what we've been up to...

A, Pop Pop, Baby M, Kiki, AJ, Nonna, Baby C, Me, E, John
Not pictured: Uncle Steve

The last week and a half have been so much fun...but so busy. My sister and her family were in town for 10 days or so, so we spent half our time at our house and the other half going down to my parents house (about 40 minutes away). I have discovered that, while Baby C is not an all out hater of the car seat, she is also not the kind of baby that conks out and stays conked out in the car seat. There is some crying and pacifier cramming that must go on before she will sleep...and 90% of the time, her eyes will pop open once we have reached our destination.

So, now we try to get into some sort of routine. Hopefully that routine will involve Baby C napping while not in my arms for more than 20 minutes. Ah, a girl can dream...

updates and a question

The last week or two have been pretty crazy. I extended the long MLK Day weekend and headed out to San Jose to hang out with these two cuties:

Those are my nieces, AJ and Baby M. Aren't they cute? Baby M just turned 8-weeks-old, so it was my first chance meeting her. We got to bond a bit, but my main job was hanging out with AJ. It was so much fun, since last time I saw her, she kind of ignored me because her cousins were the main attraction.

In other news, I'm 30 weeks today! I was already quasi-freaking out because the weeks-to-go count will be soon be single digits...and then Sweet Pea Chef let me know that her friend just had a baby at 30 weeks (thankfully, everyone's doing great)! So, I really need to get organized and ready! For reals!

Here's what I look like these days:

Finally, as my due date draws nearer, I'm realizing answering questions that I didn't have to last time around. Specifically, E and A really want to know how the baby is getting *out* of my belly. And, I go to the hospital and the doctor helps get her out was not a sufficient answer. Anyone have any ideas on how to answer this to a 4- and 6-year-old?

the party's over...back to reality

We had a great Winter Break 'round these parts. We slept in, hung out in our jammies, caught up with friends, watched some movies, and generally had a great time. This week we are all back to work and school (BOO!)...I hope to update with my annual Christmas and 2010 in pictures recaps sometime before 2012. But, here's a teaser of my girls (and their friend Maggie in the middle) up on stage at a New Year's party singing "Single Ladies."

 

I know that those of you who know me IRL are totally amazed that such a shy, reserved wallflower like myself could produce such outgoing, limelight-seeking offspring. Crazy, isn't it?

san jose pics

I finally got my pictures uploaded from our San Jose trip. I'm a little bummed that I didn't get more of them, and that the ones I did get weren't all that great. Photographing all three kiddos was definitely a challenge. Guess I have that to look forward to on a regular basis in a few months.

Just Hanging Out

Monterrey Bay Aquarium

Halloween

rubbing off on each other

This weekend, as part of our jam-packed with stuff to do oh my god I just want to sit down and I'm a football widow to boot, the girls and I headed over to JerseyBaby's for a little Saturday morning waffle-fest. And, as she so astutely pointed out, my penchant for slack rubbed off on her as we neglected to create any photographic evidence of this all too rare get together.

But, don't think she's the only victim of undue influence this weekend. Oh no. In addition to seeing the gorgeous master bath redo in person, I also got to witness the greatest craft closet in the history of man. The shelves were filled with various crafting bins all neatly labeled with a label-maker. Y'all, she has a bin devoted solely to feathers and pom-poms people. Feathers! And! Pom-poms!

So, after waffles, the kiddos spent time creating Fun Fusion masterpieces. Haven taught E how to make a scarf using crafting loops. My kiddos were hooked. So, after we left, we went straight to Michael's to pick up our own crafts. (If by straight you mean after going to the mall, E's school's Fall Festival, and home to pack for a slumber party at Nonna and Pop-pop's house.)

The results were craftastic! E wove a pot holder and they both created masterpieces with Fun Fusion beads. And, on Sunday, the good times continued, when the girls successfully created the piece de resistance for their Halloween costumes -- butterfly antennae!

 

All in all, what a great weekend!

the beach in a nutshell

I'll have to admit I was a bit nervous about our Hilton Head trip this year. I mean, sure it was the beach and we spend lots of time wth O family (their house, our house, near and far). But this was all 10 of us together...for a week...in a three bedroom condo.

Needless to say, my fears were for naught. Everyone had a blast. Sure, there were some tantrums. And sure, every night was a new and different sleeping arrangement. And maybe everyone came out of the vacation a little less rested than going in. But that doesn't mean we didn't have fun. See for yourself!

 

in your face

Baby AJ and her parents are in town this week. We're headed to a wedding this weekend for a college friend, and Nonna and Pop-pop will be watching all three granddaughters. I think they are a bit nervous about it.

However, after dinner last night, I think they realize that they've got it made. My girls fed Baby AJ, handed her sippy cups, and provided riveting status updates, such as "She said QUACK!" And, it looks like all three girls will be occupying the same 3 feet of space the entire weekend.

 

I sure hope AJ doesn't mind the complete invasion of personal space.

meeting in the middle

On Saturday, we headed up to Baltimore to meet up with friends of ours who live in New Jersey and were in town for the Os/Mets series. Since they were hankering for some crabs, we meet for lunch at Obrycki's Crab House for a dozen or two...and a beer or two. Well, the beer was just for John, Jason and me...the kids and Stef, who's 8 months pregnant, abstained. And none of the kiddos had crabs, but man did they *love* the mallets that came to the table!

The kids were relatively well behaved...but started to get antsy toward the end. And since we had already confiscated the aformentioned mallets we let them have at it with some of the paper reserved for covering the tables.

After lunch, we walked down to Fells Point to catch the second half of the US v. England World Cup game. John assured us that it was only a 3 block walk. Not so much. More like 15 block walk. In 90 degree heat. With kids that weren't really keen on walking 15 blocks in 90 degree heat.

Nevertheless, we made it, and got a couple of tables with our own personal TVs that had the game one. The kiddos were psyched and chanted "USA! USA!" over and over and over again. And over again.

The older kids really did watch intently...they apparently like to watch sports together.

A was the first to fade. She tried to chant some more...

But she this is how she really felt.

After the game ended, we got some gelato, and then headed back the 15 blocks in the blazing heat carrying with non-walking kiddos back to the car. It was a quick visit, but tons of fun! We should really do it more often. Except for the 15 block walk in the heat, of course.

take me out to the ball game

This weekend, the Reds were in town to play the Nats. John's parents came into town to join in on the fun. On Friday, John and his dad went to the game solo. Then, on Saturday, we all headed in after a quick stop to see our precious nephew.

John and I sat a few innings with our friend, David while the kiddos stayed with Grandmom and Granddad. It was nice to enjoy the game without entertaining the kiddos.

The girls were troopers and we made it almost to the bitter end. Of course, they did not go hungry, having cotton candy, popcorn AND gelato during the game.


I had to giggle because A apparently thinks the polka dot dress is what you wear to baseball games. It's what she wore when we went back in 2008. Vive la hand-me-downs!

it's been a while...get used to it

So, I've been meaning to post pictures from Easter since...well, Easter. But I'm swamped at work. It's not as bad as last year (thankfully!), but I'm super busy nonetheless.

Anyway, Easter was fun. The fam took off Good Friday to hang out together. We went hiking. We played tennis. We grilled out. Then Grandmom and Granddad came to visit. Good times were had all weekend.

Easter was a success, despite needing an eleventh hour trip to Target to get basket stuff. (I swear, one of these years I will purchase stuff in advance.) On the bright side, I have successfully established a tissue-paper-in-the-basket policy...which is far less aggrivating than the Easter grass. So, I think that puts me slightly ahead of the game.

We tried to recreate our Christmas miracle of a great family picture. We failed. This was the best we got.

Thanks again to Grandmom for the girls' Easter dresses. I realize that the time for matching dresses is coming to an end...but damn they look cute dressed alike. And when the girls busted out the dresses again for our trip to the Dentist...*everyone* commented on how cute they were.

Alrighty...gotta get back to work!

please touch mueseum

Last Friday, the Slackers headed up to Philly to visit our friends who live there. John had some work to do, and the girls and I played hooky to hang out for the day.

On Saturday, E, A, Maura and Maggie and Autumn and I headed into Philly to the Please Touch museum. The girls had a blast going through all of the exhibits, including the restored Merry-go-Round. And (shocker!) I actually remembered to bring my camera...so we have photographic evidence of the fun!

 

All in all, we had tons of fun!

the cutest one-year-old in the whole wide world!

A year ago...she looked like this:

And, now?

Happy birthday, Baby AJ! We all love you and miss you!

cutting class

We had a fun weekend that included a birthday party for the girls and John and I going to his company's (incredibly delayed) Holiday Party. John's Uncle Paul and Aunt Kathleen graciously offered to watch the girlies while we went to the shin-dig (it was an overnighter)...and fun was had by everyone!

When we got back late Sunday morning, it was fun to find how it had gone, and t hear the funny (and different perspective) that they had on the girls. Uncle Paul declared that E is already huge backseat driver. And Aunt Kathleen had this funny little story about A.

On Sunday morning, the foursome was headed to church. E and A were not happy about this...but, being the ever gracious hostesses, begrudgingly went. After mass began, A turned to Aunt Kathleen and said the dreaded seven words,

"I have to go to the potty."

Aunt Kathleen whisked her away to the bathroom. However, the minute they walked into the bathroom door, A turned around and said,

"I really *don't* have to go potty."

Imagine the excuses she will come up with in a few years when at 3 she's faking having to pee to get out church?

will run for cheesesteaks

So I had a wild and crazy Saturday evening. If by wild and crazy, you mean registering myself for a 10-mile race in 10 weeks. Which I totally do. Come May 2nd...you wanna know what I'll be doing?

Broad Street is Philly's version of the Cherry Blossom.

"But, Slacker Mama," you say, "don't you kind of hate running?"

Why, yes. Yes, I do. But I was tricked talked into running it by one of my best friends...so I really couldn't say no. Bonus! She hates running as much as I do!

I'm going to try start posting updates on training on my other blog. You know, the one I update even less than this one. We'll see how this all turns out.

Best case scenerio: I learn to love running.
Worst case scenario: I get a cool T-shirt.

earning their keep

Yesterday was a "Snow Day" for E. It was kind of ridiculous...sure we had gotten a few inches of snow, but the roads were pretty clear by the time we got up. It should have been a 2-hour delay at most.

Anyhoo, the girls were home and Nonna came over to watch them so I could get some work done (because work-at-home moms? how the hell do you do it?!?!?). The kiddos wanted to go out and play in the snow...so I had them put in a little manual labor while they were out there.



And before you get all "Child labor laws!" on me, please note that they only had to do the front walk...the driveway was totally clear. And it wasn't all work and no play. They also built a mighty fine snowman, too.

And, I must give one more huge shout-out to Nonna for coming over. She's wathced the kiddos TWICE this week -- yesterday and on Monday, which was a teacher workday. Without her help, I probably would have collapsed in a heap of stress and worry on how I was going to get all my work done.

winter doldrums

So the entire Slacker family is in a bit of a funk. I don't know if it's the winter weather or what...but all of us are sort of blah right now. E, especially. She's even pulling some old shenanigans when it comes to SAC. And, guess what? A big ole helping of Mommy Guilt isn't really helping make me feel any better.

On the bright side, we had a good weekend last weekend, including going to a fantastic brunch with some good friends. Today, E didn't cry at all this afternoon! And, we've got a slew of visitors coming to see us this weekend, that the *whole* family is looking forward to. So, hopefully things are on an upswing.

Let's hope so. 'Cause these winter doldrums really suck.

boys vs. girls vs. babies

In what will hopefully become a more frequent than annual event, the girls and I spent part of our day off yesterday at a playdate with my old New Mom's Group from when E was born. Just like last year, everyone had a good time. What I found interesting about this time is that the kids naturally segregated themselves this year.

The boys immediately went off and played legos and Wii together. The older girls (E, A and Julia) were dressing up, playing with baby dolls and playing doctor among about 100 other things. The younger girls kind of played by themselves

But, Here are all the kiddos in attendance. (I didn't take this picture...since I, of course, forgot my camera. Thanks, Kelly, for passing it along!.)

christmas 2009: the recap

So, Christmas was a huge success! This was the first year that each girl had definitive ideas about what they wanted. E wanted a globe that played games and a Barbie. A wanted a pink car and a Barbie. For a while we had *no* idea what kind of car A meant -- for her or for her dolls -- lucky for us she was talking about a doll sized one. We also got the girls bikes. But,when the dust had settled and the presents were opened, the early front runner for favorite gift were the mini-Slinkies the girls got in their stockings. Who knew?

The other big gift of the holiday was the Beertender that my mom got my husband. 'Cause nothing says "Happy Birthday, Jesus!" like a ice cold beer at 10 in the morning.

It was also Baby AJ's first Christmas, which was fun. Sure, she had no *idea* what the heck was going on...but she sure was cute!

 

harder than herding cats

I finally got around to uploading my pictures from Christmas, which means two things. (1) Christmas was totally omitted from my 2009 Year in Review collage. Bummer. (2) Expect a series of Christmas Recap posts...starting now!

On Christmas Eve, we went to my parent's house. Some of our family friends came over and good times were had by all. We also attempted to get a picture of E, A, and AJ in their matching Christmas Eve outfits. The best we could do was a blurry picture with 2 of 3 smiling, 0 of 3 looking *directly* at the camera, and it appears that A is looking to swipe AJ's bottle.

 

We're lucky their cuteness totally makes up for it all.