Preparing for the baby

Lately I've been trying to get ready for the new baby. 

My other babies...

We have two cars, but the one that would fit all of us in it does not have air conditioning. This is simply not acceptable or safe here in Texas (with kids). So we will be at home a lot. After three kids, I don't really need anything for the baby, but I did want to buy some arts and crafts supplies for the siblings. We are pretty much out of paint, we have an extremely limited amount of crayons, and I would like to try some activities with clay, beeswax, and wool roving (all I have now is some wool roving). As far as paint and crayons go, I cannot remember a time when I bought them. They have always been given to us. So now I find myself wanting to purchase something a little more eco friendly and of higher quality. The first thing I think of is the Waldorf Stockmar stuff, but that would have to be shipped to me after having been shipped to whoever is shipping them to me (not exactly eco friendly). Not sure what to do....Buying crayons and paint shouldn't be this hard. I have an Amazon credit card that I use and immediately pay off so that I can get the rewards. Therefore, I have some (35$ lol) to spend there. Any ideas? Oh yeah, we have no paper...

Here is a list of craft ideas for when we are homebodies (to be continually edited and added to).

For me:

Soapmaking - bought the supplies a while back

Cheesemaking - bought the supplies a while back

Clay modeling

Felting  - thinking of starting with something flat like a landscape or maybe felting tiny things inside bottle caps and making necklaces

For the kids:

Watercolors

Rainbow ribbon wands

Weaving a giant sun

Another woven sun

Recycled rainbow wreath

Candlemaking or beeswax modeling

Clay beads

Fingerprint people

Recycled magazine color wheels

Making bookmarks

Tennis racket art

Sheet fort - Simply a sheet we have over our craft table that the kids use as a fort. I wanted us to decorate it, make windows, etc.
Various weaving activities
Rainbow Collage 
Tie Dye with markers

Looking for other craft ideas if you would like to suggest something! I will probably not be able to afford all of these supplies I mention I need so something simple or with recycled materials is best.

I have also been decluttering. There is actually not much to do. The upstairs where the kids have all of their stuff is already simplified (and has been kept clean for about a month I might add!). I did a few kitchen cabinets that needed work today, and I am going to do my closet tomorrow. That should be it. I will probably go to the thrift store to find some onesies for the baby. We gave all of our old clothes to a friend thinking we were probably done having the little rascals. Other than that, I think we're set. I just want to do a few things with the girls and Taven around town like going to see the new dinosaur exhibits at the museum and zoo and going to Sheldon Lake State Park (very close). I should take them swimming again as well. Speaking of swimming, we need some sort of little pool for our backyard. Our old blue plastic one has holes in it and was used to raise the chicks. Here is what we're using currently.

Due date, by the way, is June 19th. Last two came 7 and 10 days early...

My Neighbor's Rooster (LOL)

So if you don't know already, we bought four hens (one died) back in March. Since then we have built them a coop and they are living happily running around our backyard everyday and being cooped up at night. I live in Houston and our particular neighborhood's HOA does not allow chickens. So I'm raising them in secret. However, I live in a typical suburban neighborhood with the houses close together and the backyards up against one another. I'm pretty sure one of my neighbors knows about the hens, but the other two (with backyards against ours), never seem to go outside.

Anyway, around 5:30 this morning I started hearing what I thought was the "Oww oww ow owwww?" of a wolf or Husky/Husky mix. At 7:30 when my kids woke up I told them to listen. I said "what is that? It sounds like a wolf." Eaden, my 5 year old, very intelligently said "no, it sounds like a rooster!." LOL! I immediately thought oh crap! and asked her "is it one of ours?" (I'm no farm girl (yet) if you haven't noticed) I thought maybe they had sexed one of our hens wrong. She said "no it's not ours" and we went out back to see where the noise was coming from. I climbed up on a potted plant we have near the neighbors backyard behind and to the corner of us (we only share the corner of a fence) and sure enough a full grown Plymouth Rock rooster was running around! 

Now I think this is funny and I'm so surprised simply because we are not allowed to have chickens and I thought for sure I'd be the only one. Since there is no coop, and there is not much to do with a rooster, I'm thinking they are going to eat it. Yay for urban farming! HOWEVER, please do not get me in trouble! My kids and I (and even my husband) REALLY love our chickens and we REALLY want to keep them. I will fight if I have to though. Now let's shut up that rooster and throw him on the pit!

The neighbor's rooster as seen from my "spy cam."

Swimming and The Water Wall

My sister and I decided to check out this new (to us) kids' pool at The Quillian Center. The kids loved it. The water was just the right depth and they went on the slides over and over and over again.

 After swimming, and since we were in the area, we headed over to The Water Wall.

Natural Art.....+ Glitter!

We smelled the flowers today!

Well we went out again today, but early, to beat the heat.

 Besides stopping to smell the flowers, we "saved" a couple of frogs from the water fountain.

 Examined some caterpillars.

 Big sis kindly shared one with her little brother.

 And taught him a bit about turtles.

 There was plenty of lizard hunting,

 butterfly chasing,

and looking close to see what others may miss.

Breaks are always welcome for this very pregnant momma.

We went on an adventure today!

We had planned on going on our "adventure" tomorrow, but after a quick look at the weather forecast (80's today 90s tomorrow), we (I) decided today would be best.

 We saw a lot of cool creatures! There were millions of doodlebugs.

 This snake was right in the middle of our trail!

 Eaden and Taven tried tracking the snake into the bushes receiving a quick lesson in camouflage and stealth.

 We pretty much always see turtles.

 But we don't normally get the chance to stalk wild rabbits!

 There are plenty of roots and vines to hang onto for the steep climbs.

 Eaden running from some wasps.

 Trying to throw pine cones into the creek.

 Sisters studying dragon and damselflies.

 Taven trying to keep up.

 Big juicy caterpillars!

 And small hairy ones.

 We saw plenty of butterflies!

 Some even let us look up close.

 And what would an adventure be without Naia telling some good old fashioned scary stories about bears in the woods?

Quite the little adventure we had and less than 10 minutes from the house!