two weeks

We've been very busy in the two weeks since I last posted. It started out with Char-baby getting a stomach bug that would.not.go.away. Seriously, she would puke...then be fine for a day (or two or three) and then puke again. Poor thing survived for a week on Pedialyte, toast, saltines and applesauce. John actually went to Dallas to visit his brother. We thought Char was out of the woods puke-wise, but then she puked that Friday night. Thankfully, my parents came over to help out...taking E to her basketball game and watching the girls while I ran out and re-supplied myself with the aforementioned Pedialyte. Luckily, she remained in good spirits and we had a successful girls weekend...

that included finishing up our Valentine's...

...picking up and getting Girl Scout cookies ready for delivery....

...and braving the coldest day this winter to deliver the cookies!

For Valentine's Day, we just headed to a local hamburger place for dinner...

but not before giving the girls the BEST!GIFT!EVER! (Seriously, yo...all three girls LOVED the balloons!)

We were supposed to head up north this weekend to go to NYC on Saturday and then out to visit John's other brother, SIL and our nephew...but we ended up bagging that. John was travelling a lot this week for work and then on Friday, we were blindsided by our nanny giving us her 2-weeks' notice. The thought of having to scramble to find a workable solution seems incredibly daunting...but (FINGERS CROSSED!) we might have it figured out! We'll see. However, not going up to New York City did allow us to have our usual Federal Holiday playdate with my friend, Liz, and her three boys that are each ~6 months younger than my girls. It was amazing how well they all get along, even though they are the boy-est boys I know, and my girls are such girlie-girls. The fact that we had some Lost Dog made it even better!

photo a day challenge: week 1 results

So, I actually stuck to the Photo-a-day Challenge...here are the results!

1. My View -- 2. Words -- 3. Hands -- 4. A Stranger --

5. 10 AM -- 6. Dinner -- 7. Button

I took a few other pictures during the week as well, that I thought I would share:

A rare shot of all 5 of us together!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars with Sea Salt

Amazon Delivers Cuteness to your Doorstep!

E was 2nd Quarter Wildcat Mathematician!

Christmas 2011

I just downloaded pictures from my camera and realized that I still had Christmas pictures on there. So, in better late than never news, here's our Christmas!

january in photos

At the beginning of the year, I jumped on the photo-a-day bandwagon, and decided to try to take an Instagram photo a day. It didn't last for long, because let's face it...my life is pretty repetitive/boring AND I get pretty busy and forget to take pictures. But, I did find a Photo a Day Challenge that gives you a theme for each day, so I'm going to try that for February.

Anyway, here's what I have for January...

Week 1

Week 2

Weeks 3-4

I actually took a lot more pictures, but I just didn't convert

them to Instagram.

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