A quote from Mark...

I just read a great quote:
"I have lived a long life and had many troubles, most of which never happened."
Mark Twain (reminds me of another Mark I know!)

Ladybugs!

Olivia had a nightmare about ladybugs this morning. She was calling out and I went in to comfort her. She said the ladybugs were crawling up her and trying to kill her! Hopefully this will not lead to some great ladybug phobia!

Catching up!

It has been a little over a week since I last posted, so here is a little catch-up:

--Anna Grace had her 18 month check-up this week. It went very well -- no shots! She made it onto the charts in weight--she is at the 90th percentile (28 pounds). She is still off the charts in height -- 36 inches. Tanya kept the other three children, so the visit was much less stressful than normal!

--Anna Grace and Olivia's Mothers' Day Out teachers came to visit on Thursday. Olivia has the same teachers that she had last year, which she is very excited about. The visits went well, and I think they will help ease first day jitters for all of us.

--We had two focused days of school on Thursday and Friday. I am still working on a routine that helps to juggle all of the needs of the four children. Our summer activities are coming to an end, and we are going to hit the books a little harder than we have been. I love the flexibility that homeschooling offers. I have been working on planning our year, and it looks like we will be finished with our curriculum the third week of May. Of course, that could change. Olivia wants to be a part, and she is constantly asking, "What about my school!?!" I have started doing some preschool activities with her. We are going to work on a letter of the alphabet each week. She is very interested, so I want to take advantage of it!

--I used my new Kitchen Aid mixer on Friday, and I love it! I made homemade bread and pizza dough. It really simplified the process!

--I went to School Aids (school supply store) yesterday. I love going there! I love the smell, the colors, and just about everything about it! It is a dangerous place for me to go (financially speaking)! I know that I can get most things cheaper online, but I love being able to hold the items in my hand before I buy them! I bought a couple of science books and some things to help me with Olivia's "school".

--Bailey got to go up in front of the church with the rest of the new kindergartners today and receive a new Bible. Joe told them, "Read them everyday. Wear them out and we will give you a new one!" I pray that she does!

A great birthday!

I had a very nice birthday today! I had lots of phone calls from family and friends, which made me feel very loved! Lauri stopped by with a sweet present and a visit. Isaac volunteered to vacuum the house for my birthday (he came up with the idea on his own!), and the children made sweet cards for me. Tomorrow is actually "Kim's Birthday Observed" because of our busy night tonight. We are planning to go out to lunch and have a little family party at home. My parents and Mark's mom both sent me cards with a surprise inside, so I have a little extra blow money this month. I am very thankful for the incredible ways that God has blessed my life!

Girls' Night Out!

Olivia, Anna Grace and I had a Girls' Night Out (G.N.O.) with Connie, Emma and Maggie tonight. Isaac had a music class swimming party tonight, so Mark took Isaac and Bailey. We decided that it could be a bit stressful to take all four of our sweet children swimming with a crowd of people. So, for the sake of marital harmony, we decided to split up for the night. Jimmy and Connie were in a similar boat, so Connie and I made plans to spend the evening together.

We started our G.N.O. at McDonald's, which is the hip place to start if you are three years old! After some yummy food and some play time, we headed to the Tanger Outlet in Gonzales. They recently opened a Stride Rite outlet store, which really helps to stretch our shoe budget (which is ever expanding with our little family). Anna Grace and Olivia each got tennis shoes for school and some church shoes. I think that the nice ladies that work in the store breathed a sigh of relief when we left! We breezed through the Children's Place outlet and headed to the toy store. Olivia picked out a sucker and Anna Grace got a toy phone. We had a great time with our friends. The whole way home Olivia asked if we could do it again!

Another Quote

I cut up a seedless watermelon last night. Olivia ran through the kitchen and said, "I want a piece without nuts (seeds)!" What a cutie pie!

Hot Air Balloons!

We went to the Hot Air Balloon Festival party with our church family on Saturday night. Two families from church live right behind where the festival is held, so we had front row seats. We were able to watch the balloons take off, and then later in the evening we got to watch them glow. The evening ended with fireworks. Neither Anna Grace, nor Olivia were very thrilled with the fireworks, but Isaac and Bailey loved them. They especially loved the finale(as you can see by Isaac's face in the picture above)! All of the children enjoyed the evening. I knew they had fun when Isaac asked, "Do they have this every year?" when we are on the way to the van.

Other tidbits from the past week:

--Bailey and I went shopping at the outlet mall yesterday. It is nice to be able to spend time with the children individually every once in a while. She had a good time looking at the clothes. I let her pick out an outfit, which is something that does not happen very often. She chose a skirt and shirt that looked very "Baileyish." She kept saying, "Just mommy and me!" I enjoyed being out with my Bailey girl!

--Isaac had his three week follow up appointment on his arm today. The x-ray looked great, and his arm appears to be back to normal. The physician's assistant said he is free and clear, except for gymnastics. She said he needed to wait two more weeks before he starts doing flips and somersaults (which I have never seen him do!). I am so thankful that the healing process went so well. God did a great job making our bodies!

--I think that the children are officially burned out on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! I know it is un-American, but they do not want to take another bite! We have packed our lunches to go swimming and to Mommy & Me activities so much this summer that they have had one to many P B & J's. I am going to have to get a little more creative!

--I made vegetarian chili tonight. It had big chunks of onions, green pepper, mushrooms and carrots, which I know can be scary for children! I knew they would not even try it, so I put some of it in the blender and served it to them over rice, with cheese on top. They gobbled it up, oblivious to the fact they were consuming lots of veggies!

My favorite Johnson Family quotes of the week:

"Why is it that sometimes ladies do all the work?" -- Isaac

"Mon" -- Anna Grace's new word. It is a shortened form of "come on" and she says it as she drags me by the shirt to do whatever she want done.

Victory!

OK, victory might be a strong word, but I am very excited that I was able to outlast Amazon's price fluctuations and get my Kitchen Aid mixer at the lower price! I ordered it today, and I am not going to check the price anymore -- I do not want to know if they lower any further! It is funny how little things thrill my heart!

My birthday present

I have been eyeing a Kitchen Aid mixer for a while now. I think that it will really come in handy now that I am making bread and pizza dough on a weekly basis. Exxon gave us a gift card, and I had decided to put my part of it with my birthday money and finally buy one. After some research, I came to the conclusion that Amazon.com is the best place to buy it. I had been looking at it all last week, and on the day that I finally decided to buy it, it had gone up fifty dollars! After reading some of the reviews, I learned that the price fluctuates from week to week and that if you watch, you can get it at the low price. Reading that was like a challenge to get it at the low price! So, now my new obsession is to check the price several times a day!

Hummus

Isaac discovered a new love this week -- Hummus! I buy it from time to time, but I had never thought to offer any of it to him. In my quest to add variety and healthy food to our diet, I bought hummus and whole wheat pita bread this week. I was eating some, and he asked for a bite. He said, "Mom, why haven't you ever told me about this before???" Olivia also jumped on the hummus bandwagon, although she calls it "tummus." I love it that they are willing to try new things!

Catching Up!

We have had a busy week, and I wanted to write about a few of the highlights. The theme for the week has been water!

--On Monday, we headed downtown to play in the fountains. Isaac and Bailey immediately began running in and out of the water. Olivia and Anna Grace were not so sure. Olivia eventually warmed up, but Anna Grace thought she was being brave by getting within five feet of them. I spent most of our time there chasing Anna Grace. She apparently wanted to explore the downtown area. After about two hours, the sky burst open and released a downpour. We had a frantic dash to the van. After we were all safe inside, we decided that God's fountains were quite a bit more impressive than the ones we had come to see!

--We went swimming at "Ms. Granny's" house on Wednesday. I must admit that I have to talk myself into going every week. Getting everything ready and then watching over the four of them at the pool is an overwhelming thought! It is a blessing to have such great friends to help me while I am there. Isaac and Bailey are very independent (although I keep an eye on them). Isaac has gotten to where he can go all over the pool by himself. Bailey sticks to the shallow end and sometimes wears her float suit. Olivia has a little suit that holds her up, but she still likes adult companionship while she is in the pool. Anna Grace is my wild one. She likes to play in the pool, get out, and then run back in. She and I usually play for the first hour we are there and then she wanders around and looks to see what everyone is eating for lunch. We made it about two and a half hours this week. We were all tired when we got home!

--We repeated our Wednesday experience on Friday. The doctor prescribed lots of swimming for Isaac, to help his elbow get back to normal. Ms. Granny graciously allowed us to come for "therapy" again on Friday (surely I get a few Mommy Points for doing it twice in one week!).

-- My wonderful friend Laura came over and watched the children on Friday night so that Mark and I could go out on a date! It was an early birthday present (Laura is about to have a new little blessing, and my birthday is a little too close to her due date for comfort!). Mark and I went to Raffinos (yummy) for dinner and then on to Barnes and Noble. We finished the evening with a treat from Starbucks (yummy again!). It was so nice to not have to search for babysitting. What a treat!

-- Saturday was a busy day! I made my normal Saturday morning rounds (Walmart, garage sales, produce stand & bread store) and then Mark mowed the yard. We headed to a crab boil at Danielle and Chris's house for lunch. This was our first crab boil, and we had a good time. Danielle's dad had caught the crabs that morning, so they were fresh! Isaac and Mark furthered their Louisiana education, and became "experts" at getting the meat off the crabs! Danielle sent some home with us, so they had more "practice" at lunch on Sunday! The corn was my favorite, despite the fact my lips felt like they were on fire when I was finished.

--We finished our Saturday with a church swimming party (more therapy for Isaac!). We had a lot of fun eating pizza and snacks and visiting with our church family. Mark was gracious enough to get in the pool with Anna Grace, and I was able to sit on the side and chat (what a luxury). We had a good time, and we were all ready for bed when we got home!

--Our Sunday was pretty "normal". We went to church, ate lunch and then had a wonderful nap! I was in a culinary mood, so I made cinnamon bread, blueberry muffins and spaghetti sauce (tomatoes are cheap right now!). We went across the street and met our new neighbors who moved in this week and took them some bread. They were very nice people. Their seven year old grandson lives with them, so Isaac was excited to meet him.

We have had a great week, but I am ready for some quiet days at home. We will see if that happens!