FOUR!

George turned 4 on April 13th.  

 (Is it sad that I have a hard time remembering his b-day?  I went into the hospital on the 12th, so that is in my mind, but he was born a little after midnight.  I think I have a few more years before he notices the delay when I say his actual birth date.)

We are not having parties this year, with a new little one on the way (could you imagine planning 2 July parties a month after you gave birth???).  But one tradition we have started was for Troy to take the actual birthday off and we surprise them all with a special day out.  For George, on a rainey Tuesday, we ate some birthday pancakes that Troy made (complete with candles and singing) and took off for the Baltimore Cupcake Company.  (I had a Groupon for 9 cupcakes that would usually cost me $27, but because of a referral credit and awesome daily deals, I got this one for $4!!)  George got to pick out the most and the girls picked out a few also.  We saved them for later.....

Then, to the Aquarium!  Liv went there when she was little, but didn't remember, and George and Virginia have never been, so it was extra fun.  

Ginnie watching a lovely puppet show performed by Liv and George.

George eating his birthday lunch of choice (mac and cheese at the aquarium cafe).  Of course we had more candles and singing.  We tend to do this in anything/everything edible ALL day long, ha ha.

The Dolphin show!

We then went to Barnes and Nobles at the harbor to let the kids pick out a book and get a special treat- strawberry and cream fraps at the Starbucks.  It was a good wind down time for us to drive home and enjoy some presents!  George got a tee ball stand, a double feature movie- Monsters vs Aliens plus a bonus feature about Bob that is in 3D, a Wii game, and his Spider man puzzle book that he picked out at the book store.  Oh, and the cupcakes were pretty good too! (Which included more candles and singing)

The kids' first 3D movie experience. 

 All in all, I say it was a good way to spend George's first day being Four.

Easter!

We had an unusual Easter... alone.  Well, if you count our rockn church family at Trinity A/G, we were far from alone!  After working in the nursery and kid's church, we enjoyed all the fun things church had set up (train rides, petting zoo, age appropriate egg hunts....) before we went home to a quiet afternoon. 

The week before started a little strange for me.  I am usually all about Easter since it is the most important holiday of the year!  I had a hard time getting excited- no idea why.  After hard boiling 3 dozen eggs, I started to get in my groove. 

On Easter morning, the kids woke up to their baskets on the table.  (We don't do Santa, the tooth fairy, or the Easter bunny, but we do like to give the kids gifts.)  It is kind of fun for Troy and I to remember and see what we got them, since I shop all year long for b-days, Christmas, and Easter and stash it away.  I might have to get a panoramic shot with four baskets next year!

After church that day, Troy took them outside to play so I could make dinner.  Since it was just us, we only had ham, mac n cheese, green beans, and sweet potato biscuits.  But the decorated eggs and a real table cloth made it fancy!  In stead of our usual devotional time, we discussed the Resurrection eggs that I love so much! 

Of course we had to have our own Easter egg hunt in the back yard.  

And of course I had them wear their bunny ears!

It was a lovely, simple, talk (all throughout the day) about the importance of Jesus dying and coming alive again, kind of day.  Perfect!

Don't know where to begin.

I know it has been a while, but I'm still not quite right with this macbook.  I told you I'm slow!  The unfamiliarity is not making anything but surfing the web fun.  I do have a private tutor (thanks Valentina!) coming soon to set me straight, but no promises on any regularity!  I'm getting bigger (in my third trimester) and more tired so I'm not getting as much done as usual. 

So, to catch you up.......

We have decided to keep George home next year (as opposed to sending him to Pre-K like we did Liv).  He did so well during the Feb blizzard, I feel better with his adjusting to homeschool from pre-school.  Plus, not having to drag around 4 kids, one an infant, every day to drop off and pick up George at Pre-K will make life a lot easier.  We are still thinking/planning on sending Virginia to Pre-School and probably Pre-K, since we do love the school.  But we are always praying and trying to be flexible to God's plan.

George has learned his letters and is now learning the sounds and printing!  He is jumping right in with table work, and following our schedule.  He has a great attitude about school- I love it!

NICE WEATHER HAS COME!!!  We have finally taken a break too!  We never really stopped for Christmas break, and the kids have no idea what a snow day is because I'm mean like that.  Since they don't know, they don't question and keep on as usual.  Because of this, Livia has finished her K curriculum in March.  Of course, she doesn't know we have completed her requirements.  We are finishing up the rest of the school year (until George's last day) with fun units, field trips, and experiments.  Of course we took off to the zoo on the first nice day!

One fun day was Dr. Seuss day. It started with a special breakfast to get them in the mood.  

After some green eggs and ham, we gathered all the Dr. Seuss books we had around and read, read, read!  We also made up poems and talked about rhyming words.  The kids didn't even realize it was school.  Ha ha!

Don't judge

I think I'm a genius.  Why dirty another bowl?  Why get chocolate all over your knuckles while scooping the last of the ice cream out?  You wish you thought of it first.

BIG news!

Troy has some exciting news! I'll let you read his announcement below....

A Message from Troy Stouffer:

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity as we prepare for the campaign to wrest control of our government away from the career politicians and return it back to the people of this great country. It’s time to begin the discussion of our district’s important local issues, as well as change the direction of our country. Be confident, because the good people of our district will be successful! 

Our campaign website, www.troystouffer.com, is now up and running. Please go and check it out. Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on what we are doing and where we will be visiting next.


Our team is coming together and we have had the opportunity to go out and meet some real Maryland patriots. The people of the 2nd district deserve to have a congressman that will uphold the Constitution and will use common sense and actually REPRESENT THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE, not just another politician bent on telling us what’s best for us, while looking to further their own career political ambitions.


This will be a grassroots campaign, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. After all, this is about people living in the real world – you and me. If you live in Maryland’s 2nd Congressional district, we are asking for your help and your vote. Even if you don’t live in our district, we need your assistance to help get the word out about our quest to send the career politicians home. As with any political campaign, it takes money, but it also takes time and energy. We need all that you can offer. If you can help with any size donation, it would go a long way to changing our country. You can make a contribution by mail or online through our website.


The politicians in Washington have forgotten who they work for. This is not a recent phenomenon, but it seems that they don’t pretend to care what we, their employer, think. This year maybe our last real opportunity to choose a common sense direction for our important local issues and for our country; it is a rising tide of great Americans willing to sacrifice to take their country back, district by district, state by state. Troy is just such a leader, willing to take the fight to Washington in what is sure to be the real year of change!


Thank you for your prayers and support in our battle to bring common sense back to Government.

official website

Virginia is practicing to be a big sister

I was wondering how Ginnie would handle the arrival of the new baby this summer. For a while (between 12 mo and 18 mo) she was a very high maintenance child. Lately she has mellowed out a LOT and has even found a spot in her heart for baby dolls. In fact, "Baby" is one of her 6 words she will use consistently. I know there is no way to tell how she will behave until we are in full infant mode around here, but things are looking up!



P.S. If you ever wonder why I don't call people, please notice the loud noise in the background. And THAT is coming from the upstairs. Imagine when we are all in the same floor, or even the same room. I'll stick with e-mail for a few more years....

Special Guest Teacher!

I'm not very responsible.  I lose my phone, forget to charge it, record a date on my pocket planner but not the fridge calendar.... But this day, I was exceptionally responsible.  I didn't even look at my fridge calendar that should have all our plans recorded on it.  I might have saw that we invited some friends over that morning.  I might have been super excited and had the schoolwork put away, lunch plans made, and who knows, maybe picked up some.  Nope.  The doorbell rang and my friend Lark was there with her 2 children (N, age 5 and M, age 1).  She noticed my surprised face and offered to come back another time, but I couldn't do that to her!  (She is special.  We have a lot in common, even though we don't know each other that well, but it feels like we have been friends forever.)

Not only was Lark coming over for a play date, she brought books and lesson plans!  She was sharing with us a mini unit on Bill Peet, a childrens author.  It was awesome!  She read books, fed the kids animal crackers (she talked about how Peet used real and fictional animals in his books), and then made placemats depicting animals the kids made up.  After, we all got to each lunch together and the kids had some free play.  It really turned into a nice playdate, even if I totally forgot about it!