The next two pictures are of our Dogwood tree in the front yard... since this picture, all the flowers have fallen off.


a couple weeks after the dogwood tree bloomed, our azaleas bloomed. Michael took these pictures of the girls... Poor Maureen had a swollen lip for the picture (she fell on the piano the day before)

Josephine lost her 4th tooth (top, middle, her right) yesterday while eating cereal! I think she looks so cute with her new smile!

I finally finished Maureen's 2nd dress... I'll have to take another picture, one that's close-up, so you can see the details on the fabric. It's just a simple floral pattern, but pretty. Maureen really likes her new dress (me too!).
Michael's birthday was on the 16th (oops - never posted anything about it! My Mom and Dad had a birthday on the 13th and 14th, too!). Here's his Baskin Robbins cake... he's 34 now!

I don't remember what I was doing when she did this...probably cooking or cleaning... as you can see, she found some stickers and decided to put a LOT of them on her face, for whatever reason!

My Mom e-mailed a forward (below) to me... it was too funny not to share. I'd say most of it is pretty true! I wonder how the 4th and any subsequent babies would go! Over the last two days, there's been 5 more job vacancies, which Michael will apply to...
We haven't heard any more from any of the other colleges. We're planning on moving out of here by the end of May, whether or not Michael has a job. We'll be heading to LA if he doesn't have a job, though still with the hopes of possibly getting hired for a FT job by June or July... if there's nothing by July, we'll stay in LA for at least a year.



BIRTH ORDER OF CHILDREN
1st baby: You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as

your OB/GYN confirms your pregnancy.

2nd baby: You wear your regular clothes for as long as possible.

3rd baby: Your maternity clothes ARE your regular clothes.

____________________________________________________

Preparing for the Birth:

1st baby: You practice your breathing religiously.

2nd baby: You don't bother because you remember that last

time, breathing didn't do a thing.

3rd baby: You ask for an epidural in your eighth month.

______________________________________________________

The Layette:

1st baby: You pre-wash newborn's clothes, color-coordinate them,

and fold them neatly in the baby's little bureau.

2nd baby: You check to make sure that the clothes are clean and

discard only the ones with the darkest stains.

3rd baby: Boys can wear pink, can't they?

______________________________________________________

Worries:

1st baby: At the first sign of distress--a whimper,

a frown--you pick up the baby

2nd baby: You pick the baby up when her wails threaten

to wake your firstborn.

3rd baby: You teach your three-year-old how to

rewind the mechanical swing.
______________________________________________________

Pacifier:

1st baby: If the pacifier falls on the floor, you put it away until

you can go home and wash and boil it.

2nd baby: When the pacifier falls on the floor, you squirt it

off with some juice from the baby's bottle.

3rd baby: You wipe it off on your shirt and pop it back in.

__________________________________________________

Diapering:

1st baby: You change your baby's diapers every hour,

whether they need it or not.

2nd baby: You change their diaper every two to three hours, if needed.

3rd baby: You try to change their diaper before others start to

complain about the smell or you see it sagging to their knees.

_______________________________________________________

Activities:

1st baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics, Baby Swing,

Baby Zoo, Baby Movies and Baby Story Hour.

2nd baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics.

3rd baby: You take your infant to the supermarket and the dry cleaners.

______________________________________________________

Going Out:

1st baby: The first time you leave your baby with a sitter,

you call home five times.

2nd baby: Just before you walk out the door, you remember to

leave a number where you can be reached.

3rd baby: You leave instructions for the sitter to call only if she sees blood.

___________________________________________________

At Home:

1st baby: You spend a good bit of every day just gazing at the baby.

2nd baby: You spend a bit of everyday watching to be sure your older child

isn't squeezing, poking, or hitting the baby.

3rd baby: You spend a little bit of every day hiding from the children

______________________________________________________

Swallowing Coins (a favorite):

1st child: When first child swallows a coin, you rush the child to the hospital and demand x-rays

2nd child: When second child swallows a coin, you carefully watch for the coin to pass.

3rd child: When third child swallows a coin you deduct it from his allowance!

____________________________________________________

Pass this on to everyone you know who has children . . . or everyone who KNOWS someone who has had children . .

(The older the mother, the funnier this is!)

GRANDCHILDREN: God's reward
for allowing your children to live!

Pictures!

Oh - wanted to post something cute Maureen said a couple weeks ago... I don't remember the exact details, but I'll try my best.

She wanted me to do something with her - maybe play a game or something...

I said "I need to do some dishes and then I can play with you."

In a very animated voice, she said "But, Mommy, you already did the dishes yesterday!"

Through the eyes of a child, I guess dishes only need to be done once, ever? once a week? who knows! It made me laugh.

We made crowns a couple days ago... I cut it out, they decorated them with jewels... Maureen would not be still for even a second to take a picture! She was dancing to classical music, like she was a princess :) I managed to get this one, although it's a bit blurry from her movement and me trying to follow her around with the camera!
Josephine also really enjoyed decorating her crown, and had no problem posing for the camera :)

Last Saturday we got another letter turning Michael down for a job... Clark University in Worcester, MA. Oh well...

Moving right along... Onto some happier news, Michael's solo art show, opening night (not sure of the proper title for it!) went well. Here are a few pictures of the event:




Tonight was the last night of choir rehearsal... I enjoy playing for the rehearsals, although it's a bit of a hassle getting there on time with the kids, getting back home kind of late, only to hurry up and get ready for bed... This is also the last week of Josephine's PE. She's really enjoyed it...for the last 6 weeks, she's done an hour swim class every Monday and a traditional-style PE class every friday for an hour (it's a class made for homeschoolers, ages 5-12). I only paid $35.00 for the 6-week session (at a YMCA), which equalled out to be about $3.00 per hour class, with trained/certified teachers. I wonder how they can charge so little and pay their teachers a decent amount!

Anyway, wherever we move, I'll look up the local YMCA to see if they offer a similar class, because it's well worth it. I've noticed her appetite has been much bigger lately... it's either due to the extra physical activity or maybe she's going through a growth spurt.

With less "going" we'll have more time to focus on finishing up her school, packing and searching/ applying for more jobs. There are 5 more colleges Michael will be applying for soon... two in Kentucky, one in Indiana, one in Oklahoma, and one in North Carolina. We'll keep you posted!