Our April blog installment

Looks like this blogging thing is becoming a once a month only affair! I will try to do better, but most of the time, when I have a free minute, I'd rather sleep :)

So April, what happened in April? Let's think back...

Easter! Sophie had a great Easter, spoiled rotten of course. The Easter Bunny came and left his footprints on our table! He also made her do a scavenger hunt to find her basket, which was filled with all sorts of goodies (mostly toys, hardly any chocolate).  Then she got to do 3 Easter egg hunts that weekend! Lucky girl! One in our backyard, one at school and one at a park that we just happened to be at when another family was coordinating a hunt and Sophie was invited to join in. We also dyed Easter eggs.  Sophie is at the perfect age where she understands what's going on and want to participate now, it's so much fun!

Sienna turned 11 months in April. In fact, her 1 year birthday is in 2 weeks! AAH!  How did that happen??? She is quite the troublemaker, much more than Sophie was at this age.  She gets into everything! She can stand alone for 10-20 seconds without holding on, so we think walking isn't too far away. She also is getting like 3 new teeth at the same time and boy, she sure lets us know about it.  A couple weeks ago she was NOT sleeping at night and it was miserable for one and all (except Sophie, who sleeps through Sienna's screaming somehow).

Sophie and Sienna both got their hair cut at a real salon-type place! We went to Snip-Its, a kids' haircutting place that was outrageously expensive.  It was only worth it because I had a coupon and because it was the girls' first time, so we paid for the "experience." Here's Sophie's mane all crazy-like before her hair was cut:
By the way, she wrote her name all by herself on the driveway!  Yes she's a genius.

And her new smartly bobbed 'do:

Cory is moving to a different building at work, one that is only 9 minutes away! We are so lucky that he was asked if he wants to take this position (in the same company, same job) at the Clemmons Nursing and Rehab Center, which is also right down the road from the church and Sophie's school. We are excited he will be so close, since right now he drives 25 minutes each way.

Last weekend we went to Ikea and spent entirely too much money.  We are in the midst of a big project where we want to completely declutter and reorganize the house, and buying stuff seemed to be the best method to do this :) Actually, we want to minimize in our house and just have less stuff.  And then organize that stuff.  So Ikea is the perfect place for organizing and storage. It's an all day affair though since it is 1.5 hours away. And Sienna screamed for half that time, each way. SIGH.

As for me, I just try to stay sane each day. I still tutor biology online and write biology articles occasionally, just for something else to do, but other than that, I am fully a "domestic engineer" and doing a pretty crappy job at that. I can never seem to keep up with meal planning and cooking, and shopping, and couponing and cleaning this exceptionally dirty house, all while trying to keep my girls happy and healthy. Since I certainly can't do it all, even though I try, I aim to strive for succeeding at the latter. If they are happy, mommy's happy! Although I'd be happier if they slept a little more :)

And a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my mom up in the great white north! We love you! We still have a card to send you, maybe it'll come with your Mother's Day card! Yes, we are slackers. Can't wait to see you in September!

We have lots of plans for the summer, Sophie will be going to a summer camp for a week (mornings only) and taking swimming lessons. Lots of trips planned and fun outdoor activities! It's getting to be very nice outside!