I'm a terrible blogger... oh well.

So, with that out of the way, here's a little of what we've been up to lately.

Our first Girl Scout "Graduation" end of year ceremony. It was strangely similar to a pack meeting, but only takes place once a year. I think the boy scouts could learn something here maybe! Izzie's daisy troop sang "Take me out to the ballgame" and of course were completely adorable. She's funny because when I asked her later if she was nervous she told me no, but if you were to see the video we took she just looks like she's going to fall over if she messes up. She's what some people might call.... a perfectionist. She finds joy in reorganizing her backpack periodically and arranging the stuffed animals on her bed. She lives in a very high pressure environment, actually. For a few weeks she stopped picking out her own clothes for school because she was worried they didn't match right - something that honestly never bothered her before. A year ago she was all about doing things herself. Kindergarten  has taught her, if anything, that there's a certain WAY of doing those things and it's very important to do it right. I disagree. Peer pressure sucks.

So, back to the scout pow-wow, if you were there, we were the family on the back row divvying out taquitos because it was just one of those days. Sorry for the smell. Yes, they had to be taquitos, because it was cinco de mayo! And yes, that was the entirety of our celebration. Happy Birthday Dave!

The kids finished swim lessons today and are doing great! Izzie and Erick are little fishes and Audrey's a wonder on a noodle. I do think it's unfortunate she learned to swim with something during lessons that is forbidden during regular pool hours, but for now she thinks she's a rockstar.

And speaking of attitude. Did I mention that I ruin her life often these days? Izzie went through a phase at about this age where she'd run to her room and throw herself on her bed, sometimes slamming the door and sometimes not, depending on how she thought I'd respond. To be honest it freaked me out wondering just what I was in for when she reached puberty, but now her sister's giving her a run for her money (and me some crazy relief!). Multiple times a day I hear from Audrey "Mom! You <fill in the offense here> and it RUINED MY LIFE!" Ha! Said offenses are often shoes I force her to wear, toys that get broken from lying around or anything involving mud. She hates the stuff. In fact, she'd be content to remain indoors every single day if I let her. She's afraid of all bugs and would rather face a good spanking than be caught walking through anything remotely muddy with her bare feet.

Izzie revels in it. They really are, in many things, like salt and sugar.

So, I got a new garden for mother's day this year, and a bunch of plants to put in it! I'll take pictures and post them soon, you'd be so proud to see how my little tomato plants have grown. I think they're getting a little more shade than I'd like, but I guess that's the breaks when your house sits on a lot with four maples, two oaks, a sweet gumball and a redbud tree. Incidentally, I'm scratching my eyes out and will be making an appointment to see an allergist here soon. I thought trees were supposed to help us breathe BETTER.

And would you believe we have nine doctor's appointments just for kids already scheduled for the next three weeks? Two opthamology, one infusion, three well checks (shots!), two allergists and an immunologist. And not one of my kids feels sick. Crazy, right?

So none of them feel sick, but Matt has hand, foot and mouth disease. That kid just can't stay well! He's a good sport though and we did our part to pass it around at the elementary school, the indoor pool and the doctor's office waiting room today so if you follow us to any of those places and pick it up, you're welcome. We had no choice, and I did try to carry him as much as possible.

We also blew insulation into our attic a couple of weeks ago, taking the house from something like an R-2 to about an R-40. It's very nice. But IF you ever take that on, trust me when I say the machine is suppose to really blow. Take it back if the flow is less impressive than a firehose and save yourself 8 hours cramped in an attic hoping the cobwebs are vacant.

Erick's still our wii addict, although he's feeling rather constricted these days with this warmer weather. I'm really swinging around that gem of mother mentality where we force our children out of doors to enjoy everything but hail and tornadoes. Rain? No problem, take an umbrella. Wind? Won't hurt you. Catch your sister if she starts to blow away. Too hot? Take a popsicle with you or stick ice down your pants. But still he returns to his first love. The school book fair took place this week and I completely refused to buy him the nintendo cheat codes book he was salivating over. I don't know why, but I guess I hoped he'd pick out a book he could actually read and get into, as opposed to one that would just fuel what I think is an unhealthy addiction. But I didn't forbid him from buying it himself. And of course he did. So tell me this, why do I feel guilty about that? Whatever.

And, that's about all for tonight, folks. I'll see if I can't find some great pictures tomorrow, like the one I took of our bust of Christ with the pink fluffy headband on. Someday I'll really miss finding things like that around our house, and it made me smile thinking if He were here, He'd probably have played right along with whatever game that was, fluff and all.