Camera located!

 Amazing that with all the toys they have they choose to play in the laundry basket! It never fails.....

And it appears they never grow out of it... As Ms. Prim is demonstrating here...

Mrs. Proper wanting to take pictures. It has been so nice here the past few days that the kids including the babies have been able to play outside. We put a gate up on the deck stairs and leave the door open and little ones can come in and out as they please. Birdie is developing Independence in leaps and bounds these days.. Just a month ago she couldn't be 5 ft from my chest without screaming but now she wanders the house and more often than not i end up looking for her, not the other way around. She has been enjoying bird watching on the deck. She squeaks in delight every time she spots one.

But there are times when she needs her mama. Mama of course takes full advantage of the opportunity to put her feet up and grab a nap. Naps with babes are delightful.

We have started planting for April. In March we planted herbs and started some tomatoes for containers, strawberries from seed and flowers but April is the bulk of it. Getting things started for our outdoor garden. Tomatoes, Broccoli, cauliflower, lettuces (container) and a whole bunch more i cant remember. We are not at the point where we are able to build a greenhouse so I am using our south facing windows to full advantage.

The young ones are very eager to help and I am far past discouraging this for the sake of tidiness. I will take all the help I can get! Birdie and J bear are wonderful tray fillers.

As I said South facing windows are being used to full advantage. Hence the $0 shelving we made out of old bookcase pieces and 1x2s. The sink is a little crowded now and i'm feeling a little claustrophobic but it will only be for a little while.


Its nice to have my camera back. It was behind papers on the movie shelf. At least it wasn't at the bottom of a toy box or something.

The kids and I are sort of at a crossroads right now. the little ones have finished the bulk of there school work and are just finishing up some math. Big Dog is still working through the last 4 weeks of his but his math is done for the year. Its getting warmer out but its still not WARM. The kids go out to play but its melting out there, so they come in cold and wet, they go through 3-4 pairs of pants, dozens of socks and all there shoes on a daily basis. There is only so much outside they can take. I am having a really hard time finding the creativity to craft with them. Everyday I think okay we are going to do something together today, which usually ends in colouring. But again you can only colour so much. Big Dog has started to bake, which is wonderful but its usually cookies and lemon tarts and sweets and I have gained four lbs so there is only so much baking you can do (MOMS FIGURE IS AT STAKE HERE!) So the kids want to watch Netflix. Now i don't mind TV(I say this gritting my teeth), I just think its sort of a last resort. Some of my children however have begun to mistake it for oxygen. They talk about it, watch it, whine about not watching it, wake up asking to watch, go to bed angry because they didn't have enough. The world seems to revolve around it. Its not a habit i want to encourage so i try to limit the amount they watch. But that time is replaced with anger and woes from the hard-done-by. They need some more stimulation, guided structured stimulation, and so it comes back to me. I need the creative juices to flow.