Sisterly loved

We have a new little tradition (for better or worse) that allows little girls who cannot sit in their chairs all throughout dinner to sit on a grown-ups laps when said grown-up is finished with his orher meal. Ok. Well at today's lunch Madelyn offered her lap to her little sister:


They are so cute. They had their legs intertwined (look closely to see pink tights on M and white tights on A):

Soggy afternoon (not weather related)

I found a great way to spend an afternoon---in the hot tub at the gym! This is something I have never done before but I sure thong I ought to do it again. It was so relaxing. Ahhh. I deserved it, right? But I felt so guilty. Like the modern day equivalent to sitting on the couch and eating bon-bons. I had a fairly difficult swim session. I say that because it has been a while since I have done laps in the pool. (I am "cramming" indoor triathlon at the gym that is this weekend. Sadly I am not as ready as I was last year!) Then after the hot tub I sat in the steam room. Even though I feel like I am suffocating in there most of the time, there is something relaxing and pampering about it.

Upon return to the lockeroom I noticed the newest edition of Maryland Family Magazine on a nearby bench. The April edition features an article on the concept of the meal swapping groups. So I read my re-entry to the writing world absolutely dripping wet.

What a day!

All the while the non-napped kiddos were having the time of their lives in the kids' area. It was a nice day so I found them playing outside. I had to bribe them with smoothies just to get them out of there!

Luckily the outdoors were just as much fun at home and we had a perfect spring afternoon in the backyard.

Egg hunt #1

This is the year of the egg hunts. I think we will be attending four this year (it would have been 5 had we gotten the tix for the White House Egg Roll---we were so, so close in Kevin's 100+ log-ins on Thursday but no luck this year.)

Today was our first of the season and it was a smashing success. Today's event was at my high school. It was fun to be back and kind of weird to be there also. We did attend this event when Madelyn was 15 months old so this year we were a little more into it. Also with the 'no naps' (ironically they did take a nap todady!) we were able to stay for lunch (CFA!) and the play, The Velveteen Rabbit (my childhood fav.) It was a good time and the girls were masters at loading up on eggs. They even were brave enough to sit on the Easter Bunny's lap! Good times!

Strike a pose

I am such a rule breaker! The dance recital costumes came home from class yesterday and we were instructed not to "play" with them. What do I do? Pull out the costume and get some photos. I promise the costume is now in a safe and secure location. It will not be touched until picture day and then rehearsal day and then recital day. I promise! But here a a preview of what is to come of the dancer (and little sister who is eager to take her own dance classes!)

Death challenge

You can tell the seasons have changed---not just winter to spring but Christmas to Easter. Madelyn no longer talks about Baby Jesus all the time but instead she is always talking dying. I can only assume it is from all the talk of Jesus dying on the cross she has heard at MOPS, religious education class and her Christian preschool. It's not that I want to deny of of this (I'm no Peter) -- and I do think it important for the children to know about. We are Christians after all and that is a fundamental belief. But is there a way that is a little more gentle? She is a teeny bit obsessed with death right now and wants to know if everyone and everything (including Barbie) is going to die like Jesus. I suppose we should use this as a teaching moment. I better pull out my parenting manual. Oh wait, I don't have one!

Throwback Wednesday

We've been talking about doing doing it for a long time....we now get our milk delivered, in a glass bottle, from a local farm! That is so 1950s of us, yes? I have admired some of my neighbors who are trying to "live locally" and that was part of the inspiration to give this a try. Another though is really just convenience. With my dinner swap club and farmers markets for veggies and fruits the dairy portion was the only reason to go to the store.

In future weeks I must be more prepared though. This morning I woke up early (with the no naps and kids going to bed earlier they are also rising earlier!) I was braiding Madelyn's hair when I heard the hum of the delivery truck. Our cooler was not outside yet. For fear that he would leave I ran down the steps and answered the door...in my flannel nightgown no less. Talk about embarrassing. Next time surely I shall be more prepared and just leave the cooler outside.

The kids and their "no naps" plan is going okay. They are in pieces as the evening draws near and the days are longer---I get even less done. So we will continue to stick it out and see if things calm down. It's a scramble when Kevin gets home at 6 and then getting them down by 7 but it is so nice to have our nights back. I even went to bed myself last night at 7:45! WOW.

The world according to Oprah

We totally need this. However, as I was catching up on my Oprah, I heard the expert say it is very difficult with small children. So that leads me to wonder, can you really live a clutter-free life and have small children? I honestly cannot imagine it. But what else does Oprah always say: if you can dream it, you can conceive it, you can achieve it....? Something like that. Well even though I feel like our stuff (waaaay too much of it) multiples overnight we are on a big spring cleaning mission. (The kids are totally not on board so we have to do it at night when they are asleep!) Not time for the computer. Back to the clutter crew.

Happy Birthday Samson!

Our zoo's elephant celebrated his first birthday today and we went to his party. "Little" Samson, who is over 1,000 pounds!, is very cute. Visiting Samson is always a must do when we visit the zoo so we have learned a few new things about elephants as we been watching him grow. Today's little factoids included that his mother was pregnant with him for 21 months (or was it 23?) Regardless it was a really long time! Then we also learned that baby elephants nurse for at least 3-5 years. I guess I will stop thinking the 9 months (even with my overdue-ness with both girls!) and 1 year of nursing each was a long time.

But the party featured activities like face painting and elephant-size card signing as well as singing and cake! The cake was provided by Charm City Cakes (of Ace of Cakes fame). The 3,000 cupcakes were from there too (not elaborately decorated or anything but fun to get a taste of CCC since we will likely not get the chance with the $$$ and major wait time.) Samson's cake was pretty cool also featuring fruit and veggies complete with a carrot "candle." He did what a typical 1-year-old would do: looked at it for a while, played with it a lot, ate some and flung some. It was all a very cute day at the zoo.

Zzzz's

Is is possible I have found the secret? I probably just got lucky but....today we skipped the naps and it was good! We hung out in the morning, went to gymnastics, had lunch, the gym and lots of playtime. They went to bed at a decent-ish time (thanks to some help from my parents who were here in Kevin's absence.) I will miss the naps if they are gone forever but I will welcome back the evenings. It is really nice here right now (despite Kevin being in Atlanta tonight.)

It was a good workout day--that could be adding to my chipper mood. Yoga class this evening and the gym in the afternoon. I absolutely loved going to the gym in the afternoon. I could get hooked on that. There were only a handful of kids in there (no one for Abigail to hit with a shoe!) We will see how it goes but I am hopeful I have found the answer here to our new sleep issues. Who would think anyone would welcome the concept of no naps!?!?

K-I-SS-ING

I totally said something today that threw me back to my Catholic schools days. I said something I was not sure I'd ever say. I said something that made me sound like I was 85 years old. I said it to my two-and-a-half-year-old.

Here's what happened when Abigail was on her way out of school.........

She has become quite attached to her new school friends. (It's very cute.) So she said her goodbyes and gave her hugs to her teacher and her friends. Two of her favorite boys lingered a little longer. There were more hugs. And more more hugs. The my little Abigail moves in for the kisses! That's when I said it: "Save some room for the Holy Spirit!"

The other moms must have gone to Catholic school also because they knew exactly what I was talking about. And if they had no idea what I was talking about (completely possible) they played it off well.

So it goes. It seems we have a very sweet but potentially "advanced" little girl. Let's hope this is not an indication of anything or we are in some serious trouble. ;)

St. Patrick's Day Spirit

The silly little leprechauns visited us today (a tradition we adopted from my neighbor a few years ago.) We know they were here based on the footprints they left.....


...and the silly things they did like dyeing the milk green and turning the lampshade upside down........

The leprechauns left a shiny quarter for the girls also but that paled in comparison to what was in the card they received from each of their grandparents and aunt & uncle. I guess the leprechauns need to step it up next year!

Oh what a fun green day we had. We had MOPS and then went to lunch with some friends(mexican food--how funny of us.) Then the girls and I ventured out on a special mission. We had heard about the Baltimore Cupcake Company from Glamma and Baltimore Magazine so we decided to check it out. I guess cupcakes are still kind of a thing. In this house we do not typically discriminate on sweets. Though since the children did not partake in the corned beef and cabbage we had for dinner their cupcakes went untouched. Kevin and I indulged, however. The photo below (the before) says it all, YUM! (This was Chocolate with chocolate frosting, Bailey's irish cream, Peppermint Patty and Cookies & Cream. Did I mention, yum?)

And here they are, the silliest leprechauns of all......

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

I have been here before

Today I felt like I was having deja vu for the reason I was called back to the gym child care center. It seems we have another "hitter." Bummer. We went through this with Madelyn and it was quite a long (and embarrassing!) stage. We were just getting to a point where I think people are not afraid to play with us. Now this setback!

I was at the gym---training for this year's indoor triathlon---when I got the call. I was 45 minutes into the workout so I was doing okay. Frankly, I was struggling so I was a little relieved to get the call. But when I arrived in the child care area and saw my little "angel" in the time out chair I knew the news wasn't good. Apparently she was hitting various kids for what seemed no apparent reason. But when she started hitting kids with her shoe they called me in. Little girl kicked out of the gym! She seemed fairly remorseful at the time but as soon as we left the area it was all smiles and giggles. Hmmm. I hope this is not the beginning of something terrible.

I'd like to send an apology to the parents of the little ones who took the beatings, especially with the shoe (sorry!) I doubt any of them will read this blog but I am sending out apology vibes right now. I;d like to say it will never happen again. Hoping and praying.

Another one bites the dust

Well we have been a little busy. Where does the time go? Another week gone.

We have been living up to our self-proclaimed title as "party people." The week/weekend included two nights with babysitters, three nights that involved alcohol, four nights with late bedtimes, five days and nights of good times with family and friends...and very few photos of any of it. (Some photos of the alcohol, but to protect the innocent, I will leave them off the blog. All I will say about that is I am surprised to see I still have it.)

I am really looking forward to the new week. It looks like it will be a good one, despite the spring-like rains. We do not care, we love our umbrellas and boots!

Bedtime adventures

Bedtime is often interesting in this house, that's no secret. I realize it is due to the fact that the girls still nap in the afternoon and sometimes that goes a little late. (They get SO upset when I wake them up early.) So bedtime is later than perhaps would be ideal. But the adventures are many.

For example, the other night, after repeated visits to Abigail to put her back in her bed she was finally quiet. We were watching TV so it seemed she must have fallen asleep. Well, when we went up to bed, she was asleep alright--in the middle of the hallway, pillow and everything. Next time, if there is a next time for this, I will surely take a photo. It was really funny.

Another example of an bedtime adventure is Madelyn is now upstairs, asleep (she's our really good sleeper), but in her full Tinkerbell dress up. Wings and all!

They both usually typically have a full bed of "friends" too--everything from dolls to books to school art projects (which sadly get ruined!)

You just never know what you will find at bedtime.....

Hit the pool

Well since swim season is around the corner Madelyn started up with her swim lessons with Miss Pearl today. She did well and picked up about where she left off last fall. Abigail is showing some interest and claims she'd like to take the lessons also. Miss Pearl and I are not sure she is ready. There was another instructor in the pool with younger children doing this. I have heard about this before...babies "swimming." It's pretty darn amazing. I wonder if Abby could benefit from this or if we should just hold out for the swim lessons. Hmmm. Decision, decisions.

Ode to Daylight Savings

I want that extra hour back! Today just seemed, well, an hour off. I know that the extra light at the end of the day will feel good but the first day on the time change is a bummer. You lucky people in Indiana, Arizona or anywhere else that does not move the clocks!

We raced to get to church. I am not sure if leaving in total chaos, squabbling with one another to get out the door is quite the right spirit for going off to church. Whoops. Because we missed mass at our church (and 11 a.m. just seemed way too late) we went to another church. It was the very first church we attended when we moved to Maryland. In fact my family lived in the rectory at the parish until our house was ready. It is a very cool parish community. In the city and really embraces social justice. We love that. The kids loved the doughnuts and running around in the basement after church.

As if we do not have sleep issues in this house. Naps were a total bust and bedtime is not going much better either.

The highlight of the day was the family walk in the park behind my parents' house. (Unfortunately we we split in two groups and went in different directions but that is another story.) We had another unseasonably warm day so it was just great to be outdoors.



Madelyn is really into the bike riding still so she pedaled around a bit too.


Then dinner on the patio (some in dress ups of course) and we just called it a weekend.
Ahhh, I think we are ready for a good week.

Biker Babes

Gotta love Maryland....snow on Monday, sunny and 70ish on Saturday. What a beauuuuutiful day. We went to one of our favorite playgrounds near the airport (we were certainly not the only ones with that idea---yikes!) In addition to the great flat, paved trail (perfect for the novice biker) and the playground, the big thrill is the park is at the end of one of the airport's runways.

Abigail was initially kind of excited to get on a big girl bike. She sure loved the helmet!



But the novelty quickly wore off.............

...and then was completely gone.

You could say for Madelyn, on the other hand, that "it was just like riding a bike." Well duh, it was. She jumped right on her slightly bigger bike we had bought last year but set aside and off she went.

....with a brief stop to answer a call from the cell phone in her basket? (I guess it was Sleeping Beauty calling in!)

The only time it is okay to push your sister......

The ice cream man was doing a good business today. Batman and Dora treats were the bid to do.

The firsts just keep on coming! Sorry this photo is a little graphic but I wanted to remember Madelyn's first time chewing gum. (Oh, I am such a 1st time mom!)

Here's hoping tomorrow will be just as warm and sunny to make it quite a wonderful early March weekend in Maryland.

"Friday night and I ain't got nobody"

Well now this is kind of weird. Not just that I am in on friday night (not unusual) but that I am almost completely alone on a friday night. Well Abigail is upstairs asleep so I guess I am not completely alone. Kevin is out to a guys poker night: a night some of my mom's group friends organized (how cute, huh?) Madelyn is out at a quasi-sleepover (I expect her back pretty soon) at her neighborhood BFF's house.

So here it is I have some time to reflect on our day. It was a good day.

One of my favorite parts was Madelyn's dance class (as is often my favorite part of fridays.) Their costumes arrived so we got a sneak preview of the recital. They danced even more excitedly than ever before. Just way too precious. Of course I was without my camera for this fun moment. Drat! The teacher is holding on to the costumes for a little while so there is no danger of anything happening to the fluff and glitter before the big show. It's kind of a 2-for-1 with the blue and green flappery, sequin one piece for the tap dance to Little Mermaid and then an additional (adorably huge) tutu for the ballet dance to Tinkerbell. I am so grateful to have little girls!

This is a photo my friend Sharleen took of Madelyn and Ella on a previous day that we were able to observe. (I know Sharleen takes quite an amazing photo, I can take no credit but I do love it.):

Another favorite part of my day was in the few hours we had just Abigail in tow. Not that I did not miss Madelyn and worry that she was behaving for our friends. But since Madelyn had 20 months of being an only child it is kind of nice Abby gets a little taste of being an only and thus our undivided attention. She is such a little monkey and sadly sometimes I forget to enjoy her. It was so nice to read her books all together in her bed and rock her to sleep.

But now it is all quiet and I am here waiting for the DD and DH to come home before I too can call it a good day and a good night.

Big yellow bus

Big day for Madelyn! Today she went on her very first field trip which included her very first bus ride. They went to the Baltimore Museum of Art for the Pumpkin Theater's performance of "Little Red Riding Hood." A nice tie-in for their nursery rhyme unit.

I was not so nervous about it at first bit then after I started talking to other parents, who expressed concern, I started to get a little worried. Oh great: worry by association. That's the last thing I need. But anyway, Madelyn I think felt that trepidation because she too wavered from excited to nervous. But when I walked her in to her classroom and she found out two of her BFFs were in her group and one of the girl's dad was a chaperon, she was good. (Abby would have been eager to jump into her place if necessary. That girl tossed her coat on the floor and searched for her name tag.)

So as Abby and I went back to our car I really had serious thoughts about following the bus downtown. But then again that might be silly. Surely if anyone on the bus (teachers or other parents that I know) saw me they might I was a little looney. So we went home and I hoped for the best, assuring myself that the school does this every year so they probably know what they are doing.

They did. It seemed like it was a great trip...besides a little big bad wolf uncertainty.

Unsure of exactly when the big yellow bus would arrive back to school I got there in the 30 minute window, with plenty of time to wait a few minutes. So as the bus pulled in to the parking lot, my friend Amy and I raced out of the car, through the lot and around the corner to snap a photo. Amazingly that was the moment Madelyn was stepping off the bus. What luck for the scrapbook! So here is my little girl getting off the big yellow bus (all without knowing I was watching her.)

What a historic day.

Shake, shake, shake, shake your.....

Anytime I have ever attended a Music Together I have thought it was such a fun and cool music class. For some reason it is just never an activity we participated in on a regular basis but maybe we will. (I say this everytime I attend a class.) But today was great. Abigail and I attended the music class with our MOPS group. She was a bit uncertain at first. She is a take-it-all in kind of girl. It's funny because Madelyn had prepared her this morning (Madelyn's preschool class has this same teacher twice a month). So I guess when Abby saw her she thought she was celebrity and she was just in awe. But she got into it after a little while and was shaking her shaker, swinging her scarf, clapping her hands, clicking rhythm sticks and dancing to the music. Really cool stuff and good times for little Abby girl and her friends.

Snowflakes on our noses and eyelashes

Snow Day. Humph.

But since it is supposed to be in the 70s or so this weekend I am glad we got out there and enjoyed the white stuff on Monday and Tuesday.

Slacker

I have been such a blog slacker. The truth is, I was in a bit of a "mommy slump." I think it was just a combination of the illness (all four of us are or were on antibiotics!) and the snow and lack of routines. But we are back to it and I am out of my slump. I also got so hooked on going to bed early. That time, after 8 p.m. or so, is so precious. It's time for Kevin and I to talk, etc., watch TV, be on the computer, catch up with friends. But going to bed at 8:30 p.m. a few nights in a row is great. If only we could get the kids to bed earlier or somehow add more hours to the day.... Bummer this weekend we will lose an hour! Go figure.

P.S. I will post some snow pics later. Even though I was totally annoyed about the snow I thought it in the best interest of the children to let them play in it.

...............Off top music class with Abby. I'm trying not to obsess about Madelyn who is on her first ever field trip (on the big yellow bus into the big, bad city. They are seeing Little Red Riding Hood.)

Weekend

I spent much of this weekend scrapbooking. One of my favorite hobbies! I am about a year behind on our regular family activities (not bad in the scrapper world) but I skipped ahead this weekend to work on our Disney trip. Fun, fun. I always think I will get more done than I do (Kevin will say I do a lot of "yapping, in addition to the scrapping." While they go hand in hand sometimes the yapping slows the scrapping.) But it was nice to get away with my mom and some other friends to let the creative juices flow. Plus it was fun to relive the Disney trip. I only get about 1/3 to 1/2 the album completed but that's okay. It took me quite a while to get into it. I think Kevin and the girls had some fun also so thumbs up all around. I am not sure if I feel really rejuvenated though. And I am certainly not too psyched that it looks like we will have a snow day tomorrow. I think this might come out wrong but----I was hoping to send Madelyn to school tomorrow. Kevin reports the panic has set in at the grocery store. That is never a good sign. So, my apologies to my teacher friends, but I am praying for RAIN and not the 4-10 inches of snow (can't the Doppler 60,ooo be a little more specific?) I will be wearing my pajamas right side out tonight to avert a snow day so we can get back into it. Have I mentioned I am ready to get back into some routines??? I must sound like a broken record.

On the mend

Horray that we are on the mend.

I ended up having to break down and go to the pediatrician last week. Good thing because Madelyn had an ear infection. Very strange since she never complained of any ear pain or pressure but I was grateful to get some antibiotics for her and have some reason for her illness. She is almost back to normal now.

On Friday Abigail went in to have her tubes taken out of her ears. They had fallen out of place (that's normal) and all looked good but the doc still need to fish them out of the ear wax, etc. It was mostly painless she tells us. Unfortunately she had fluid which could be due to the cold, etc. but that was why she needed to get the tubes. So we are hoping and praying she will not have to get tubes put back in. Repeat customers is not all the uncommon but we hope it does not happen to us. She is on antibiotics now too (join the club, little girl!) so hopefully all will be fine in 3 weeks when she goes for her follow-up.

Ok, so now we hope to get back into our routines.....