Marie's Dance!

This girl absolutely loves to dance.

Of course I made some matching earrings :)

This year she and her class danced to a Russian song.

The lighting was horrible so we didn't get very many pictures of the actual dance. But I did manage to get an okay video!

It's such a joy to see the joy on her face.

Looks like this dance thing might not be just a phase!

Letter M Crafts

Here are three letter M craft ideas we enjoyed recently!

Monkey Masks

Print out the template HERE, color, cut, and play!

Marshmallow Painting

I found a bubble letter M through google and printed it out. Then we dipped large marshmallows in paint and painted away!

 They got to enjoy a treat of one CLEAN marshmallow :)

We used large marshmallows because that's what we had on hand. You could use a variety of sizes. You could also glue the marshmallows on the M.

Monster M

We got some cutting practice in with this one. Then I just let the kids create!

For more ideas than you'll probably ever be able to use, check out the Letter M Activities page over at The Measured Mom! Love her site.

Love our happy wall!

Time for a slow down...

In 5 weeks from today, we will officially become a family of 6.

We are very blessed.

This whole pregnancy we have been so incredibly busy. We've been busy with great things, for sure! But I know that our family of 5 is suffering a little for it.

So I'm making it official: the Jacobs family is slowing down for the next 5 weeks. And probably several weeks following!

We need this. I need this.

I need to just hang out with my big kids (Kempton is a big kid now!) and their dad.
I need to spend more time with the Lord.
I need to do some laundry and maybe make dinner.
I need to have the patience to finish out the school year.

I need peace and quiet.

And maybe as a result we will all be able to enjoy the last 5 weeks of what could be my last pregnancy.

Please don't be offended if we turn down an invitation or don't volunteer for something. If you don't hear from me very quickly, know that it is because my family is being prioritized right now. I'm not saying we won't be doing anything or going anywhere! I'm just saying that we might turn things down just for the sake of keeping our lives quiet.

image source

I envy you, coffee lovers.

This pregnancy has been the hardest of the four by far.

Laundry keeps getting forgotten in the machines...
We just recently emptied the dishwasher by using all the dishes out of it before I finally got to doing the dishes...
Working out consists of going up and down the stairs to deal with kids and bending over to fill the dustpan...
Marie told me I needed to sing the song that Daniel Tiger's mom told him to sing... "When I get so mad that I want to roar, take a deep breath and count to 4..."
I can't remember the last time I made a real dinner...
There is no such things as "comfortable" anymore...
I don't want to do anything. Don't make me do anything...

I know only moms can relate to this. And probably only moms that have very recently experienced this as it is quickly forgotten when hormones get back into some sort of balance and you no longer have a bowling ball hanging off the front of you.

But I'm telling you this because I want you to understand one of the reasons I envy coffee lovers. I hate coffee but oh, I could use a serious dose every morning, afternoon, and most evenings.

I envy you, coffee lovers.

And now, to add injury to insult, I have even more reason to envy you. And maybe even not like you very much. You get to use these...

Beautifully crocheted coffee sleeves, handmade by my sister-in-law. You need one of these. I need to learn to like coffee so I can have one of these.

Go HERE to purchase while supplies last!

Then, once you've received your awesome coffee sleeve, head over to The Living Room Coffee House to put them to good use. I might see you there, but I'll be suffering through a smoothie or some sort of non-coffee, sleeveless drink while envying your coffee-sleeved, energy boosting, coffee.

Go in peace, coffee lovers.