Lost Time

After a trimester of what I would consider pure h-e-double hockey sticks (too dramatic?), I am finally getting ME back.  My sense of motivation has returned, along with a realization of everything that should have or needs to get done.  When I realized that there were only three more weeks left of summer vacation, I felt like it was my motherly duty to make up for lost time.  In contrast with the past couple of months, each simple moment has felt much sweeter...

A picnic in the park.

Cheesy orange fingers.

A proud tree-climber.

A hot day at the fair with my favorite people.

Building up her immunity. (Lovely.)

Sisters who adore one another.

Big imaginations.

Playing outside before sunset on a perfect Sunday evening.

 That big smile as Ava learns something new.  

 A family camp-out in the backyard.

That's more like it.

Even Caje was invited.

Pizza delivery.

More pictures of my kids eating.

 A friendly pillow fight.

A cozy campfire.  And an impromptu guitar serenade with silly personalized lyrics.

Fuzzy slippers on a sweet baby, who I may never stop referring to as my baby.

                  

I hope my kids can now look back on this summer and remember a few enjoyable, albeit condensed, moments spent together.      

School starts tomorrow and I can't wait to get up early and make Ava's first school lunch.  (Seriously, I have been anticipating this.)  I have a pretty amazing mom who I'm trying to portray, which means my kids can expect notes in their lunch bags, pancakes in shapes, picking outfits in advance, and books before bedtime.

I really dig this mom stuff. 

      

Human Again

So the word is officially out that I am pregnant with our 4th baby, who is due on Valentine's Day. (Please don't come on your due date, baby!) We are not afraid to admit that we want a boy this time, although we are fully expecting to discover that another sister is in the works.

What started as a summer full of motivation to sand and paint, create, and organize turned into a summer of laying around, nausea, exhaustion, and more television watching than I can stand. I'm sure I begged Carlos more than once to just put me into a coma for a month.

I've felt like a marionette abandoned by my puppeteer and plagued with bouts of nausea and the occasional dry heaves. I've felt like a terrible mother, giving my three girls little to no attention. I've felt like a lunatic for forbidding the use of the oven, as the smell of cooking can send me over the edge. And now as I enter the second trimester, I'm just looking forward to feeling like myself again...and maybe getting my hair done.

Carlos has been a trooper. He has accommodated me and all of my strange requests, and tried to keep the kids entertained. He even took the girls to Portland for a weekend so I could have some quiet time. Or more likely to get a break from his crazy wife. Either way, he took the camera with him, giving me at least one moment to document this summer.

Ava recently started playing her violin at our local Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings. It's a fun way for her to get her practice in. Plus, she thought it would be neat to make a few bucks...and a few bucks she did make. After only four weeks, she is nearly halfway to her goal of buying her own iPad. (She upgraded her goal after seeing how successful she's been.) Oh, to be 6 and adorable again.

Carlos brought her to the Portland
Farmer's Market while they were in town.

This is intense concentration, people!
(We're working on a look that's a little less fierce.)

Classic Ellia.  Happiest girl I know.

The Portland Zoo.
Keep in mind that I was not around to perform hair duties.

A lion.  (You're welcome.)

I'm sad that I had to miss out, but I have to admit that I thoroughly enjoyed my weekend free from all responsibility.  Except, of course, for the demands of pregnancy, which required me to feel sick, go to bed early, and fall asleep watching old episodes of Family Feud.


I am so ready to feel human again!!!

Dad

Here's a quick post for my husband in honor of Father's Day.


Let me share three non-traditional reasons that Carlos is an excellent father.  Make that, dad.


1.  He allows the girls to refer to him as "Mr. Mermaid Washer."


Mr. Mermaid Washer comes to the rescue when Mom needs a little help bathing her children, who often turn into mermaids when they enter a bathtub.

I seem to be short on bath photos.
Here's an oldie, but goodie of chunky little Fi:
Mermaid in training.  

2.  He makes waffles in the shape of butterflies.


Carlos is big on food presentation.  Heck, he can even make macaroni & cheese or a peanut butter & jelly sandwich look gourmet.  (Both are crowd pleasers at our house.)

3.  He uses voices when he reads to the kids.


I have found that he does an especially good Scarlet Monster, Leonardo the Terrible Monster, and Elmo.  Catching a trend?

This is where I would insert a photo of Carlos with the girls, but since he is currently in the middle of a Father's Day nap, this drawing of him made by Ava will have to do.

Carlos, your daughters and I thank you for all the little things you do.  (And the big things too.)  We love you!

No Rest For the Weary

This is what the past several weeks of my existence looked like:

I would be completely lost without my calendars, both the
one on my refrigerator and the one that comes with me everywhere,
sending alerts to remind me when I need to be somewhere.
Thank you, technology!!

It's entirely possible that May 2012 (along with the first week of June) has been the busiest month I have experienced since I became a mother.  See that block of emptiness that follows June 9?  I had been anxiously awaiting it, and it's finally here!  Can I get a hallelujah!?


Here's some of the reasons I was running around like a crazy person:


· T-Ball ·
Ava decided she'd play t-ball again this year.  I was extremely surprised that she didn't complain once throughout the whole season, having quit a previous year because she was too cold.  I, however, can completely understand because, as is the case every year, t-ball game days are ALWAYS cold, wet and/or windy.  (It must be a curse.)  Which is why this year I watched most of her games from the comfort of my car.  I suffered some degree of guilt for doing this, but apparently not so much that I was compelled to sit outside in the cold with her.  Meanwhile, Fiona spent the hour crawling all over me while adjusting the settings on my lights/radio/air conditioning.

Don't let their team name fool you.

Goofballs!

· Violin ·
Ava was also busy with her violin this month.  Along with her recital, she earned a spot in her school's talent show.  On both occasions we attempted to record her performance, and on both occasions we experienced technical difficulties.  Brilliant.  On a side note, she is now practicing her violin daily without any reminders or complaining.  I'm sure bribery had nothing to do with it.  

Notice that this photo was taken at neither a recital nor a
talent show, but it is definitely  Ava playing her violin.
(She's serenading Ellia with the "Happy Birthday" song.)

· Subbing ·
I had a lot of opportunities to sub in May.  Teaching preschoolers and kindergartners is a lot like being a mom.  The lack of listening.  The consistent whining and tattling.  The boogery noses.  And the fact that in spite of all of this, the kids really grow on you.  I feel right at home in the classroom.


· Preschool ·
Ellia finished up her first year at preschool and her class put on an adorable program, "We Love America!"  She is a natural performer.  Not once was she distracted by, say, her star necklace with a penny taped to it.  Not Ellia.

"Dinah, blow your horn!"

Miss Heather & Miss Lori, who haven't seen the
last of us.

· Dance ·
Dance recital time is always hectic, especially now that I have another dancer in the house.  Lots of costume changes.  Lots of practicing.  Lots of hairspray.  And lots of relief when it's all over.  They both did a great job, and what they lack in skill, they make up for in cuteness.  Let's just hope they don't take after their mother, who is possibly the world's worst dancer, next to Elaine from Seinfeld.

The end of the girls' dance recital marked the beginning of my Summer of Freedom, which I have just dubbed it.  And by freedom I only mean lack of schedules.  I realize that I can never escape the constant demands of my three lovely children.


I have set a goal to work on my bajillions of unfinished projects this summer.  So far, so good.  I'll be posting my progress in future blogs.  I'm sure you'll be waiting with anticipation.  (There really does need to be a font for sarcasm.)


I also have a goal of making a tank of gas last longer than a week.  Prospects are looking good.