Invented words

Maya just came into the kitchen and exclaimed, "momma! Ryleigh is just screamin' at me and she bein' a real mean meany-ac!". As sorry as I was that Maya had her feelings hurt, I couldn't help but laugh at her word after she walked away. I think may start using that.

We Promised

Will and I promised the girls that if they went to bed nicely and on time all week, that they could stay up until midnight tonight. They did, so now we are looking at a rather late bedtime. They have requested donuts and fizzy water (seltzer) to celebrate the new year. I have no doubt that Lilly will make it, I am fairly sure Allie will make it, and I am certain that Maya will be asleep by 9:30 at the latest. I am not sure if I can stay awake that long, so maybe that will be Will's job. Happy New year!

Another big step

We have reached a major milestone at our house. We have gone from having the playroom downstairs (which also means toys that were constantly streaming into all other downstairs rooms) to having it upstairs, and therefore, no more downstairs toy takeover. We set up our former playroom as a quiet room for games, reading, and general relaxing. There is no television, but there is a fireplace that is working for the first time since we moved in five and a half years ago. We bought ourselves some new furniture, and it turned into our favorite room. The girls love it in here because it means family game days, and Will and I love it because it is comfy and calm. It is so nice to have a downstairs that doesn't look like a toy factory exploded. It is amazing how such a simple switch makes such a difference. Now the upstairs...

I guessed Lilly, 5:24

I was wrong. Lilly woke up at 5:13. We went to sleep just before 1:00. The rule at our house is that you cannot wake your sisters up (they have all been sick and sleep trumps Christmas early morning this year) but you can open your stocking while you wait. So Lilly has opened a few stocking gifts and now we are watching Lazy Town waiting for the others to wake up. Lilly looked down our stairs into the living room and said, excitedly "he sure did come alright! There is a bridge of presents across the livingroom!". I cannot wait for Allie and Maya to wake up! It is 5:41 now... Merry Christmas!

Birthday Cakes

I completely forgot to post pictures of the cakes I made for Lilly and Allie for their birthdays this year.  Yes, they were in September, the party was a halloween party, so I guess I am not that late...  Allie wanted a butterfly cake with rainbows inside, so I made her butterflies out of royal icing, and the actual cake with enough food coloring to power a small nation (if you could power a nation with food coloring).  Lilly wanted a half chocolate, half vanilla cake, but not marble, and not alternating layers, actually half of the cake chocolate (including the frosting which was chocolate and vanilla whipped cream) and half vanilla.  They came out pretty well, but I was especially happy with how the butterflies came out.

All wrapped up

Allie is beside herself with joy. She has chosen the perfect gift for me for Christmas, which is odd considering that she hasn't left the house in a week. She wrapped it up all by herself, beautifully I might add. She decorated the package and presented it to me this morning. She pleaded with me to open it then and there, much like I have been doing with my own mother for the better part of December (I cannot wait for her to open it!) And much like my own Mother I told her I would open it Christmas morning. She begrudgingly agreed. My Mother, who had been with Allie during the wrapping, and who had provided the box, pulled me aside after Allie had left the room and said, "I won't tell you what's in there, but if you happen to be looking for your black heels...". Sweet! I love those shoes.

Sick

The girls have not been to school since Monday,there has been puking and coughing and crying, oh my. Oh, and we've been up since 2:30 am, when Maya who had a fever of about 103 was hallucinating that there was a swarm of bees in the corner of her room. Fun times. I hope this is over soon.

With a knickers nack paddy whack...

Apparently according to Allie,
"this old man, he played six, he played knick nack on my ticks...this old man he played seven, he played knick nack on my Kevin...this old man, he played nine, he played knick na k on my spine..."
That old man's got issues, and the singer sounds like she may have some as well...

Gingerbread houses

Lilly: making (decorating) gingerbread houses is hard because you need skills!

Love that kid, and you know, the baking the gingerbread from scratch was a breeze!

A very true thing (around here anyway)

Will quit drinking a little over a year ago.  This has been an amazing thing for us.  To mark the anniversary, Lilly made him this card.  I love her.  And him.  They are both quite something.

I thought we lived in New England

Today, December 3rd 2009, we went to the beach. We had a picnic, played in the sand, and ran around. It was pure bliss. The time and temperature clock read 68 degrees. I will try to remember this when it is snowing in April.

Proud

So there is an app on the iPhone that makes it look like Santa is calling on the phone. Will had it ring after dinner tonight and "talked" to Santa about how the girls are doing. It was very cute and sweet. A few minutes later he had it ring again. The call went like this;
Will:Santa? Yes, they are still here. You have a question for them? Oh! You have three zhu zhu pets? Oh... Okay, let me ask them. Hey, guys? Santa says that he has three zhu zhu pets, but that there are three little kids who aren't going to get anything for Christmas and didn't know if you would want him to give them to them or to save them for you.
Lilly: you gan give them mine...
Allie: they can have mine!
Maya: mine, you can give 'em mine.
Will: Santa, they all said to go ahead and give them to those little
kids. Yes, we are very proud of them, too. Thanks for calling, bye.

Seriously?! My girls who have been pining for these damned mechanical hamsters think they gave them up to kids with no gifts? I am so proud I may burst. Christmas is in the air.

Mechanical hamsters attained!

That is all.

A super yummy healthy breakfast

I was late coming home from the gym this morning,due to my trip to Target for those damn machanical hamsters,(still nothing) plus we are down to near nothing that I usually eat in the morning, so I was forced to improvise. I have been on a health and fitness quest for almost a year, have lost a bunch of weight, and am in pretty great shape, and am eating great, so I have a little routine with my eating. I usually have an eggwhite burrito an some cottage cheese. We were out of both. I decided to make oatmeal, which I usually put apples and almonds in, but again we were out, so I put in a bit of natural peanut butter, sugar free strawberry jam, and a banana, and mixed it up. It was like the most delicious PB&J ever. It may sound weird, but I am definitely having it again tomorrow. Plus it kept me full for four hours, a definite bonus.

Christmas movies for kids

We spent the weekend laying low, trying to avoid the germs that mass crowds bring. Will thought it would be fun to bring the kids to see Santa at the mall which I quickly shot down due to my slight phobia of the germiest places. He was disappointed and also thinks I am slightly neurotic, but went along with my craziness (I am assuming to keep the peace). So we spent all of the raniest Saturday ever on the couch watching National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and A Christmas Story (Allie cringed when Flick went to stick his tongue on the pole, remembering all too well her experience with the fence
last winter). The clear winner was Chevy Chase, and I think we watched it four times that day. The girls are running around the house singing hip hip hooray for Christmas vacaaaaaation! I'm not sure it was the best choice for them, but it gave us all a much needed day of rest.
Oh, still not a mechanical hamster to be found...

Well, that's really the Christmas spirit, rotten toy company...

So I am standing in front of our local Target, waiting for it to open because o heard a rumor that they are getting a shipment of Zhu Zhu pets today. These are little fake hamsters that interact and are unfortunately the hot item for Christmas this year. Now I have several problems with this whole situation. First, I would never normally be standing here, participating on this insanity, but my girls have been asking for these fuzzy creatures for months. Seriously. I just thought they would get them for Christmas, having been made to wait would make ot that much sweeter, right? Well now we find out that the company has created an intentional shortage to drive the price up ( they are seven dollars if you can find them on stores, but are going for as much as 100 on line). What kind of holiday spirit is this? It makes me so mad that I don't even want to but any, just boycott the whole thong on principle, but then Will reminds me how totally thrilled the girls will be if we can actually find them some fake hamsters, and it makes it worth the aggrivation. I am buying extra if I can find them and we are doing the salvation army toy tree with them, because you know those kids don't have someone freezing in a line somewhere. I think of how happy they will be if I can make this happen for them. So hopefully I will be able to get some in here because I refuse to go on eBay. I really don't love this whole process, but if I can get some, it will be worth it. You can bet though, that those things will be from us, not Santa.

H1N1 School Clinic

So there was an H1N1 and seasonal flu shot clinic at the girl's school today.  I volunteered to be a holder.  A holder is the person who holds the children (who in some cases are freaking out) who aren't lucky enough to have parents who could attend.  So for the most part it went fine, but I had one boy (who was in 4th grade!) who jumped JUMPED off my lap, out of my arms with the needles in his arms. He totally faked us out with his calm demeanor, and then let us have it. Needless to say he got a redo.  Dude, it would have been so much better to just sit still.  All in all, the older the kids, the more they freaked, but in general they were very brave.  So now, two of my girls are vaccinated, and one is not.  You could only get the vaccine if you attend the school, so for now Maya is out of luck, but hopefully the germiest germ carriers are taken care of, so hopefully we are safe for a while.

We Lost

The right to marry between gay and lesbian couples has been overturned.  I am ashamed of the people of Maine today, and am so sorry for our friends and family that this will hurt.  It is a sad day for all of us when happiness is denied. I wanted my girls to live in a better world, where everyone has the same rights. Crap.

No on 1

Today is voting day.  Here in Maine, we have the option to vote to overturn the right that we have given to gay and lesbian couples to marry.  This is question 1.  No on 1 would uphold the right, yes on one would take away a right.  I think a yes vote is rotten, mean, and unfair.  I believe that all people should have the right to love and marry who they want to.  I feel that taking rights and happiness away from people is unkind and unnecessary.  I think of my girls and all they have ahead of them in their lives and hope that if any of them do fall in love with a woman, they have the opportunity to marry, love, and live in the same way they would if they fell in love with a man, and to be proud of that.   I took Maya with me to the polls this morning, and we have been talking for a while about how everyone should have the same choices and opportunities, so when we got there, I explained what we were about to do.  Maya said, "right, Momma, we want everybody to be able to love everyone, and be happy, right?  And, Momma, it's okay for girls to love girls and boys to love boys like you and Daddy do, right?"  So I told her that she was right that everyone should be allowed to make their own choices and live how they felt was best for them, because we are all the same.  She said, "why some people want to make some people not be happy?"  I didn't have a good answer for that so I just told her that hopefully, after today everyone would get to be happy and equal.

Our new favorite fall recipe

I found this idea on Bakerella's site, and changed the filling recipe and the size, but it was definitely from her idea.  On her site, she used mini muffin pans, but I used a regular muffin pan, thinking that that more closely matched the size of a slice of pie.  These are so delicious, and they can be customized with whatever design you like.  Will actually asked for these for his birthday, and I made an extra batch for him to take to work.  He likes to bring sweets, but doesn't really bake at all so that means I get to make new stuff and don't have to eat much of it (my butt likes that arrangement) although I would like to consume it all.  The recipe as I have made it is as follows:

1 can pumpkin  (not pumpkin pie filling)

3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

half teaspoon salt

1.5 Tablespoons melted butter

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

1 cup skim milk

one half cup half and half or cream

1 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons molasses

2 eggs beaten

2 crust pie crust, either from scratch or the roll out kind found by the refrigerated cookie dough.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Mix together all dry ingredients, and whisk around to break up any chunks.  You could also sift, but I never take the time to do that and it comes out just fine.  Add in each of the wet ingredients, starting with the pumpkin.  Mix well, and scrape the sides of the bowl several times.  Using a large cup ( the one I used was 4 inches across), or cookie cutter cut out 12 circles, one at a time.  You will need to stretch it out a tiny bit, and then put it in the muffin cup, being sure it reached the top of each cup. Push together the extra dough and squeeze it into a stem shape.  (They shrink up a bit, so make them a little bigger than you think they should be)  Pour the pie mixture into each muffin cup, filling slightly shy of the top.  They will puff up in the oven, so be sure to leave enough room at the top when pouring, or the filling will spill over making it very hard to remove the finished product.  Carefully place the muffin tin in the oven.  Cook at 450 for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 for approximately 20 more minutes, or until the tops look set.  Allow to cool completely.  If you want to add the cute faces, all you need is some semi sweet or any other kind you like and a bit of vegetable oil.  Melt the chips in the microwave in 20 second increments.  When completely melted, add a few drops of the oil and mix until smooth.  Pour into a zip loc bag and snip a tiny tip off, and decorate as you wish.  These are delicious.  This recipe will make 12 - 14 muffin size, or 24-28 mini muffin size treats!

Where's Waldo?

A weekend away

Will and I went to a the wedding of two of our very good friends, Melissa and Jamie this weekend.  The wedding was in North Conway, New Hampshire so shopping was plentiful!  We actually stayed overnight, thanks to my Mom and Dad offering to keep the girls.  Now, I have to admit, we have not been away overnight since before Maya was born. Pitiful.  We have decided that we are going to do the night away thing much more often.  We missed the kids, but knew they were having a blast with Nana and Grandpa.  We had such a great time.  The wedding was great.  Melissa looked gorgeous, and Jamie looked like he was going to burst when he saw her walk in.  The reception was a blast and the centerpieces were really cool.  There was a fifties-ish candy shop table with wedding color candy, such a cool idea.  So, we are so happy for our friends, and will definitely go away again soon.

From her first word to speaking like a grown up

My Lilly is growing up faster than I care to admit. Her spelling words at school are things like agriculture and cultivated, she has the inflection and intonation of a kid twice her age(though thankfully not the attitude) and today used the word devious properly in a sentence. As in, "mommy, now Elowen has another devious plan. She decided it would be a good idea to draw on the horses to decorate them." Elowen is a friend from Allie'sclass who makes some interesting choices. She was scheduled to come over yesterday, but took it upon herself to cut bangs in her own hair at school, therefore forefiting her right to a playdate. Her Mom doesn't fool around, which I like, but it truly broke poor Allie's heart, which in turn broke mine. We are over it now, but yesterday was rough. Elowen and Allie have been playing all afternoon. They have done play doh, painting, necklace making, snacking, sidewalk chalk drawing, horse decorating (deviously), dressing up, and dancing. I think they are trying to make up for yesterday. I have a feeling they are going to be very good friends for a long time, as Allie has her fair share of sneaky shady plans, too. So to recap, Lilly is growing at breakneck speed, Yesterday sucked, and everything is fine now. I am sure things are going to get more interesting as time goes on.

My Dad the Marathon Runner

My Dad is amazing for more reasons than I can list. He is the best Grandpa to the girls, a wonderful father to me, a super husband to my Mom, and a fierce lobbyist, fighting for the rights and issues that effect older Americans. He is definitely a person you want on your side. There are not enough good things to say about this man. He started running for health as an adult, and it has become somewhat of a passion for him. Every year he runs the Chicago marathon. This past weekend was his tenth race, and as it turns out, he beat his best time by over twenty minutes! I am so proud of him for his dedication to a very difficult sport while doing such an admirable job at everything else in his life. Congratulations, Dad on a great race, and thanks for everything you have taught me. I love you.

Allie the pack mule

Upon hearing that she needed to pick up all of the clothes from the floor of the room she shares with her two sisters, Allie proceeded to bend her body at a Ninety degree angle, so her back was parallel to the floor, and load all of the dirty clothes onto her back, making her way across the room and adding more clothes as she came across them. I very nearly peed my pants watching the whole thing transpire. You gotta give the girl props for her creativity!

Funny

We went to see cloudy with a chance of meatballs in IMAX 3d today. We all sat there wearing these giant blublocker type glasses, flinching as things came whirling toward us. Maya and Allie couldn't help reaching out to try and catch things that appeared to be coming our way. Maya kept saying,"momma, they are out of the screen now?" and I would lift her glasses so she could see that everyone was still on the screen where they belonged. It was a great time, I can't wait to see Harry potter that way!

Strangeness

This week finds me saying an abnormal number of strange things such as,"please don't run with salami" and "no, you may not ride the dog." sometimes it feels more cartoony than human around here, especially with all of the dressing up and crazy talk, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Lilly's birthday and both of her first days of school, plus a huge parental lightbulb

So this post is way late, but finally I have the time. Lilly turned seven (!) on September 5th. She had a great day, and has become quite a kid. I don't exactly know when that happened, one day she was a tiny peanut and today, an amazingly long, athletic half grown human. She continues to be perhaps the most giving child I have ever met. She is always helping her sisters (and friends) to understand things, she reads to them every day, and lets them sleep in her bed when they are frightened of things and does it all genuinely, with no thought of what she could get by doing it. I am so proud of her and her sweet self.

When Lilly was in kindergarten, she went to a close by neighborhood school. She really liked it, but was not challenged academically at all. She was one of two kids in her class who could read, and she had met all of her kindergarten goals by November. Her teacher used her as more of a helper, rather than help her further her own learning. That was okay, but we wanted more for her. We found this program in another public school in our town that was supposed to be amazing. It was all child led learning, hands on etc. Lilly hated it. Hated it. She didn't want to go, she did not like most of the kids, said they were bossy, did not like anything about it there. I will admit, the energy there was tense. I never really felt super comfortable there, either, but sort of dismissed it (big mistake). So nothing terrible ever happened, but it just wasn't a great fit. I just figured she was having a hard time transitioning, and that it would get better. She would be sad at the end of the day, and not be happy to go in the morning. When school got out, she became happier. I thought the summer would change something, but as school approached, she started getting antsy. On the first day, there was no excitement, no looking forward to seeing everyone. Nothing. Will picked her up after school and said she was miserable. It was at that point that a light bulb went off in my head. I guess it was more like someone slapped me in the side of the face. I asked her if she wanted to go back to her old school, and she said yes with such emphasis that I was shocked. Why did it take me so long to figure this out? I have no idea. I think I was blinded by what that program was supposed to be, not what it was. We weighed our options, better academics (by how much we couldn't be completely sure) but an unhappy child, versus a happy kid with little challenge in class. We decided it was so much better to have a happy, comfortable kid who was bored in school than a miserable kid who was challenged academically. I decided that if she wasn't challenged in her new (old) school I would pick up the slack myself and actually put my teaching degree to work. Lilly went to her second first day of school at her new (old) school and came home a different kid. She was happy, all the tension had drained from her body, and she was her old (old) self. I finally realized what she needed, and fixed it for her. I feel so badly that it took me so long to realize something that was so simple to see. I am trying to do my best as a Mom, and think this has really made me realize that I have to trust myself and my kids more that anything that is supposed to be good. It was one of the best realizations I have ever had.

Allie's 5th Birthday

Five years ago at 6:59 am, Allie was born. The day was gorgeous, and the sky was the same bright blue as her eyes. Those eyes haven't changed one bit since that day. Allie, you are a wonderfully caring, exceptionally sweet little girl who adores princesses, ballet shoes and wrestling. I think that range of things will serve you well in the coming years. You are sensitive and kind and ultra focused on whatever you happen to be doing at the moment. You are starting kindergarten next week, and cannot wait to start learning things there. Today you received a bike from Nana and Grandpa and you spent a good portion of the day riding it everywhere you could. Before we left the house, you insisted that you pack your own band aids in your bike's pack, just in case there were any injuries. I guess you knew you would wipe out, because you took a corner a bit too fast and the whole thing tipped over. You jumped up, looked at your bloody knee and exclaimed, "it's a good thing I've got band aids!" you got over it quickly, but didn't want to get back on the bike. I insisted you get on a ride a bit longer, and you became confident after about two minutes, and then I couldn't get you away from it. I am so proud of the person you are becoming. I love you very much and can't wait to see what the next year holds for you.

My Wife

My wife has no idea I am writing this. She thinks I am taking a nap. I just wanted to write about this tremendous woman. I met her in college as a friend and if I was smart I would have married her then. We were really good friends until a stupid little fight (she doesn't remember). I enlisted in the Army shortly after graduating and after an overseas deployment I made a one phone call to her. She did not answer but saved the message. After that we were inseparable for the rest of my stay at home. I kept pushing back the drive time to leave to spend more time together. We walked around a supermarket holding hands for hours. One market all night. She racked up a 900 dollar phone bill calling me at Ft. Campbell KY. I invited her up months later and soon I asked her to be my wife. Since then she has been the best life mate, partner, friend I could ask for. She is always there. Some people say this but you have to know my wife to get it. She is always there for me. There is no problem she cannot solve. No bad situation that she cannot make good. She has been there for me when my mother passed from Cancer. My beautiful wife would drive 3 hours up and back to take my mother to Chemo. From Maine to RI she would do this. She was there for me when I finally faced my alcoholism and saved me. She saved me from becoming everything I never wanted to be and pushed me into everything I did. When I lost my father I lost part of myself. He, next to my wife and children, was the closest person to me. I adored my father and when I watched him die in my arms my world flew apart. It was because of my wife that I went back from Maine to RI to see him one night after just pulling into our driveway. She said go back we will be fine. Think of him now I will be here. I went back and he died in my arms minutes after walking through the door. She helped me fight back the urge to drink got me to face my demons and confront my grief. She was there for me. She is the most caring, attentive and affectionate mother I have ever seen. She spent one solid month in the hospital with our youngest, sweet Maya and never left her side. Never left her side. She is our rock and foundation. I take my lead from her as a parent and as a person. The children worship her as do most of her friends kids. She always does something with them. She never tires. She is quick to teach them life lessons from every day adventures. They all excel because of her. She is the best role model a child could ask for. If you have not had the privilege of being my wife's friend you are missing out. As much for them as for me she has been a constant source of support and guidance. Always providing advice, comfort and a safe place to leave their children when a night out is needed. She takes no time for herself and still manages to light up every room she walks into. My beautiful Italian Princess. She gave me three beautiful children, two fantastic in-laws and she gave me my life back. I exist because of her and for her. She is my wife and I love her. Just thought you should know.

School starts next week...

So we have been doing lots of this,

and this,

and this,

and this,

and this.

We are trying to soak up all of the summer we can, while we still have time. It is so much fun, we will mourn it when it is gone.

Wedding Day

My best, longest known, growing up together friend got married this weekend. It was the most gorgeous wedding I have ever been to. All three of the kids were flower girls were in it, and I was one of the four bridesmaids. We had so much fun. There were six flower girls in all. They all had wreaths of flowers on their heads, and beautiful baskets of wild flowers to drop. The weather was amazing, about 80 degrees, and a wonderful afternoon sea breeze to keep up cool. There was so much. There was dancing, her Dad drove her to the aisle in a horse drawn (her horse that she has had since she was about twelve), there were sweet stories told, and many happy tears shed. At the end of the night, we set off these rice paper lanterns that we all wrote good wishes on. You light this fuel pad at the bottom of the lantern, and the heat from the flame fills the lantern, like a hot air balloon and it floats up into the sky. After a few minutes, and much height, it burns out and turns to ash. Seriously the coolest sight. I am so happy for her and know that she will have such a happy, wonderful life with J. I feel like I have so much to say about the whole experience, but can't find the words.

Fishing

We went fishing for the first time this year. Actually, it is only the second time the girls have ever been fishing. They liked it a lot, despite all of the waiting. Allie was the only one to catch anything, and that wasn't a fish, but it was a pretty big crab. He held on all the way up while she was reeling him in. She was so excited and proud, although not excited enough to hold him. He was a little to pinchy for her liking. The girls have already requested another trip, and we are happy to go. Hopefully the fish will be biting next time.

Allie's Quote of the day

"You know, if you think you can make a really quiet sound, you can also make it very loud."
Sort of deep if you want to delve into it that way...

Potions Class

All of my girls are in love with all things Harry Potter. They love the magic, the characters, and the story line. We have read the books and they have seen all but the newest movie. This has not been a waning interest. I think it has been three or four years, which for little ones is a really long time it seems to me. I figured it would pass, but it really hasn't. They use markers for wands, have been Harry and Hermione for Halloween a few times, and are forever shouting spells at fairly regular intervals. Will decided that they should have potions classes when he gets home from work every day. Needless to say, this is their favorite activity of the day. A few days ago, he brought home flying turtle eggs (dry ice) and goblin's blood (green food coloring). He had previously bought cauldrons (black salsa bowls) for each of them. He put the turtle eggs and water into the bowl and had the girls add the goblin's blood. The looks on their faces were priceless. They had so much fun, and I think Will was just as excited as they were.

Maya age 3 years, 2 months

It is rare that I get a picture of Maya in all her sweetness and herself-ness (the non-crazy-silly-wild part). Usually, they are like this...

or this...or this...

So I was thrilled this afternoon when I got this sweet, true representation of her (even though the background is less than desirable). Although the other pictures are equally her, I love the expression on her face in this one (and all the others too).

Best Buds

These two have been friends since they were three and four months old. They are inseparable and play and fight like sisters. I am not sure what will happen when they have to go to different schools in two years...I guess we have a while to figure it out.

Comparison Photos

Here are the girls three years ago. Lilly was three and a half, Allie was one and a half, and Maya was six weeks old. Now they are four and a half, six and a half and three. Holy time flies, Batman!

Yesterday...Today

Amia Grace Kennedy born today, July 17th at 4:22 am. Eight pounds 10 ounces, 20.5 inches. Beautiful, healthy, sweet, absolutely perfect. To my friend Sarah and her husband Chris. Welcome baby. We did belly pics yesterday, thankfully. She arrived four hours after her due date and we think she is a very considerate baby. Sarah was amazing and they are both doing great!

We seem to have turned a corner

The weather has been super sunny for the past week. What a welcome change it has been. We have been spending every waking moment at the beach, so today we decided to take a break and stay home. Tomorrow, though, we are right back at it. My girls have all become expert crab catchers and sand castle builders, and I have found that the best arm workout ever is to dig out a giant moat around the castle. It's a win win situation. The girls get an awesome moat, and my arms get to shape up! Seriously, though it has been such a wonderful time at the beach. The kids are all old enough now that I don't worry as much about everything beach related, and the kids all have so much energy that they can take a full day at the beach and enjoy every minute of it. We did encounter a rather bold sea gull last week. He swooped down and whacked me with his wing and stole half of Allie's sandwich. He flew off and swallowed it whole, his neck was giant. I secretly hoped he would choke on it, but he didn't, and then he came back for more. The girls have become quite good at eating hunched over their lunches so the birds don't spy it. This summer is turning out to be a lot of fun. I hope the rain stays away for a while.

Sun! Finally. And the 4th of July.

We have had four gorgeous, rain free days here! Everyone is in a much better mood. We spent the day today at the beach, and I forgot to sunscreen my lower legs, so I ended up with bright red shins. Well, bright red all over except for the child sized hand print across my right shin. Apparently one of the girls touched my leg right after I sun screened her and that left me with one protected spot. It looks pretty funny. We had a great time on the 4th. The kids loved the fireworks, but the sparklers were by far their favorite thing. We all stayed up late and than everyone slept in in the morning. We slept until 8:00, which is unheard of over here, and definitely a welcome side effect from the night before.

Oh look! It's still raining.

Still. Raining. Still. What? I don't think I live in the rain forest, or Seattle, or at the bottom of the sea, but maybe I will check again. We are in long sleeves, pants and actual shoes, not sandals. We broke the record yesterday for lowest high ever recorded on that date. 59. FIFTY NINE. On JULY 1st.
Help.

Maya's Cabinet Inventory

Maya was standing on a chair "helping" me put away the dishes, and announcing everything that was in there. "Mommy, here's your cup, and my bowl, and Daddy's cup, and here's a plate, and this is a dead chicken, and here is a tiny cup..." What? I asked her to show me the dead chicken. She held up a piece of ginger root that was in there. I knew it was there, that's where I keep it. Maya, however knows nothing of ginger root, and just assumed (why on earth I will never know) it was a dead chicken, but was less than alarmed by it. Hmmmm Maybe that kid needs more to worry about.

I'm all about glass half full, but mine is overflowing...with all of this RAIN!

The rain won't stop. I am running out of things to do with all of these children. We had a half of a sunny day on Saturday, then right back in the soup. I think Mother Nature didn't get the memo. It's almost JULY you bitch...send me some sun!

Outtakes from last night when the girls were up way too late

For some reason, the girls were not all about bedtime last night. Usually we nip that right in the bud because Will and I like our time together in the evenings (and hey, they need their sleep). Last night, however they were being extra cute and funny and were just a joy to be around in general. We sort of pretended to get them to go to bed, but then invited them out on the porch with us. I had the camera out there, and we went a little crazy with the photos. The one in my header pretty much accurately describes our life on a daily basis. I think I will send it as our Christmas card this year. I kid, it is much too early for that photo! So here are some pretty funny shots, none are good from a photography stand point, but the fun time we had makes them perfect to me. We had such a blast, and they slept in this morning, so I guess we all won.