It's been awhile since my last post, but I don't really have too many pictures of the kids to share! We've been keeping pretty busy around here, so I guess I've neglected the picture-taking. Here's a few updates anyway, mostly kid-photo-less.
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I started working again at the dairy farm on a part-time basis. I work on MWF mornings and the kids go to a babysitter just up the road in New Haven. Before the kids started going there, I was much more worried about Dane adjusting to the new environment than Ava, but the kids (as they often do) proved me all wrong. Dane absolutely loves the sitter (it helps that she has a dog ~ Dane loves dogs!), and Ava was the one who had a hard time making the transition to the new schedule. After a bit of a rocky start, some tears and tantrums, and a slight adjustment in my work schedule to allow Ava to sleep in a bit later, things are now going well (excuse me while I go knock on wood).
At the farm, I'm mostly helping out with calf and heifer chores, and sometimes helping with cow chores. I'm slowly finding my place ~ it's been a little tricky after being mostly off the farm for over three years, and now only working a few days a week. I really enjoy the work though, and Jill (my cousin who does almost all of the herd management) is happy to have the extra hands. She's especially happy that I will be around in a month when she's gone on her honeymoon!
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Ava has her last swimming lesson of the session tomorrow morning. She has been doing an excellent job, and will be able to move up from Pike (the very beginning level) to Pike Plus. Our plan is to take the June session off because we're going to be really busy with Jill's wedding, and start lessons again during the July session. Ava really has a great time. She's always talking about the other little girls in her class, but never the boys (much to Mama's relief). I'm really glad she enjoys swimming so much, and very proud of the progress she's made!
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While Ava is getting in shape in the pool, Mama has been getting in shape in other ways. I've been getting to the gym at the Y to lift weights twice a week on a pretty consistent basis, and I feel healthier and stronger than ever. I also try to run three days a week. Most of my running happens during naptime on the treadmill in my basement, but since the weather is getting nicer, I'm hoping to take the jogging stroller out more often. I'm planning to run three 5K (3.1 mile) races this June, July and September, and maybe a 5-mile race in August. And if I'm feeling really crazy, I might sign up to run the Lewis & Clark half-marathon in St. Charles in mid-September. I'm saying this on the blog to potentially increase the chance of me actually doing it. I'm still not sure I'm that committed ~ or brave!
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Since the weather has finally warmed up and dried out enough, we spend a lot more time outdoors. The kids love their new playset. We finally took down the fence between our yard and the neighboring heifer pasture, so now the kids can play on the swings and have a little more yard in which to play.
When the kids are entertaining themselves on the playset, I get to work in the yard. I have lots of plans in my head, but none have really taken shape yet. I did manage to put in my first vegetable garden this year:
I have planted radishes, two types of lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, beans, corn, regular pumpkins and mini-pumpkins so far. I also have a few pepper plants yet to put out. My soil is not all that great, so I don't know how well my garden will do. At least I know it grows weeds! But that's okay, I just enjoy digging in the dirt!
The pepper plants, still waiting to be transplanted to their permanent home in the garden:
The plans in my head mostly involve landscaping around my house. I admit I don't really have a good eye for these things, but I do know that I love irises. That's why I'm digging up the grass along the side of my garage. Eventually, maybe this fall, I hope to plant some bulbs here. When my mom's grandma lived in this house, this is where she had her iris bed:
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Last, but not least, I have also started renovating my house. Well, okay, I've only peeling down the wallpaper in the dining room and kitchen, but I have plans in my head for the inside of the house, too! I have to start somewhere, right?
I'm thinking about painting the kitchen a sage green, and I'm still trying to figure out the color scheme for the dining room. First I thought I would paint below the chair rail green like the kitchen and paint above the chair rail a beige/tan color, but now I'm thinking about taking the chair rail down altogether, so I don't know what color would be best. If you have any good ideas, let me know!
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Wow, I had more updates than I thought! If you read this far, now you're all caught up on the happenings in the Oelrichs household. I'll leave you with a couple pictures of the kiddos playing on my bed. Have a great Memorial Day weekend!
When he's done eating, he just throws the food he doesn't want overboard:
Typical man, hogging the remotes:
Ava's been getting into things too, like Dane's crib:
Ava and her teacher, Miss Lyndsey. Ava talks about the other little girls in her class a lot. The little girl on the side of the pool is Margie, who will turn four this summer:
Ava learning to swim on her back:
After lessons, Ava is always so cold! I feel bad for her, so I treat her to a package of M&Ms every week. Swimming wears her out, too. She's working on a 3+ hour nap right now!
How far can you see, Ava? The periscope points toward the farm, so Ava and Dane can watch the tractors drive around. 
How do you steer this ship?
Ava needs little "encouragement" to go down the slide (i.e., Mommy pulling on her feet), but Dane loves it! Both kids fly down it ~ it has a big hump in the middle. It's lots of fun ~ I tried it out myself to make sure. :)
We just need to hang the swings on the swingbeam, which you can see behind Dane in the first picture and to the left of the clubhouse in the second picture. However, at the moment, there is still a fence running under it that needs to come down first. Barbed wire and children on swings don't mix! After the fence is down, we will also have a slightly larger side yard for the kids to run around in. We're hijacking part of the adjoining heifer pasture for that purpose ~ with permission, of course!
