To-Now......

I love how everyday the kids are building up their vocabulary and working on their English grammar. Let's face it- the English language doesn't make the most sense sometimes and to listen to what the kids piece together is so funny.

Ethan likes to know when the next time is that he'll get to watch a movie. Today, tonight, tomorrow? He asks them all and then throws in his own option- "tonow"? As much as we correct him and say the word he's looking for is "now" not "tonow" he refuses to budge. Why should he? All the other descriptions of time that he knows begin with "to" why not add it to now? And don't all 3 year olds want things "tonow"?

On a sweet note. Here's a picture of Ethan & Emma that our photographer took during Emma's 9 month sitting this past Monday. He's such a great big brother!

Ethan's Last Day of School

For the last 5 months, every Monday Ethan has been going to a speech development playgroup (aka "school"). He LOVES it and every week races in to see his friends and his teachers (who he calls his "ladies" in his deep, husky voice- his teacher Mikey is in the left-hand photo). Today Ethan "graduated" from school. We exchanged phone numbers with his friend Alex whom he speaks of often. Hopefully, we'll get the two together for some playdates this summer.

My Other LIfe.....

I love being a Landscape Architect because every Client and every job is truly unique. This Spring I had the pleasure of working on the planting design for some ornamental planters for a garden wedding which is something I've never had the opportunity to do before. The mother of the bride was a lot of fun to work with. I've always thought that if I could do anything else for a living,it would be a wedding planner. This was a fun mix of the two.

On a "small world" note, a few days before the wedding I was waiting to get my hair done and starting talking with someone else who was waiting. It turns out she was the bride..... It's a small world indeed.

Food, Glorious Food

Some pictures of Emma enjoying her first Spaghetti & Meatball dinner.......

Sneezy, Sleepy, Grumpy, Dopey, Happy (& Hungry?)

Today I was only a few dwarfs away from being Snow White. I think we had moments of all but Bashful and Doc.

The kids woke up GRUMPY and were arguing over "Scene It" DVD's that they got with their kid meals last night at Wendy's. Mind you they all had a disc of their own but couldn't seem to handle each not having all 3 at one time..... After the third loud outbreak (JP handled the first 2), I rolled out of bed and took all the DVD's away.

Then the mad dash began. It was 7:30 by the time we got downstairs and we had to leave for swimming lessons by 8:45. The kids were dressed in bathing suits only (and poor Kaitlyn's was too small) because I usually put a swim diaper on them and get them dressed before we get in the car. So, at 8:15 I was running around getting towels and packing the diaper bag with clothes for after swimming (because we were going Strawberry picking with the MOMs club right after swimming). When I got back downstairs I saw that my sweet and thoughtful husband had put all the kids in the car already (without swim diapers or clothes- just in their bathing suits- and with Kaitlyn's butt hanging out). I honestly didn't know what to do because my usual system was messed up- so yes I was the DOPEY today.... I think I was walking in circles trying to figure out if we should get the kids out of the car and dress them or leave them as is.....while still trying to pull everything else together.....I was a mess. JP finally had to get away from me, and went out to the car and put on everyone's swim diapers for me but still didn't change Kaitlyn's suit or get anyone dressed. Oh well. We went as is, and survived just fine. Fortunately, Kaitlyn has a cute butt 'cause it was hangin' out all class...


Swim class itself was a challenge today. The kids were hyper and just chatted non-stop and kept creeping down the pool walls when their instructor was telling them to stay in one place. At one point, I took Kaitlyn out for a time-out because she wouldn't stop goofing off. Otherwise, they did a great job and swam on their own for a while although their instructor kept threateningto take their bubbles off and let them sink because they were being way too cawky about swimming on their own and again not listening when he told them to stay at the wall....





After class we raced to the locker room to get changed and dressed and then we were off to strawberry picking.







Ethan, Kaitlyn & Kylie had a great time picking berries- regardless of the berry's size, color or chipmunk tooth marks, everything went in their baskets. I thought I did a good job sorting through them at the field but apparently not because I threw half of the strawberries away when I went through them at home. Oh well. I just wish it took us longer to pick because after 20 minutes their baskets were full already and they were still HAPPY. Emma was getting a bit antzy in the Baby Bjorn because she was SLEEPY so we headed out.







We then drove over to one of my Client's houses so I could photograph some planters we had put together for her daughter's wedding tomorrow. I took pictures but their landscaper's were still cleaning up the yard so the backdrop wasn't too nice looking. I may try to sneak back tomorrow morning before the wedding and take a few more.

We then raced back home in anticipation of having to get Emma ready for her 9 month photo shoot after lunch but that ended up being postponed until Monday so I got a bit of a breather.

Kaitlyn spent part of the day sniffling and being SNEEZY - not too sure what was up with that but by the end of the day and after a nice long nap, she seemed just fine. While the kids were napping (or in Ethan & Kylie's case- were playing quietly in their rooms), I managed to get outside and do some much needed weeding in preparation of spreading mulch this weekend.

All in all - a crazy and exhausting day. That should explain why this post is so rambling- I'm just plain tired..... At least there wasn't any need for a DOC today. And letr's face it, the kids are anything but BASHFUL. I just consider the fact that we have 4 beautiful kids safe and sound sleeping upstairs a success.

I'll post pictures tomorrow from this crazy day including some cute ones of Emma enjoying her first spaghetti & meatball dinner. The way she inhaled her food, she could have easily filled the role of an 8th dwarf named HUNGRY.

Good night.....

Knowing one's limits.....

Last Thursday, the kids asked me on the way home from their babysitter's house who was going to watch them next week (because Meme Bean is away for a couple weeks). I jokingly said that Kaitlyn was going to watch everyone. She seemed on board with the idea and thought she could handle feeding everyone, giving the babies their bottles and changing the babies' diapers....

Last night before bed, Kaitlyn came up to me with a worried look on her face and asked me where we going tomorrow. When I said Meme Bean's, she had the saddest look on her face and said "and I'm going to be by myself to watch everyone?". I felt so bad that she took me so seriously and that 4 days later she remembered what I had joked about. I told her that of course she didn't have to watch everyone, someone else would be there and she could just have fun being her normal 3- year old self. She immediately burst into a smile and gave me a hug and kiss.

So my question is this- why do kids take you seriously when you are being sarcastic but yet ignore you when you really mean what you say- like "stop hitting your brother"..????.. One of life's many little mysteries.......

WHY?!?!?!

It's hard to understand what goes through the mind of one 3 year old- let alone 3 of them. Today after a morning of bickering and whining and arguing, I decided we needed a change of pace so I surprised the kids by setting up their indoor blow-up playhouse that they got from Uncle Steve for Christmas. They LOVE this house so I hoped that they would play happily together. Well, they did something together and they obviously had fun doing it but I just don't get it......





It took them about 5 minutes to stockpile these toys into their house- and it took me another 20 minutes during their nap this afternoon to put it all away. But you know what? Those 5 minutes without any bickering or whining or complaining made it all worthwhile :)

Food, Glorious Food......

Emma has just started taking an interest in table food over the last couple weeks. She inhales her Gerber puffs, does ok with Cheerios and loves mashed potatoes. Every time I've tried to give her meat however, she has spit it out. Today she decided that she no longer wanted to be a vegetarian and thoroughly enjoyed some ham for lunch. She couldn't eat it fast enough..... Then later this afternoon, JP climbed into Emma's play area to eat his lunch and Emma raced over to get some more ham from him.

Happy Father's Day

Today JP got one of the best presents any parent can ask for......
to sleep in! He made his grand appearance at 9:30am and was showered with "Happy Father's Day" wishes, hugs and kisses from Ethan, Kaitlyn & Kylie. Emma greeted Daddy with a big, gummy smile :)

We went out to lunch at Applebees and then drove down to a friend's house to drop Jacques off for a night with the boys. (They all went to see a RUSH concert).

On the drive down, Jacques opened all his cards and I read them to him. The kids picked their own cards out and were so excited for Daddy to see them. Kylie's card was from "Daddy's Little Princess"- complete with a little girl in a castle, Kaitlyn's card was from "Daddy's Little Girl" with pictures of a girl with a helmet riding on a skateboard and then kicking a soccer ball. Two of Kaitlyn's favorite things..... Ethan's card has a little blue dog flying in an airplane. Emma's card has a cute pair of red baby Mary-Janes on it. Ironically, Emma's feet are still too small to wear any of her cute little baby shoes so she'll just have to live vicariously through the card.....

For a gift- we are buying Daddy a family tent of his choice so we can take the kids camping later in the summer. Unfortunately, I have yet to come across one that has indoor plumbing.....

Ready or not- the kids are growing up.....

Today was a bit of a milestone for us- while Kylie was watching a Princess movie, I let Ethan & Kaitlyn play outside in the yard for the first time unattended. Mind you, although I was inside doing things, I was running out to check on them every 2 minutes and was watching for them out the window every minute.... OK- So maybe they weren't unattended but still I wasn't right there like I usually am. They played happily in their sand box and were gathering buckets of water from a wheelbarrow that had collected water from the sprinklers. It was very sweet and I was really excited for this bit of independence.

Strangely, on that same note though, tonight after their tubby (bathtime), all 3 of the kids got themselves out of the tub on their own and insisted on drying themselves off without any help from me. For some reason, this bit of independence made me really sad.... Playing outside alone-no problem! Being able to dry themselves off unassisted with a towel- a tragedy! I can't figure out why it bothered me so much but it just did.

Who's Liam?????

Last night after I tucked Kaitlyn into bed, she started talking about her friend Liam and how he was sleeping in Emma's crib so I had to be quiet. Mind you, the only Liam we know is from our Mom's club and I can guarantee he wasn't in Emma's crib......So apparently, Kaitlyn has an imaginary friend. Why she needs someone else to talk to is beyond me, but that's ok.....



This morning while we were driving around town killing time (per previous post), Kaitlyn began talking about Liam again and how he had gone home and was now busy shopping with his Mommy. Kylie, who has a fantastic imagination and can play Princess with the best of them, asked Kaitlyn who she was talking about. Kaitlyn replied "My friend Liam, he slept over last night- didn't you see him?". I looked in the rearview mirror and burst into laughter at Kylie's priceless expression. She was staring at the back of Kaitlyn's car seat with a truly perplexed look on her face, crinkled eye brow and all. Apparently Kylie can't grasp the concept of an imaginary friend and why he would be sleeping over our house.

Are we too early or really late????

Last night the thunderstorm that moved through knocked our power out just after I went to bed at 11:30pm. Of course, I slept fitfully for it to come back on so I could reset my alarm clock for work. It finally came on as I was nursing Emma a few hours later. When we finished things up, I checked JP's battery operated travel alarm clock which said 4:33. I set my clock to 4:33 and the alarm to 5:45.

The next thing I remember is waking up to daylight and looking at the clock which said 7:27---- we overslept and the alarm never went off! I nudged JP to start getting the kids dressed while I jumped into the shower. After we were all in the car, a half an hour later, I picked up my cell phone to call the babysitter to let her know we were running late. I started the engine at the same time and the car clock read 6:50am..... I just stared at it- mind you we don't leave for work until 7:30am. So now we are no longer late- we're absurdly early!

I hung up the phone quickly- good thing- because Cristi would have thought I was crazy calling so early while apologizing for being late.

We ended up running some errands to kill time. I deposited my paycheck, bought the kids a box of Munchkins to share with their friends at the babysitter's house, picked Cristi up an ice coffee and swung by Starbucks for an early Iced Chai.

We arrived at the Bean's right on time........

Lesson learned: It's a good thing that nursing a baby isn't too complicated or else Emma would be in grave trouble since I apparently have no technical ability so early in the morning.

The Incredible Shrinking Pool......

Today was another HOT day! By 3:30 the kids looked like they were melting inside (we hadn't hooked up the AC units yet) so we ventured outside and set up their kiddie pool. This pool has served them well over the last couple of years but today it looked incredibly small. The kids didn't seem to notice and had a great time. Even Emma took a little dip (yes, she's still dressed- the kids couldn't wait to get outside so I never got around to putting her in a bathing suit).

Ice, Ice, Baby!

Today was a hot day and after spending a short time outside with us as we were doing yardwork, Emma needed to chill off. She LOVED chewing on an ice pop although she wasn't too sure at first since I'm always telling her to take things out of her mouth ;)

Playing in the Dirt.....

My project this Spring has been to design our Side Garden- the area around the walkway that leads into the Family Room. Last year, JP and his Dad put up a 4' picket fence around part of the yard to help contain the munchkins. JP also worked for many weekends building the kids' play area- a big peastone area with a playset and sand box.

Now I'm beautifying the area! :) I've been buying plants over the last week to fill in the area but needed some loam to make some raised beds along the fence. Yesterday, 5 yds of loam were dropped outside the fence and today in the 90 degree heat, I shoveled, or rather threw, at least 3 yds of the loam over the fence since it seemed easier than shoveling it all into the wheelbarrow and then hauling it around the planting bed. I'm sure I won't be able to move my shoulder tomorrow but it was worth it because the area looks great. Tomorrow I just need to dig out some more hostas, plant a few more shrubs and buy some annuals to fill in some gaps. If anyone needs Hostas- just let me know! We have more than enough to give away.

And of course, Ethan was a big help as usual- our little landscaper in training :)

Emma's New Earings

This morning we went out to breakfast and then headed to the mall to get Emma's ears pierced. She was amazing- she didn't even flinch when her left ear was pierced and then just cried for less than a minute after the second ear was done. She looks beautiful with her new sparklies!

Little Fishies.....

Since the kids were babies, they have LOVED to "swim"- or rather have Mommy & Daddy float around a pool with them in our arms. Last summer, they started to bob on their own with swim floaties but we were never more than an arms reach away. This year, we decided it was time to put them in swimming lessons.

Their first class was last Friday and of course they had a blast and couldn't wait to go back again yesterday. Last week, they practiced kicking, paddling and floating. Yesterday they got to jump into the water and go under the water. They did great!