for the program and I am sure it will be very um... entertaining. Oh well- they are preschoolers after all :) I will post pictures of them in their "caps and gowns" I can't wait!

Aging

I have been thinking today that I think I am getting a little glimpse into what life might be like in the twilight years. There are several things that I do on a daily or weekly basis that just get harder and harder as time goes by. I never understood why the elderly spend the end of their lives watching TV. Yet here I am with a house seemingly falling apart around me and all I can do is sit around. Every week it gets harder and harder to bathe my kids and sweep the floor. I am no longer able to go grocery shopping on my own or haul the laundry downstairs. Getting myself and my kids ready for the day is a feat in and of itself. I hate having to depend on others for everything.

I think this is typical of most women and I HATE asking. I have a hard time looking at my yard and seeing the disarray it is in. I want to put a huge sign on my door asking people to please not judge me. If I could, I would. Josh does what he can but seriously that guy leaves for work at 6:30, comes home at 5 and then leaves for school no later than 5:50 and doesn't get home until 9. We do have Sat. but considering we have to get a whole new set of stuff for these babies and we are poor- we spend a lot of time going to yard sales. I know this post sounds like I am complaining but really let me get to the point. I am lucky!

Next year I am hoping that I can have a garden again. Maybe my yard will not have as many weeds and you better believe that someday I will be able to get to the dishes in a timely manner. If things don't get done, it will be because I ran out of TIME not ability. Yet I think about those elderly people that of course this process usually happens a lot slower, they don't have the hope that someday their functioning will return. All they can do is sit and think about how freeing it will be to someday get rid of the body that slows them down.

I have dreams about things I wish I could do- the other night I worked out in my dream all night long. I enjoyed the sensation on being able to run. I enjoyed being able to breathe! The exhaustion came from sweating, not just trying to walk up the stairs. Someday I will be able to do these things again and I am so grateful for this opportunity to gain a little bit of empathy.

Out in nature

Ok so this fieldtrip was much better the first day than the second. The weather was much better and the trail we were allowed to hike was much better. It was too windy to do half the things I planned to the second day which was frustrating. Yet the kids got to run around in nature and look at things under the magnify glasses and so they had a ton of fun. One of the moms found a bird's nest with some broken shells- they thought it was wonderful. We went to the Great Salt Lake Nature Center at Farmington Bay. It was neat to see all of the birds! If you go in Jan. and Feb. you can see TONS of bald eagels- we did that a couple of years ago and loved it! Word to the wise though, if you go the the actual nature center, you might want to call ahead... they tend to like to know who is coming.

Popcorn Popping

We have had a crazy spring around here to say the least! But I sure have loved all of the blossoms on the trees! I am always a little sad when they start to fall off and make room for the green leaves. We celebrated Spring by spreading a sheet and plugging in the popcorn popper and singing Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree. I kept the lid off and let the popcorn fly everywhere! You have to be careful because when the "old maids" fly out they burn- not severe enough to leave a mark but it hurts! Then we had a picnic and ate our popcorn. We drew tree trunks and glued popcorn on it for art. It was a fun day!

Volcanoes!

We did quite a few fun Earth projects during the month of April with preschool. We didn't just celebrate Earth day but we celebrated all month long! I think the volcano project was one of the kids favorite projects. It was super easy. First I made some salt dough and gave it a brown tint. I then formed it around a mason jar. I think next time I will use a smaller jar or make more salt dough to have a more cone shaped mountain. As we were making it I discussed volcanoes and how the inside of the earth isn't dirt- it is hot!

Then I filled the jar about 3/4 of the way full of vinegar that I tinted red for effect. The kids of course thought that the "lava" would come out hot! Then I poured in some baking soda....

And "lava" spewed forth. If you do this-Have tons of vinegar and baking soda- these things are really cheap and they want to do it again and again and again.

I put the volcano on a lid to a storage tub so that it could catch all of the lava- I was going to do a cookie sheet but I am glad I opted for the larger surface.