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We’ve returned to the regular world. Vacation was fantastic and we even had a couple of nice days!

We spent a week in Seaside for the annual Ham Radio Convention. Chris had a good time going to talks and buying technology. He even found a cheap laptop for our preschool’s financial records! We missed him while he was gone, but the girls and I managed to keep ourselves busy. He did take us to the local radio club’s spaghetti feed… the kids had a great time and we even won one of the door prizes.

We spent a lot of time on the beach. Chris made the girls a sand fort and blew bubbles for them to chase. I tried to convince them to wade in the ocean with me with limited success. The water was a little cold, but that doesn’t actually stop me. We also took a couple of walks along the river, did some window shopping, visited our favorite ice cream shop and rode the carousel. We went to the little aquarium, where LiliBee enjoyed the touch tank and CareBear talked to the octopus. We fed the seals and tried to avoid the splashing, though the girls weren’t sure of the raw fish chunks.

Around the middle of our trip, my folks joined us! They were in the cottage next door to us, which was very exciting fir the kids. We showed them all of our favorite places and had a picnic on the beach. We build “pools” of sand to play in and flew a kite. The grandparents brought some nice weather with them so CareBear, AliBoo and I all got a little sunburned… LiliBee just tanned, lucky girl. I’ll have to remember to double up on the sunscreen next time!

Chris and I were even able to sneak away for a quick date night (thanks, Grams and Pas!). AliBoo isn’t too keen on being left behind just yet so we weren’t gone long… just long enough for a quiet dinner and a walk on the beach. It was very relaxing.

We got our pictures taken at “Flash from the Past” in the carousel mall again. We love that place! They’re so nice and even seem to enjoy the chaos that is our family. It was a lot of fun.

And now it’s all over until next year!

The rest of the last couple of weeks was spent either getting ready for vacation or recovering from it! AliBoo had a check up (she’s healthy and up to 11 pounds!). We finished up this session of classes at the Y. And I became treasurer for the preschool.

This week looks to be pretty nice, weather-wise. We’ve been enjoying our meals outside and spending a lot of time on the swing set. The big kids will be having a play date with cousin H later this week and we might meet up with some of the preschool kids for some fun at the park. I have a dentist appointment and my first board meeting. I’m hoping to go to Meeker Days this weekend (I think it’s this weekend and, of course, there’s Father’s Day on Sunday!

Come to think of it, we’re busier than I thought!

Happy Memorial Day! I know it doesn’t feel like the (unofficial) beginning of summer around here yet, but the sun actually came out today so that’s a start. I am looking forward to being able to send the kids outside to play soon, though.

I had hopes of (finally) having a doctor free week, but I ended up going in to get my ear looked at since I hadn’t recovered from my ear infection a few weeks ago. It’s much better now. Then CareBear got another UTI so she got to go in, too! I wish we could figure out how to stop that, but we’re getting good at recognizing them early. The cold we all came down with last week was very mild, at least.

CareBear had her last day of school and we all had a great time. LiliBee was thrilled to get to stay at school. She felt like such a big girl playing with the other kids. There was a beach party theme to the day so we decorated paper surf board, “fished” for plastic fish and made fruit loop leis. AliBoo wasn’t thrilled with the lack of dedicated snuggling time but she seemed to enjoy watching the kids have their snack time, once she was fed of course.

Our weekend was pretty low key. We’re getting ready for our annual trip to the ham radio convention, but it’s going a little more slowly this year. I keep having to stop and pick up a baby or feed a couple of children! I keep hoping to get the house somewhat cleaned up for our house sitter, but I’m not sure how much of that is going to get done.

Chris is officially on vacation (well, starting tomorrow since today is a holiday). He’s celebrating by taking care of all of the things on my list that I’m not getting to. He’s handy like that. I think he’s enjoying the break from work, though.

AliBoo is getting more and more entertained by us. She loves to smile… as long as she’s getting her way. I’m starting to think that her temperament and personality might fall somewhere in between CarrBear and LiliBee. She’s not as laid back and mellow as LiliBee but also not as fussy and particular as CareBear was. We’ll find out tomorrow how big she is now.

The girls are pretty excited about going to Seaside. CareBear is counting the days until we leave and LiliBee keeps pulling out toys that she wants to take with us. It looks like it’s going to be rainy down there for the first half of our vacation, but there’s hope for the beginning of next week!

There probably won’t be much of an update next week (if at all), but I’ll probably upload some pictures up on the website or facebook if anyone cares to check there.

It was an interesting weather week around here, wasn’t it? We had just about everything roll through, which meant we spent a lot of time inside. Alice was ok with that, but the bigger kids got a little bored.

We did have a fun outing to the park for a preschool birthday party. The birthday girl was extremely lucky and had sunny skies for the 2 hours of her party (it rained hard both before and after!). CareBear and LiliBee had a great time playing, other than CareBear’s fall into the muddy bank of the creek… she didn’t like that at all.

We had a follow up appointment for CareBear’s tests and were happy to hear that they were pretty much normal. Good news for the brave patient!

LiliBee continued the tradition of drawing on the couch this week. Sometimes I wonder why I give them art supplies at all! On the other hand, she made lovely black stripes all up and down her legs so maybe it’s performance art.

AliBoo is officially 2 months old! She’s becoming very interested in what the rest of us are doing, though she can’t seem to figure us out just yet. We’ll find out next week how big she is.

Our planned play date was unfortunately canceled again (due to illness, their side this time). And it doesn’t look good for this week either! AliBoo woke up with a stuffy nose. CareBear woke up with a cough. And LiliBee is sneezing. Didn’t we just do this?

Yesterday was hair-cutting day around here. Chris’ hair was getting unruly so I gave my second haircut ever. Then CareBear wanted her hair cut, too, so I was going to give her a trim… but she moved! So both of them ended up with haircuts that were much shorter than I had planned, but at least they look ok.

This week will involve lots of vacation preparation. We’ll also be celebrating the end of school for CareBear with a preschool family fun day. I’m not sure what that involves, but LiliBee and AliBoo and I get to stay at school on Thursday and play so it should be fun. Hopefully, we’ll all be well by next week!

Here we are, halfway through May, and I’ve lost all track of time! AliBoo will be 8 weeks old this week. We have just 4 more school days until Summer vacation since we only go twice a week. And it just now occurred to me that we go off on vacation to Seaside in two weeks!

This week was lots of fun. We spent our nice days outside and even some of the rainy ones. Eating and/or drinking outside has become one of the favorite activities around here. CareBear has adopted the ants in the yard and spends a lot of time talking to them and keeping LiliBee from stepping on them. Luckily, LiliBee is little and usually barefoot so she does very little damage either way.

CareBear had her big appointment at Mary Bridge for the tests to find out if there’s a physical cause for her UTIs. The tests weren’t much fun, but CareBear was about as brave as could be expected. She actually only really objected to one part of one of the tests and was very cooperative otherwise. We should get the results sometime this week. LiliBee and AliBoo stayed with my folks while we were there… LiliBee had a great time, AliBoo mostly wondered where I was (sometimes loudly, I hear).

We had a big, fun field trip to the Vashon Ferry with the preschool. We had the misfortune of showing up on a day when the boat without an outside deck was running, which means that two or three preschool classes were trapped inside a stuffy little room (standing room only by the time we all crammed in there) for the trip over and back. The kids had a good time watching the cars load up and looking out the windows but they were pretty much done with it halfway through the trip. We then converged on Owens Beach, which was much more successful. The weather was beautiful and  warm enough that the kids could wade in the water without being too hot. Our teacher set up a little tide pool and gather some starfish and crabs for the kids too look at and touch. LiliBee was fascinated by that. CareBear spent a lot of time throwing rocks in the water and running around with her friends. Chris was able to join us for the ferry ride before heading off to work, which was very exciting for the girls.

It was the first week of classes at the Y for this session. LiliBee is in a parent/child toddler gym (mostly chaotic running around with an obstacle course and circle time thrown in) and she’s pretty excited about having her own gymnastics class. CareBear is back in preschool gymnastics after taking a couple of months off to do swimming. She learned how to do the bear walk on the balance beam and is working on backwards rolls. Of course, she also does a lot of running around.

AliBoo is getting the hang of being a person now. She likes taking baths. She will occasionally let me put her down to make lunch or something without throwing a fit. And she woke up smiling today! (It gives me hope that I might actually be a productive member of the household again, eventually.) She’s pretty cute, too.

This week will bring “fun” days at school… we’ll be wearing our clothes backwards one day and wearing our favorite color on another. We have a preschool birthday party in the park on the weekend. And I hope to have a play date at some point! If only I could remember what else we’re supposed to do this week.

Ok, I was a total slacker for the last month or so. Chris finally called me on it, so the blog returns! Unfortunately, it looks like my formatting is  going to need attention and I don’t know why the pictures won’t let me resize them. Guess the website feels neglected! But, that’s a problem for another time. Until then… the weekly update!

I hope everyone was able to enjoy the nice weekend and/or Mother’s Day. We had a pretty good time around here. The weather this weekend was so pretty that we spent most of it outside. CareBear and LiliBee had a great time running around, playing and helping with the yard work and AliBoo soaked up some sun and then complained that no one was holding her. We also had lots of “picnics”… I’m pretty sure they’d eat all of their meals outside if they could.

Mother’s Day was a pretty big event this year. CareBear is old enough to really get into it and LiliBee is always happy to go along with her. Chris took the girls to pick out a present, which turned into a big outing for them. They picked out a lovely locket necklace for me… heart shaped with “mom” on it. Now I just have to get some pictures printed up to go inside. I also received a couple of dry pasta and yarn necklaces and breakfast in bed! It was a very nice morning.

Unfortunately, I also got an ear infection for Mother’s Day so I got to spend some quality time at the urgent care clinic. My infection has since turned into a ruptured ear drum so I’m having a lot of fun now. At least my post-partum appointment went well and I’m cleared to lift small children again.

The girls celebrated the 70 degree weather by running through the sprinkler. Chris and I tried to talk them out of it, but they were insistent. They actually had a great time and didn’t get cold, believe it or not. I thought they were crazy.

This week should be interesting… CareBear is off to Mary Bridge for some testing, AliBoo will stay with Grams and Pas for the first time, we may or may not have a preschool field trip and both LiliBee and CareBear get to start another round of gymnastics at the Y. With any luck, we’ll shake off this run of annoying health problems and I’ll get to tackle all of the stuff that I’ve let slide for the last couple of months!

Only this:

Happy Spring! It’s funny to me how much better the weather was when it was “winter”, but we’re enjoying the rain showers anyway.

Saturday was actually a really nice day so we had our first “picnic” in the backyard and the kids spent most of the day playing outside. Chris did a bunch of yard work while I worked on packing for the imminent Banjo arrival (and resting, but don’t tell them that!). Sunday was rainy, but the girls still wanted to have some outside time so they talked Chris into blowing bubbles for them to chase. Apparently, it was a lot of fun being out in the “bubbly rain”!

Mostly, though, our week was busy! My ultrasound and non-stress test went well and everything is looking good for Banjo making it to the scheduled arrival time. The dentist was a little afraid of me and my giant pregnant belly, though, so they didn’t do any xrays and kept the exam pretty brief.

CareBear had her 4 year old check up and got a clean bill of health. She was very cooperative, too, which was a big bonus since it allowed me to ask the doctor some questions and actually listen to the answers! She’s also decided to become a “kids doctor” when she grows up now.

Chris spent a lot of time this weekend cleaning the house and finding things that I needed. I think we’re almost ready to add a new kid to the house, which is good since it’s happening this week whether we’re ready or not! The kids are excited both about finally getting to meet the new baby and about going to their respective sleep overs (though LiliBee has started to tell me that she’s going with me instead). With any luck, things will go smoothly!

So there may or may not be an actual email next week, but there will be an announcement made sometime toward the end of the week! Wish us luck!

We’re having another lovely day here in the northwest, after our very brief “cold snap” last week. I’m tempted to put away all of the winter things but that seems like tempting fate. More likely, it’s a symptom of “nesting”.

We had a fun and busy week around here! After the excitement of birthday weekend, I was really hoping for a relaxing week… and some parts were, but mostly we’re trying to get things done before I’m out of commission for a few weeks.

I had my last “work” day at the preschool until May or so. It was a very exciting day there, too, as Teacher Nancy brought in a real bear skin for the kids to check out. A few were a little apprehensive at first but most of them dove right in to check out the bear’s teeth and claws and roll around on it’s “comfy, cozy fur” (according to CareBear).

Our weekend was productive with errands and cleaning (all gearing up for the new arrival) along with some fun playing. Chris built the kids a couple of tents in the living room that kept them entertained for a long time. Later, we played with CareBear’s new toys and learned all about going to the zoo. I even got to take a bath (it feels so nice not to be holding myself upright sometimes) and a nap!

Sunday night, I took Chris out for his “birthday”… it’s actually next month, but I won’t be in any shape to do much for him so soon after Banjo’s arrival so we decided to do it early! We went to the new-ish Indian place in town since they have belly dancing there every Sunday evening. The dancing was a lot of fun to watch and the food was wonderful… I’d never had Indian food before so it was hard to decide what to try!

This week will be a busy one… I have a dentist appointment, an ultrasound appointment and my regular OB appointment! CareBear has school, her swimming lesson and her 4 year old check up with the doctor (poor kid, I think there are several vaccinations involved). Chris is putting in some extra time at work to get ready for being off when Banjo arrives. And I still have to pack everyone’s bags for the various places they’ll be staying while I’m in the hospital! There may or may not be some fund-raising and field trip fun in there, too. I’m exhausted just thinking about it… but, then again, I’ve been exhausted for months!

By the way, Chris will be sending out a text/email next week when they take Banjo out of me… if you want to be on the recipient list for that, let me know what email or cell phone number you would like us to use.

Well, we did… we managed to pull off a 4 year old’s birthday party successfully! There were around 12 kids there and I don’t think there were any serious altercations or crying fits!

CareBear loved her party. We had it at the local Round Table Pizza so the kids were able to climb around in the play structure while we were waiting for important things like pizza and cake. CareBear got to blow out her candles twice (she didn’t wait for us to sing to her the first time!) and received lots of fun presents from her friends and family (there’s a lot of pink in our house right now). She mostly loved being the center of attention, of course. She’s very impressed with being 4 years old, too. She has decided that she can only wear clothes that she got after she turned 4 since apparently the clothes she wore when she was 3 are too small. Considering she was 3 just a few days ago, I’m hoping to compromise with her on that one!

LiliBee seemed to have fun at the party, too, since there were several relatives available to pack her around and run after her. She’s always happy to watch the bigger kids play and follow them around. She’s been a little worried about not being able to play with any of CareBear’s new toys, but CareBear is relaxing that rule now that it’s been a few days.

Our party plans were threatened by a Friday tummy ache, but luckily that was mostly gone by Saturday morning. We did make a trip to our pediatrician to make sure CareBear didn’t have anything serious (like appendicitis), but we’re still not entirely sure what caused it. Still, no one else has come down with anything yet so I’m happy about that!

The rest of our week was pretty normal… the usual doctor appointment for me, “working” at preschool, feeding the ducks at the farm. I’d like to take a few days off to recover (I just don’t have much stamina these days!) but we’re pretty much repeating last week’s schedule of preschool commitments and doctor appointments! I’m lucky that Chris has been picking up some of the laundry and cooking duties or we’d be in sorry shape around here!

Welcome to March… seems like it shouldn’t be here yet! We continue to have unseasonably warm and sunny weather, which made for some fun outings this week.

We took our regular trip out to the farm where CareBear and LiliBee spent some time “feeding” the ducks… which meant that CareBear ate the stale bread while LiliBee chased the ducks around throwing bread at their little heads as hard as she could. It was quite a sight!

We also took our first trip to the park for the year. The girls had a great time climbing and sliding and swinging and chasing. LiliBee looks too little to be on the “big kids” structure, but you can’t tell her that. She has no fear of the climbing or the sliding and she’s actually really good at it. She believes that she can do anything that CareBear does, of course. They also spend a good amount of time running randomly through the field jumping on mole hills. A very good way to work off some excess energy!

Chris took the girls to the mall to waste some time while I had a doctor’s appointment and they were lucky enough to meet some actual daffodil princesses! I hear that it was very exciting. It’s too bad that most of the daffodil festival stuff is happening so close to Banjo’s arrival, I think CareBear would have a lot of fun with the parade this year.

And, of course, we spent a lot of time talking about CareBear’s birthday. She’s very excited to turn four and tells everyone she meets that her birthday is this week. It’s funny to watch her introduce herself to strangers and start telling them how old she is now, how old she will be in a few days and how old her sister is… they usually don’t know what to make of her.

My weekly OB visits continue to go well and we’re on track for Banjo to make an appearance in about 3 weeks. Banjo is an active kid who insists on stretching out, a lot (and my abdomen is about stretched to the limit!)… it will be fun to finally meet baby#3 and see what it’s like on the outside!

Big plans for this week… a 4 year old!