still cute as ever...

The number of pictures I've taken since -- I don't know -- March has been pathetic. I've decided that I'm going to carry my camera with me wherever we go this weekend so I can take pictures a'plenty. Which shouldn't be hard as we really don't plan on leaving the neighborhood.

 

sling shot

In better-late-than-never style, here's a picture from Baby AJ's visit that Steve just uploaded and shared. I was demonstrating the age-appropriate carry for Baby AJ and my Sweet Baby A was testing whether or not slings really did hold up to 35 pounds. I'd like to think of it as photographic evidence that Baby AJ was here, since I sucked at documenting her inaugural trip.



Anyway, the whole family is off again. The girls are now hanging with Nonna and Pop-pop's while John attends a work retreat and I tag along as a spouse and indulge in many spa treatments.

I mean really? When did I get old enough to be the accompanying spouse? It's such an adult thing to do...I distinctly remember my mom going with my dad to Seattle back in the day. Now I'm the mom that's heading off. Weird...I could have sworn it was just yesterday I was chugging beers and dancing on tables.

Hey...I've got no kids waking me up tomorrow...maybe I'll do that tonight at the company dinner!

the cave-in

Scene: The Slacker House. First day back for the fam. The end of a long day. Girls being summoned for a bath, but have other ideas.

E: Mama, I wanna dessert.
A: Me, too!
Me: No dessert tonight, ladies.

[Girls give me the sad face.]

Me: You girls know, we don't get dessert every night.
E: How about a healthy dessert? Can we have a healthy dessert?
A: Healfy, mama?
Me: No.

[Girls give more sad faces and verge closer and closer to an we're-totally-exhausted-and-will-throw-a-tantrum-if-you-don't-give-us-something-lady-style tantrum.]

Me: Ooooooo-kay. Here you go.

[Hands girls two (the recommended dose) Princess gummy vitamins.]

E & A: Thanks, Mama! You're the BEST!!!!

End Scene.

just the two of us

So far, Grandparents Week 2009 is kicking ass! We met up in Lexington, Va for lunch and the old switch-a-roo, which went off without a hitch. John and I had considered going to a B&B or something like that...but then decided that we still are lame and drank wine on the deck, ordered some Thai food and became the final people in the world to see Slumdog Millionaire.

On Sunday, we woke up at 10:30 (seriously!) and then headed to the mall since it was pretty blah out. We ate lunch at Coastal Flats and then did some shopping. Then we headed back toward home where I forced John kicking and screaming to get a pedicure with me. He then played some golf and I had to do a bit of work (and work out). Then we checked out a new restaurant that opened near us, which was pretty tasty.

Today, we carpooled in together and then headed to the Reston Town Center for some dinner outside in the beautiful weather. It was really good...but I think I've had my fill of eating out for now. And, so has my ass...because -- hoo boy! -- it is expanding at an alarming rate with all of this food!

As for the rest of the Slacker clan...so far they are having a great time. Word on the street is that they have been logging significant amounts of pool time, among other fun activities. I can't wait to see them later this week!

I just hope they will recognize me with this new double-chin and all...

pack it up, pack it in

It's been a ho-hum week around these parts, so I haven't had much to say. After the craziness that was my late May/early June, I've learned to appreciate it more...but it definitely has been contributed to a bit of writer's block.

The big news in our house is that tomorrow, we are dropping the girls off on the side of the highway! Woo! Luckily, John's parents will be there to pick them up, so don't call CPS yet. That's right, the girls are headed to Kentucky to spend a week with Grandmom and Granddad. At this point, we're running neck-and-neck on who's more excited about this -- John and I or the girls.

Don't get me wrong...I'm going to miss the girls terribly. But what I'm excited about is a week that likes the day-to-day grind that kids bring on. The get 'em up--get 'em dressed--get 'em out the door--get 'em home--get 'em fed--get 'em bathed--get 'em to bed that we do every day. That, and John and I plan on eating out at restaurants *not* in our little corner of suburbia and they might not even be kid friendly. Yay!

The upcoming trip is also a reminder of how much easier my kids have gotten. Today is my dad's birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY POP POP! We love you!) and I was talking to my mom about trying to get to dinner tonight to celebrate.

"Oh, you think you'll be able to?" she asked. "I thought you'd be running around packing?"

The thing is, a few years ago, I would have. I used to have a 20 item list of stuff to take over to my parents house when we were going for the day. Bottles, baby food, diapers, wipes, teething toys, changes of clothes, the kitchen sink. It was all on the list.

My list for the girls for the week is: a couple of dresses (preferably pink), underwear, flip flops, sandals, bathing suits, toothbrushes, brush, Pull-ups for A, silky and Taggie. Seriously, I could shove the load of laundry that's I'm running right now into a suitcase and call it a day. If I pack some snacks for the road, I'm overachieving.

Hope everyone has a good weekend! I'll be thinking of you moms of small kids as John and I sleep in and do whatever we want to do (on Sunday at least)!

weekend in a nutshell

We had a great weekend. We cooked out on Friday...met some friends for brunch on Saturday...had my parents over for dinner on Saturday night...and had a Day o' Dad on Sunday. And, yesterday, I picked the girls up from school and headed to Marathon Mom's pool for some swimming and dinner. Lots and lots of fun has been had indeed, but nothing that was worthy of a full post.

This little gem did crack me up...

When we went in for brunch on Saturday, our family arrived first. John told the host "6 adults and 4 kids." When we got seated, the host had set up 4 high-chairs side-by-side. The adults were about to start rearranging the setup because that would just be a disaster, when E chimed in with,

"Well, I'm not going to sit in a high-chair because I'm almost five-years-old and I'm going to be in Kindergarten. I'm waaaay too old for a high chair."

pop quiz

If you had the option of running an errand with an oh-so-adorable almost 5-year-old *OR* putting an equally adorable, but kicking, screaming and crying about not being tired, almost 3-year-old down for a nap....which would YOU choose?

 

Yeah...I guessed wrong, too.

now i'm cwaving cwackerjacks

The girls have figured out a new method for delaying bedtime. They get up on the couch, snuggle up to Daddy, smile sweetly and say,

"Daddy, I wanna watch the ball game with you!"

It has worked like a charm pretty much every night this week because there always seems to be a baseball game on in the Slacker house in the summertime. Not only that, the College World Series is going on, and due to Virginia's Cinderella run, the Slackers (well, really just John) are very into the whole thing.

In fact, John was waxing poetic about how exciting the CWS is...how he can't believe he hasn't watched it before...how it was his new favorite sport. It sounded so familiar to me. And then I realized that I had heard the exact same speech a few weeks ago during the Stanley Cup finals. Ah...to be married to a sports addict.

Anyway, while we had the Virginia vs. Arkansas (aka, the Hoos vs. the Hogs) game on the other night, A broke out with her rendition of "Take me out to the Ballgame." And, even though I realized over a year ago that we need some lamps in the living room, I still haven't gotten any. So, sorry the lighting sucks. We'll just pretend I shot the video in sepia.

adding slacker aunt to my resume

So, I was going to write a post (complete with pictures!) about Baby AJ's visit to the East Coast. Except when I looked at all of the pictures I downloaded from the past week or so...there aren't really any of Baby AJ.

So in addition to sucking at documenting my own kids' lives, I'm a sucky documenter of my niece's visits as well. Quelle surprise, as the French might say.

In my defense, that little baby slept a lot. A lot. I think the time change did a number on her, 'cause girlfriend was sleeping in until 10 or 11 AM when she stayed at our house. And then, it was a battle for who got to hold her. Between my parents, John and the girls, I rarely got even a chance. I did get some good one-on-one time on Monday...but no one was there to document it. Finally, I think many of the pictures ended up on other peoples cameras.

But, let me tell you that we all loved Baby AJ. And miss her. Although she is still here in spirit because I'm still fielding a lot of questions about her from the girls. Mainly about how she...uh...gets her milk...but that's not important right now.

But, lest this post end up picture-less...here's the money shot from the portrait place on Friday. We sure do breed some cuties in my family, don't we?

sip-n-see

In honor of Baby AJ's inaugural trip to the East Coast, my parents hosted a Sip-n-See. "What's a sip-n-see?" you ask. Well, it's a little par-tay where people come over to meet the baby. So, rather than having visitors come visit throughout the trip, everyone converged over a few hours on Saturday.
In addition to family friends who stopped by, two of Kiki's and my oldest friends stopped by with their families. We've been friends with Keri and Liz since the third grade! We did manage to get a few pictures...alas...none of Baby AJ who was sleeping by the time we broke out the camera.

Liz, me, Keri, Kiki

The Husbands (minus Steve)

The Kiddos Playing

Group Shot of the Kiddos (minus Baby AJ and a too-shy Jake)

It was great fun catching up with everyone...I think it's safe to say that the Sip-n-See was a big hit! In fact, I even gave it two enthusiastic thumbs up!

e's graduation (1 of 7)

This weekend was jam packed. I mean, you know you're busy when A looked at me after lunch on Sunday and asked "Is it nap-time, Mama?" That's pretty amazing considering she could be falling asleep standing up, but if you mention the dreaded N word, she'll shriek, "I NOT TIRED!"

On Saturday morning, the Slackers got up bright and early for E's preschool graduation. Since holding a graduation ceremony for every milestone in school seems to be the thing to do, I figure it was the first of seven (preschool, Kindergarten, 5th grade, 8th grade, high school, college, law school). I'm not sure if her college graduation will include rousing musical numbers like her preschool one did...so I think this one might be the most entertaining. (Though, A would beg to differ...she was not at all entertained by the program.) After each class performed a song or two, it was time to give out diplomas.

Here are some pictures from the day.

John and I were even good parents and got E a bouquet of flowers and a "Congrats, Grad!" balloon to commemorate the event. However, E insisted the flowers go in her room and not in a part of the house where the rest of us could enjoy them. So, I'm thinking that she barely passed the Sharing 101 course on her way to earning that diploma. Sheesh.

the slow return to normalcy

This week has marked a slow return back to normal. The bane of my existence project I have been working on for the past month has pretty much finished up...there are a few more odds and ends to clear up, but the stressful part is behind me. I was able to work from home on Monday and today, and I'm even taking the day off tomorrow to spend time with Baby AJ and my family! Woo hoo!

Not that this week hasn't thrown a few curveballs my way. On Tuesday night, we had massive storms that totally killed my commute (despite having HOV access in the hybrid). It also knocked out my power so I was spared dinner duties. We actually ran into Marathon Mom and her clan at Chik-fil-a...which was great as our Monday night dinners have fallen by the wayside of late.

And, the girls have shown no signs of being forever damaged by my work craziness, which is always nice. Though, they do seem pretty happy to have me back around. Last night, dinner was a freezer dive of marinara sauce I had made a while back. E ran up and hugged me and said,

"Mama, you always make the *BEST* dinners! I love you so much!"

And today, we broke out the double stroller and walked to school, she yelled,

"This is so! much! fun!"

I guess it helps that they are pretty easy to please.

virtual thank you note

Since I'm a little behind on the actual thank yous...we thought we'd send some love via the internet!

 

Dear Marguerite,

Thank you so much for the beautiful bows you sent! We especially love the ones with our special letters on it. Mama isn't the best bow-putter-inner...sometimes she makes them stand up really high on our heads...but we don't care! We love to wear them. Hopefully, we'll get to meet you soon!

Love,
A&E

Dear Grandmom,

Thank you so much for the cool summer clothes! We were so excited to get them that we immediate stripped off what we were wearing and put them on. And then we wore them again yesterday since Mama did the laundry! Mama said she was nervous that E wouldn't wear shorts because of her current dress phase...but she was wrong. The top is twirly, like a dress! We can't wait for Camp Grandmom 2009!

Love,
E&A

kissin' cousins

Baby AJ and her family arrived safe and sound on Friday night. The Slackers had custody through the weekend, and Nonna and Pop Pop have them for the remainder of the trip. The girls absolutely *adore* their new cousin, and spent all of AJ's time awake trying to get her to smile, kissing her and asking an endless number of questions about her.

More pictures are forthcoming, I'm sure...but here's when the three best-friends-to-be met each other on Saturday morning.

 

 

 

trick or treat

When we were grocery shopping this weekend, E and I picked up a box of Honey Kix to try. My girls are big fans of eating Honey Nut Cheerios dry in the morning...but since the food nazis daycare has a strict no peanut rule, they can't bring them to school. So, I was psyched to see that these were nut-free and, therefore, school-able.

Well, the girls have become little addicts. In fact, John had to put the box of Kix up on the top shelf in the pantry alongside the Girl Scout cookies since apparently the girls were fighting each other over them the other night. So it was no surprise that they asked for some to snack on during the looooooong commute to school. I mean, 2 minutes without food? Child abuse.

Since their Snack Traps were missing, I had to use ziploc baggies. I handed them each one and when I retrieved the box of Kix, this is what I got. Two adorable girls yelling "TRICK OR TREAT!"

 

You can see I tried for an After shot...but A was too busy devouring her Kix to comply.

 

Should be a good weekend round these parts. Baby AJ is bringing her parents along for a cross-country trip to visit! Yay! And the project that is consuming 99.9% of my time is (fingers crossed) going to reach a major, so-close-to-done-you-can-taste-it milestone today! YAY!

first batch of the season

Today it is cold and rainy and in the 60s. The girls were a little annoyed at the "no sundresses" rule today, but were eventually diverted into more weather appropriate attire. I can't believe we haven't turned the corner yet on consistent warm weather.

On Saturday, however, the weather was perfect. So, to celebrate, John fired up another batch of finger-licking-good ribs and I broke out the ice cream maker for our first batch of homemade ice cream. I was going to take the plunge and try out a custard-style ice cream (the thought of tempering eggs scares the bejesus out of me), but the girls wanted cookies-n-cream...so I was able to escape culinary trial and error one more time for the easy basic vanilla recipe.

The girls had fun pounding the Oreos into crumbs. They also were excellent Quality Control personnel, and were able to ensure that the Oreos were not poison prior to being mixed in. They got a kick of watching the ice cream machine in action and getting to taste a little of it while it was going.

But the best part? A big ole cone of ice cream -- complete with sprinkles! -- on the deck after dinner.

 

 

 

what a hand-me-downer

This weekend as the girls played on the water slide under the watchful eye of John, I switched their winter clothes out for their summer clothes. Thank god it's been unseasonably cold here this spring, because my procrastination/lack of time to do this has meant that the girls were getting by wearing the sundresses hanging in their closets from last year (and some new additions acquired this spring) and the stuff I pulled for our Disney trip.

A's in the 3T batch of summer clothes, which means she has hit the hand-me-down jackpot. The 3T batch of summer clothing was amassed when E was 2-going-on-3 and A was a crawling pre-toddler. The theme of the summer was "matching outfits" and the girls had tons of cute clothes (especially dresses) that I purchased for the sole reason of them matching.

When E came in and saw all the summer clothes rearranged in her room, she was thrilled. Then she went into A's room. The first thing that came out mouth was,

"A has many more clothes than me! And she has my favorite dress ever!"

I knew she was going to comment on the wardrobe size disparity...but I was hoping she'd overlook The Dress. It really is her favorite dress ever. She got it her 3T summer and was thrilled to be able to wear it again last summer. And now it is A's.

But, being the sweetheart that she is, she ran over to A and yelled, "A, look! You get to wear my favorite dress!" I'm sure me promising a trip to the store to get some new clothes helped ease the pain a bit, too.

So this morning, A wore The Dress. And, just like her big sister, she loves it and looks cute in it as well.

 

E wore one of her new dresses, which she loves even though it isn't pink (purple is a close second in her eyes).

 

I hated to ruin the mood by reminding E that she had to wear a uniform shirt. You can see how well that went over.

 

Oh well, only a few more months before she gets to wear whatever she wants at Big Kid School. And the battle will just begin with Sweet Baby A.

open mike night

When I picked A up from school, Miss Candace was telling me how A *loves* to sing the songs in the morning. So much so that she stands in the middle of circle-time and sings solo, and really concentrates so she can hit the high notes. So, tonight after the girls took a bath and got into their brand new Princess nightgowns, we had a little open mike session so A could perform "The Flag Song."

In front of an audience of 3, A held her magic wand as a mike. Then she belted out a song about the flag having colors of red, white and blue. It was so freaking cute I wanted to tackle her and smother her with kisses.

Then it was E's turn. She sang an original song about being a Princess and her friend Paige-y, and upped the ante by throwing some dance moves in, as well.

But we weren't done yet! The girls took turns performing for us...some real songs, some they made up, some with dance moves...John and I cheered and (at some points) laughed until we cried. Before we knew it, it was way past bedtime.

Hopfeully, we'll remember to bring our video camera to the next open mike night.