Progress Report

Fence - Done!  It is absolutely finished!  It's so nice to let Sadie outside without worrying about her running off, and to let the kids play, knowing they're contained as well.  We still have some clean up to do: resetting the sprinklers, filling in the gaps by the mow strip, etc., but it is just so wonderful to finally have a fence.

Homeschool - Alyssa is done with Math, Science, and History.  We have a lot of Language Arts lessons left, so we'll be focusing on those for the next few weeks, then once those are done, we'll go into summer school mode.  Summer school will just be practicing math facts, along with regrouping and borrowing, reading books and doing story maps and book reports, and working on the spelling words we'll be missing in the next couple of weeks from doing language Arts so fast.  Once the baby comes, summer school will be over, and we'll enjoy our official summer vacation.

Nursery - We haven't done anything in the nursery lately.  The fence has taken top priority.  We need to set up the crib, put up the curtains, put in the changing table, etc.  I did get some cute outfits on Clearance at target last week, so I think this little girl only needs a few more pajamas and some cute summer time onesies, and she'll be taken care of clothes-wise for a while.

Pregnancy - Only eight weeks left!  Sometimes that feels so close, and other times it feels forever away.  Today marks 55 days until my due date, and I can't wait.  For a while I was doing really well with trying not to throw up in the mornings, but now it's getting harder. Oh, I just can't wait until this is all over.  I have a huge list of things I want to eat after the baby comes, because once I'm not pregnant anymore, I'll actually be able to enjoy eating.  But don't ask me what's on the list, because I won't be able to pinpoint something - it's basically comprised of everything.

Sadie - We've discovered that Sadie likes to bite.  I know, all puppies like to bite, but she really likes to play rough.  She's a smart dog, and she's doing really well with her training.  The only problem is that she sees the kids as large, loud chew toys, and she doesn't back down once she starts playing rough.  We had someone come from Pawsitive Effects Dog Training, and she worked with us for an hour or so on how to get Sadie to back down.  It's helping a lot, and I'm glad we had her come.  I've been working with Sadie on "Leave it" and "Drop it," and responding always to having her name called, and she's catching on.  She's getting better on a leash now, too.  Our walks started out just going around the back yard, then around the cul-de-sac, and this morning, we went a full mile around the neighborhood.  She still likes to cuddle before bed time, and she definitely likes to be with us when we're working outside.

Yard - Now that the fence is complete, we have tons of ideas for the yard.  A pergola in the back corner, flower beds and vegetables all along the fence, Ethan wants a trampoline but that ain't gonna happen, etc.  The main problem is that we ran out of project money building the fence, and the next couple months of our Usable Savings needs to be stockpiled to pay to have the baby.  I've already paid the doctor for the whole pregnancy, but we have no idea what the hospital bill is going to be, and that scares me.  We've got the enthusiasm and momentum from getting that fence up, though, so whatever project that doesn't take a lot of money will at least be started.  We have one flower bed that we've already bought the edging stones for, so that's going to be put together first.  Mostly I'm just excited to have a place to turn some sprinklers on and let the kids play this summer.  It's going to be wonderful.