Project Life - Weeks 19 and 20

I've gotten a little behind on Project Life in the past couple of weeks, so I am posting two weeks worth in an attempt to get caught up.  Week 19 was the week before Mother's Day.  The children and I happened to be wearing coordinating colors that Sunday morning for church, so we tried for a quick picture before church.  Maddie was not really in the mood for photos.

 We made s'mores on the grill one evening, and Drew and Maddie loved them!

 They were both covered in marshmallow!

 Jim's mom came over for dinner one evening that week for an early Mother's Day celebration.  Jim and Drew washed her car for her after dinner.

 Drew and Maddie love to play outside in the evening after dinner.  Drew really likes using sidewalk chalk, and our garage floor is covered in his drawings.

 We got out the stomp rockets, and Grandma Esther tried them out!

 Maddie likes her little pink car.

 Drew lost two teeth this week!  He lost the first one at school one morning.  He was eating a donut, and his tooth came out.  He said that he almost swallowed it!

 He lost another tooth on Saturday evening while we were eating pizza for dinner.  He didn't even notice that it had fallen out!  I happened to see that he had a big gap in his top teeth and asked if he had lost a tooth.  Jim checked, and, sure enough, he had lost it.  It was really lost because, this time, he did swallow it!

 He wrote this note to the tooth fairy:

(I lost a tooth.  I swallowed it.  Drew)
Here is what I did for Project Life for Week 19.

Week 20 started with Mother's Day.  Jim had to work that morning, but he and the children had some surprises waiting for me when I got up.  They had gone to Target and gotten me some new measuring cups and spoons and a card.  Drew had also made me a card and a flower pen at school.  I love his handwritten notes!

The kids and I stayed home from church that day because I had been having kidney pain all weekend.  It started on Friday evening and continued through the morning on Saturday.  I felt pretty good Saturday afternoon and evening, and I felt good on Sunday, but the kidney pain came back on Monday, along with some abdominal cramping.  I ended up going to the doctor Tuesday morning.  They suspected kidney stones, so they took some blood and urine samples.  They didn't find any sign of blood in my urine, but the doctor said that it was possible that I had already passed the kidney stone (if I had one).  She had me come back later in the week for an ultrasound of my kidneys, liver, gall bladder, and pelvis.  She said that if they didn't find anything, she would send me to my OBGYN to see if they saw anything that could have been causing the pain.  

The tech said that she could see no kidney stones, and she told me that if a stone is small and smooth enough, the pain isn't always too terrible.  She said that if I had had a kidney stone, I had already passed it, and she didn't see any other stones.  I have not had any more pain since that week, but I went ahead and scheduled an appointment with my OBGYN later this month just to be sure.

 My big Mother's Day gift arrived later in the week.  Jim got me a new knife set!  Our old set was a wedding gift, and after almost 10 years, we were ready for a fresh set.  I love the colors of these knives, and I am enjoying my sharp, new knives!

 Maddie sat for almost an hour one evening and played with Drew's Connect Four game.  She kept dropping the chips into the slots again and again.

 I was surprised to find Maddie with her shirt pulled over her head backwards one day!  She was very upset about it, and I am still not sure how and why she did it!

 She sleeps in some crazy positions in her crib,

 and one morning, she fell asleep on the floor, leaning against the side of the couch.  She had worn herself out!

 We went out for dinner at Mongolian Barbeque one evening.  Drew liked watching the guys cook our food.

 Drew lost two teeth again this week!  He lost the first one in the van on the way to swimming lessons.  He was drinking a juice pouch, and I guess he must have knocked it out with the straw.

 He lost the other tooth on a chocolate chip cookie.  He was eating it, and he mentioned that he had a chocolate chip that he couldn't chew.  Jim asked him if he had lost another tooth, and he had!  It was his fourth lost tooth in a two week period!  His little mouth looks so funny right now!

Here is what I did for Project Life for Week 20.

I am linking up again with The Mom Creative.
I am planning to post twice next week - another Project Life post and a post about something fun we did while my parents were here last week.  I hope you have a great weekend and that you check back here next week!

Raised Garden Bed

I am not an outdoorsy person, so gardening has never really appealed to me.  I don't like being out in the heat, and I don't enjoy being sweaty or dirty, so for all of my adult life, I've been content to buy my produce from the grocery store.

Jim recently saw a picture of a raised garden bed that a college friend posted on Facebook, and he asked me if I would ever want him to build me one.  I figured that if any kind of gardening was doable for me, a raised bed would probably be the way to go.  Last Saturday, while my parents were here, Jim and my dad built my raised bed!  They based it on these plans.  They used cedar fence pickets from Home Depot, so the materials were very affordable.

 Drew played outside while they worked.

 The garden box came together in about an hour or so, and we were very pleased with how it turned out.

 We waited until Memorial Day to do the planting.  My dad is a gardener.  He has always had a large garden, and he grows all kinds of things - tomatoes, lettuce, herbs, berries, just to name some.  He bought my plants and planted them for me.  We have three kinds of tomatoes, three kinds of peppers, and some herbs.  My neighbor is also a gardener, and he came over to watch the planting.  He loves to talk to my dad!

 Drew "helped" with the digging.

 My dad used a mixture of soil and manure in the bed.

 After everything was planted, we put in the soaker hose.

 After we covered everything with mulch, we turned on the hose to test it.

 Drew had to check everything out.

 The soaker hose drips water all along its length to allow the whole box to be watered all at the same time.  I love that I can go out, turn on the hose, and just let the soaker hose do all the work.  After 10-15 minutes, I just have to come back out and turn off the hose.  The watering is done, and I have avoided all heat, sweat, and dirt - my kind of gardening!

We are looking forward to enjoying some vegetables and herbs from our very own yard later this summer.

We are already getting our first little tomatoes, and one of the pepper plants is starting to produce some tiny little peppers as well.

I will try to give a few garden updates as the summer progresses!

Kindergarten Graduation

Drew's kindergarten graduation was this past Thursday evening.  His class had been practicing a lot in the last few weeks, and we had heard a few little things about the program from Drew and some things about Drew's practice antics from Drew's teacher.  We were looking forward to an memorable night, and we were not disappointed!

They started with some patriotic songs and the pledge to the flag.

 The program was about all the subjects that the class studied during their year of kindergarten, and they sang songs and said poems that they had learned about each subject.  Drew had a couple of lines that he said all by himself.  He did a great job remembering his lines and all of the words to the songs, and he was quite a character on the stage!  He did some little dance moves and made a few faces between the songs and poems.  Jim kept getting texts from our friends during the program, commenting on Drew's performance.  We were so proud and totally mortified all at the same time!

 Maddie did a pretty good job of entertaining herself during the program by snacking and watching the program.

 One of our favorite parts was a song about music, where each child played an instrument.  Drew played the tambourine!

 After the program, the children all left the auditorium to change into the caps and gowns.  Then they all marched back in sedately - except for this crazy guy!

 The children sat on the front row and each went up on the stage to receive their diplomas individually.  The principal gave Drew his diploma.

 Then Drew got a handshake from his teacher (who had just had a baby eight days before the graduation!).

 Each child posed with his diploma as he walked back across the stage to his seat.  Here was Drew's pose!

 I was able to get a better picture of Drew with his diploma after the program.  He was so cute!  He really, really enjoyed his graduation, and he did a great job!

 Here is the whole group - our family, my parents, and Jim's mom.

 Drew was excited to get some cards after the graduation.

 Drew and his best friend, Joseph.

 Drew and some other buddies, Noah and James.

 Drew got to meet his teacher's new baby after the graduation.

 We stayed for cake and punch at the church after the graduation before we went home.  Drew had a few gifts to open when we got home.  My parents got him a light saber, and he was thrilled!

 We got him a Star Wars plane, some Skittles, and his first Bible.

 Drew asked me to take a picture of him with his light saber!

 Maddie had to check it out too.

We are very proud of our kindergarten graduate!  He worked hard and learned a lot this year.  We are excited to see him continue to grow and learn as he goes through school!