A Friday in May

Y'all it's MAY!!! for some reason it's one of my favorite months and I look forward to it every year.  I think it's the perfect combination of weather not too hot, not too cold and there are so many beautiful flowers out.  It's the beginning of Peony season here in the PNW (and probably elsewhere) and we're nearing the end of the school year which means Summer Break is upon us.

We've been up to a lot of things lately, some home improvements and playing outside!  I am adoring this season of life with both of the girls, ages 2 and almost 5, and plan on soaking as much of it up as I can before little baby bro makes his appearance in July and changes the whole dynamic of our family...speaking of which I'm in the 3rd Trimester!!  Hooray!!

::ONE::

Finnley found a Connect Four game and was mesmerized by it for over 15 minutes just working on her fine motor skills putting the "coins" into the grid.  She was so proud of herself and the fact that she figured it all out on her own is my favorite.  I'm thinking that we might need to invest in one because Ellie loved it too!

::TWO::

The girls and I have been doing swimming lessons for quite some time but recently I was able to schedule both lessons at the same time so we all get to have some extra pool time once their classes are over.  I got Ellie a pair of these goggles and her confidence in the pool has grown immensely.  It's funny how the little things can make such a difference at this age.  I'm loving seeing her excitement in the pool and enjoyment in the water, I feel that swimming is a valuable life saving skill and I'm so glad we have the opportunity to get in the pool every single week.  Finnley likes the water most of the time, as long as I don't dunk her, and I love the one on one time we get to have with her parent child lessons.

::THREE::

Gardening is my therapy, for the longest time my garden was my womb due to Infertility.  Since I was unable to conceive and carry out a pregnancy, my garden allowed me to be fruitful in something.  I really grew a fondness for it and love to get outside and weed, plant, and nurture all my plants.  We've been growing a vegetable garden since 2009, our first married Spring in this house and I have learned so much.  We moved locations of it in 2010 when we remodeled our front yard (removed over 20 junipers and tons of gravel and replaced with a giant flower bed, spans of grass and doubled the size of our vegetable garden.  I love sharing my passion with the girls - though I am very controlling - but the fact that they enjoy it too just makes it everything.  I totally switched up our vegetable garden again this year and put to use some old raised bed boxes we had been storing for several years.  So the amount of space for actual growing has been reduced but I think that it has more purpose.  I am also instituting a new "trick" I learned about and am covering the unused ground with cardboard to prevent all the weeds from growing (so now I can repurpose all the boxes we have, thank you Amazon).  So far I have quite a bit growing: Kale, Sugar Snap Peas, Artichokes (again...), Brussels Sprouts, and Leeks.  I also got a new Bay Leaf Laurel that I have in a pot and potted up some mint (it spreads like crazy - live and learn) to help deter some pests.  Then I pulled some of my extra Lavender and am seeing if I can transplant it to the Vegetable Garden to help encourage the Bees!!

::FOUR::

The weather has been fantastic lately and the other day we got to spend so much of it outside.  I wasn't feeling too well, my tummy was queasy all day but the girls sure did have a great time.  Ellie got to ride her bike for about 45 minutes, they played with bubbles, drew on the driveway with sidewalk chalk, had popsicles, jumped on the trampoline (thank you Nanny and Papa for the birthday gift), and we got a new hammock that we've all been enjoying.

::FIVE::

Last weekend we hosted all of our family to celebrate Under the Sea both Ellie and Finnley for their birthday's.  I loved having a combined celebration for them and plan on that for future years.  April and May are pretty busy months for us with 6 birthday's that combining the girls this year was the best!  Both of the girls are obsessed with Ariel (Finnley especially) and it was the perfect theme...we had so many props already that we really didn't have to get too much for the decorations.  The girls had the best time and got some pretty great presents too: a Trampoline!! (thank you Nanny and Papa) a 3in1 Slip'n'Slide (thank you Uncle), some WalkieTalkies (thank you Cousins), SnuggieTails (thank you Uncle) and some Magnetic Dolls (thank you Cousins).  I'll post more of their party details next week!!

::SIX::

Lowe's was finally back on Ebates so I was able to get the Chandelier I've had my eyes on for forever to replace the beautiful original 1989 light fixture in our Master Bedroom.  It was the last one we needed to replace and I cannot believe the difference it's made.  I'm so glad that we waited this long though because I've been looking for a solid 10 years and am pretty sure that this is the very best one ever.  I was pretty concerned about whether it would provide enough light in our room (which happens to be the darkest and coldest of the whole house) and I am so happy to report that it brings so much light and warmth, it's perfection.  Our room has taken a while to get its makeover but the best things happen over time and I am so happy with the progress.  So far we have: replaced the carpet with wood flooring, painted the walls white, upgraded the baseboard, upgraded to a King bed, replaced all our matching furniture, replaced the light fixture, switched out to a flat screen tv,  and added in bits of farmhouse decor like old ladders, benches and crates on the walls. Not to mention our reindeer pelt we picked up while in Finland!! I love it!!  I also have replaced all the door knobs in our house so they are all in working order and matching!!

Have a Happy Happy Weekend!!

♥ Ashley