hitting the books

While the Big Girls were doing their homework last night...

 

Someone else was perusing my cookbooks. She loves her some table food...perhaps she was finding ideas for her next meal?

 

philly!

We were long overdue for a trip up to Philly, seeing as Char-baby had never been there. We headed up on Friday evening after school, and (THANKFULLY!) had a relatively ride up traffic-wise.

After Maura and Maggie's indoor soccer game, we all headed back to the Please Touch museum. The Girls and I had gone before, but it was Char-baby and John's first trip. Good times were had by all.

the end of an era

I am pretty upfront with the fact that I'm not a fan of the newborn phase. At all. The crying, the lack of sleep or schedule, the fact that they don't really *do* anything...BLECH.

But a six-to-nine month old? HEAVEN. If babies were born as six-month-olds, I could easily be a Duggar. Kiki and I call them the glory months...the babies are happy and interactive, they can sit up and entertain themselves, but they aren't mobile and therefore can't get into things. It's perfect!

Unfortunately, we've left the glory era round these parts. At first there was the scoot-scoots, which was cute, but not effective in total mobility. But now she has mastered speed-scooting. And crawling.


So, now C spends her days ignoring the thousands of age-appropriate toys that she has and crawling/scooting from bookcase to bookcase to diaper bag...and pulling everything out. It constantly looks like a bomb went off on the main floor.

But, more than anything...Char-baby just lies in wait until you open the dishwasher. It's like Disney to her...the happiest place on Earth!

Unfortunately for us, most of the baby-proofing around these parts has been dismantled. So...we've got a fun few weeks of getting things back up to speed.

toothless

A lost her tooth yesterday! Unlike her big sister, whose loose tooth was the bane of my existence, she pulled it out without much hoopla.

E helped her carry on the tradition of writing notes to the Tooth Fairy. When it came to prize money, they decided that $20.50 was an appropriate amount to ask for. The Tooth Fairy, however, only brought her $5.50...which is more than the regular tooth rate in our house.

Just like her sister, the tooth next door is also kind of wiggly...so I assume that it will come out in short order. And, just like her sister, there's not much room for the adult teeth to grow in. Since E has already been to the orthodontist, and A's mouth seems even more crowded than E's, I see us become a favorite family of the local orthodontist.

scoot-scoots

C-baby is now mobile! She'll occasionally crawl on her hands and knees, and is really starting to cruise more now that she can pull herself up to standing. But, her primary mode of transportation is the scoot-scoot.

I love how she has her own unique way of doing something. It reminds me of A's mouth nod. And, I know it's bound to happen, but I will be so sad when the scoot-scoot goes away.

tap...tap...tap...is this thing on?

A fan my mom was complaining that I never update the blog anymore. She had a point, seeing as Thanksgiving, Christmas AND New Year's have passed since I last posted.

Truth be told, I've been busy. Life with three girls is crazy hectic. The girls are immersed in activities and C-baby is mobile. My job is great, but it's full time and is one helluva commute. I've been going to the gym early in the morning, so I've been going to bed earlier. Add to that the hub-bub around the holidays, and finding time to blog has been impossible.

My New Year's Resolution goal is to try blog a few times a week. I want to remember all of the little things that are happening in this crazy life we are leading. Even if it's just a quick post that (horrors!) doesn't contain pictures.

Luckily, this is not one of those posts. Without further adieu...here's what we've been up to the last few months.

Thanksgiving in Ashland

Performing in the Nutcracker

Start of Basketball Season

Figuring out Christmas Lists

Christmas Break at Home

Visits from Nonna and Pop-pop...

...and also from the Cousins!

this week in photos

Bundled up and ready to go...

The girls

Teppan yaki to celebrate successful parent-teacher conferences


My little Daisy Scout


The Girls get their hair done


Just out of reach...

Happy Girl


Sunday morning smiles


Free reign in the back of the minivan at the car wash

girls' weekend in san antonio

Last weekend, I met my sister’s first year suitemates (and my fourth year roommates) for a girls’ weekend in San Antonio. We had gotten together for Molly's wedding last year, but this year it was just the girls (minus 1, who couldn't make it).

It was a super fun weekend where we laughed until our bellies hurt...ate until our bellies hurt...and even drank until our bellies hurt. It was such a great weekend, and I cannot wait to do it again next year. Which is how long it is going to take me to recover because I am very, very tired.

Kiki was the trip's photographer, so I don't have many pictures other than a few from my phone. But, here they are.

And, as the saying on the random plaque I found in a little shop in Gruene said:

Here's to nights I can barely remember with the friends I will never forget.

halloween in re"boo"

We had a great Halloween weekend around these parts. It was also my birthday, which was very nice, too. On Saturday, I got a little "me" time and went shopping (which isn't nearly as fun when you still have a few pounds to lose...but Loft was 40% off so I pushed through the pain and ended up spending the birthday money that my parents gave me and then some).

We also attempted to make mummy cupcakes. They were just meh in both taste (it was a "healthy recipe using pumpkin puree) and appearance (cake decoraion is not my strong suit)...but the girls had fun.

On Sunday, I took The Girls to a Halloween party and then on the way home we picked up our pumpkins. Did you know that if you wait until 4:30 on the day before Halloween you will have to go to *4* places to find pumpkins because the selection is either really picked over or completely gone? Weird, huh?

But, we perserved and came home and carved those bad boys. They turned out pretty cute. We did one for each of the girls: E's had a bow carved in it; A's wore a tiara, and C's was sleeping and had a paci. The funny thing is that I realized that this is the first time we have ever carved pumkins at home. We did it last year in San Jose...but somehow we managed to avoid this right of passage for quite some time.

On Halloween day, the girls were not allowed to wear their costumes to school. But, they did get to wear them to ballet. It was a scramble to get the girls ready and fed and off to Trick-or-treat after ballet, but we managed to do it. John took The Girls around with a bunch of other neighbor dads, while C and I handed out candy at home. C might have played with/destroyed a box of Nerds and spent 10 minutes sucking happily on an unopened Laffy Taffy.

Because we live on a pipestem in a cul-de-sac, I dont think we get as many Trick-or-treaters as the rest of the neighbors. And, this year, they all seemed older (like 5th grade/middle school). But it was funny to see how many groups of boys would Ooo and Ahhh over how cute C was. I gave those who did an extra piece of candy.

The girls got home at 8:45, had a piece of candy or two and then headed up to bed. They have spent the rest of this week playing with their candy...merging it together, drafting candy piles, sorting candy, pointing out who likes what candy best. Occasionally, they will ask to eat candy, but really, it's more like a new toy for them than anything else. I wish I could say the same.

 

musical beds

We're not usually a family of bed-switchers. In general, everyone goes to sleep in their own bed...and wakes up there in the morning.

However, last night, *everyone* was on the move.

• C went to bed in her crib
  
• A fell asleep in our bed watching a movie
  
• E couldn't fall asleep in our bed, so she came down to hang out with us. We both fell asleep on the couch.
  
• John carried her up to bed.
  
• I moved A into her bed.
  
• I went to sleep in my bed.
  
• John fell asleep on the couch watching the World Series celebrations.
  
• John came up to bed.
  
• At 4:30AM, E came into our bed claiming she had a nightmare.
  
• At 5AM, I heard C. I rocked her back to sleep and then carried her into C's room where we both slept.
  
• When C woke up at a more reasonable hour, I handed her off to John and crawled back into bed for a little nap.
  

Confused yet? I drew a litte diagram so you could follow along:

Man, I'm getting tired just looking at that.

seven, seven and under

Last weekend, the O family came to visit. It was so great for all the girls to get together. This time 6 of 7 joined the big slumber party in the basement. It won't be long before C joins in I'm sure.

 

On Saturday, we headed down to Charlottesville for the NC State game. We tailgated in a random driveway near the stadium. It was not nearly the prime spot like we had last time we went down, but it was fun nonetheless. The guys' whose house it was were so patient with the girls...running down their soccer and lacrosse balls in the street so our girls wouldn't get run over.

 

On the way to the stadium, we had the girls walk in "duckling formation" from oldest to youngest. It caused quite a stir. People were even taking pictures of them. We made it a full half before heading on home.

It's always great to see the O's...can't wait to do it again soon!

a day in the life

Ever wonder what my life is like? Well, then...it's your lucky day! Here's a typical day in my life!

5:26 AM - Get up and work out

Okay, so this doesn't happen everyday, but I am trying to get up in the morning to work out. Right now, I'm doing The 30 Day Shred...it's short and effective. I just try not to get too depressed about how much harder it is than it used to be because I'm soooo out of shape.

6:03 AM - Rise and shine, sleepyhead

By the time I'm done working out, C is up and hanging out in her crib. She was getting up at 5:30-ish...but hopefully we've turned the corner. So, I get her up and she hangs out in a bouncy chair playing with toys while we get ready.

6:56 AM - Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work I go

John and I try to take turns doing waiting for the nanny to come or getting home in the afternoon. (And, don't worry, I was at a full and complete stop when I took this picture. Ah, traffic.)

8:15 AM - Cube Sweet Cube

 

It usually takes me about an hour to get to work, sometimes more with traffic. I get in, log on and grab a cup of coffee. And then, I start my day.


3:32 PM - Coffee break

 

Sometimes, a little latte is all you need as an afternoon pick me up. Luckily, there's a Starbucks across the street from our office.


4:32 - On the road again

 

On the days that I relieve the nanny, I'm out the door at 4:30. And stuck in traffic, again.


5:34 PM - Home again
When I walk through the door, it's crazy. Hence, no pictures. In the next two hours, I have to:

• Get dinner ready (in general, we eat at home Sunday through Thursday).
• Eat dinner.
• Clean up.
• Pack my lunch and the girls' lunches.
• Relax with the fam.

7:45 PM - Good night, sweethearts
The bedtime routine starts at 7:45. C is first. She gets a bottle and some songs. Sometimes, she can't wait until she's in her jammies to start in on the bottle.

 

Up next is A. Sometimes, I read her stories. Sometimes, she reads them to me. Sometimes, she just wants a good night song.

 

Finally, it's E's turn. Most nights, she reads by herself after I kiss her good night. But, we'll also read together. We're currently reading Ralph S. Mouse.

 

8:33 PM - A little R&R

 

Once the girls are in bed, I come downstairs. Usually, I get online and watch a little TV. Sometimes, I prep dinner for the next day. Or finish up some laundry. It's a glamorous life, yo.

But, before too long, it's time for bed. Where I'm headed now, in fact.

the week in photos

Mmmmmm....carrots!

 

Reason #2,348 to have children...
your own personal bartender

 

Interims came home...
A is *so* smart, she knows 11 more letters than I do!

 

At the Fall Festival

 

Someone's a stomach sleeper now