Abandoned Blog

Wow. I had no idea it's been *this* long since I updated this thing! No one has really mentioned it(besides my mom) so it was easy to forget. Once you lose steam, it's hard to know where to jump back in again. My work schedule shifted dramatically with the end of preschool in June, but that doesn't mean I'm not busy. I tend to fill Dan's days off with work, so family-days have gone by the wayside. Combine that with a sticky home situation and you have the recipe for an abandoned blog. I *do* have plenty of photos to upload, so if anyone actually reads this thing that doesn't see the pictures first on Facebook, you can look forward to an onslaught of activity in the coming week=)

Practice-Playground

As Benjamin will be heading to kindergarten in the fall, we've started to slowly integrate the concept into our lives. He's been struggling a lot lately with social-anxiety and refusing to go to preschool. It's been causing him so much distress that we decided to pull him out for the last two months to focus on his upcoming special-needs evaluations. So far, he's really excited for kindergarten and we hope to keep it that way! We've toured his school together and will attend

a "Kindergarten Round-Up" over the summer where he'll get to meet the other incoming kindergartners while the kinder teachers asses the students to better place them in the classrooms. We've also been reading books, watching episodes of his favorite shows that relate to going to school for the first time and (his favorite of all) playing at his new school's playground on the weekends! Today we had the added bonus of running into one of Emily's classmates on the playground. She and Emily picked up trash together(?!) while Callie learned to go down the slide all by herself=) Ben played amongst the girls and then we had lunch at his favorite restaurant(Taco Bell. Yay.) Here are some cute photos from our lovely spring day!

Oh...um...hi!

I *almost* forgot all about this place=/ The reality of my life (and by default, our life) is that I have neither the time nor the ability to do the frequent activities with my children like we once did. Our week is over almost before it's even begun; the days are just racing by! I haven't even taken a picture with my camera in weeks:( I miss having free time to spend with my family and having reasons to post to this blog.

Just so you have an idea about the craziness that is my schedule, lately, here's what an average week looks like:

Monday:

8:15-8:50- Get kids and myself fed and dressed and Emily ready for preschool.

9:00-11:30- Work in Emily's classroom as a teacher's aid.

11:30-12:00- Race home to eat lunch with kids for a measly 30 minutes

12:15-3:45- Rush over to Ben's school-mate Brady's house to watch his little brother Conner while their mom work's in Ben and Brady's class

3:45-5:00- Bring Conner to the preschool, pick Ben up and bring him home. Spend the next hour trying to play with them, being bossed around by Dan and getting ready to leave for my third obligation in this never-ending day!

5:15-1:15- (Yes, that's 1:15 AM, as in, the next freaking day!) Pick up the 4 year-old twins I care for and bring them home to play mommy to them for the night while their single-mother works her nursing shift at Kaiser=) Also, between 7:30-8:30 pm I have a conference call for the preschool committee I am on.

Tuesday:

8:15-12:45- Babysit Ben's schoolmate, Jade, before bring her and Ben to preschool for the afternoon.

12:45-3:45- Work in Ben's classroom as a teacher's aide.

3:45-5:00 - Come home for a mere 55 minutes and try to get as much laundry folded, as many hugs and cuddles and be further bossed around by Dan before rushing across town to pick up the twins.

5:15-1:15- Faux-Mommy routine, part 2

Wednesday:

8:15-8:55- Get kids fed, dressed and Emily off to school. If I'm lucky, I can spend 9- 11:15 at the gym but it's typically spent running errands, at appointments etc.

11:30-3:15- Pick Emily, and classmate Siena, up from preschool, along with Ben and Callie. It takes at least 25 minutes to walk a block because I only have a double stroller or a two-seater wagon and they all whine and fight and fuss over who's turn it is to sit. Grrrrr. Brady is dropped off around 12:45 and I have 5 under 6 here for the next 2.5 hours. Weeeee! They fight like cats and dogs, whine for me to constantly make them snacks and destroy my home but it's good money and it's not a long-term arrangement. My only complaint is that it interferes with nap time:(

3:15-11:00- sweet, sweet freedom....from other people's children at least. It's not relaxing in any way because my kids are usually all amped up, frazzled and cranky from the last three days of go-go-"where did mommy go?!" I am at least grateful to not have anywhere else I have to be=)

Thursday:

9:00-10:15- Get Myself ready to work out and get Emily ready for her dance-class.

10:00-10:45- Work out while Emily does ballet

11:00-12:45- Babysit Siena, feed all kids lunch, convince a VERY anxious and reluctant Benjamin that he has to go to school, then cart all four kids down there:)

1:30-3:30- Hope Callie goes down for a long enough nap that she's ready to be abruptly woken at 3:30 when I have to get Benjamin again. Attempt to get Emily relaxed enough to take a cat-nap during this time, too, so that I can attempt to get in a smidgen on "me-time" between household obligations.

3:45-7:15- The Witching Hours where I attempt to hold my shit together long enough to get all these over-tired, cranky, hungry children fed, bathed and off to bed in a timely fashion and without turning into Mommy Dearest.

7:45-11:00- Clean, or rather, procrastinate over cleaning, hopefully make it to the gym and also attempt to focus on a little self-preservation while trying to decompress from the week.

Friday:

8:15-8:55-Get everyone up and dressed and ready to drop Emily off at 9:00.

9:00-11:30- We typically use this time for errands or appointments. Poor Callie is supposed to have a toddler class but it usually gets canceled for more important endeavors. If I'm really lucky, I get to get a coffee and do some shopping with Ben and Callie. If Dan is with us, he rushes us from place to place and I usually can't wait to get done;)

11:30-on- If we don't have Siena this day, the afternoon is ours for the taking=) When Mimi is free we spend it with her and if the weather is nice, we try to get outside. Honestly, Callie is such a handful that I never even bother to try and photograph them anymore. It's an exercise in futility and my camera is one more thing to slow me down while chasing that girl.

Saturday/Sunday:

These are MAJOR decompression days for us. We go to the gym, run a few easy errands and then just hang around. I feel too over-scheduled to be bothered with the numerous birthday party invites these preschoolers get each month(unless it's a special, close friend's children. Those parties are must-attends!). I don't make playdates or big plans. These poor kids are lucky if I even bring them to the park. It's easy when the weather is crappy, but I know I have to step up my efforts now that spring has sprung.

So that's what's been going on around here this month. And it changes at the drop of a hat, it seems. The only thing that's certain is that I am busy, busy, busy and not in an interesting-to-blog-about way:( Sunny weather is on the horizon, and maybe that will help lift my spirits enough to venture out of my "Weekend Cave"...

Happy Hollow

Dan and I took the monkeys to Happy Hollow Park & Zoo to enjoy a brief sunny day last week. I have been to this mini zoo/amusement park so many times in my childhood and love that it's still around for me to enjoy with my own littles. Ben came here only twice before they spent nearly two years renovating it. It's really nice now and we enjoyed our visit so much that we splurged on season passes=) They have a bunch of cool playgrounds, kiddie-rides, a small zoo and a wild-life learning center. Our first trip focused on the rides, naturally, but I'm excited to explore it with our family. Here are the pictures from our adventure!

Window Seat

Callie loves to check out the view of our neighborhood now that we have a new loveseat under the window=)

Emil-ina Ballerina

Emily has started Princess Ballet at the Y and is quickly on her way to becoming a prima ballerina;) The class is full of 3-4 year-olds so you can probably imagine it's more fun than instructional. Emmie is so excited to be there, though! Her teacher told me that she always pays close attention, follows the steps she shows her and she can tell Emily has natural ability=) I had to take the pictures through the viewing window so they're not that great. But just look at her form! She's a natural! Swan Lake, here we come...

18 Months!

She's well over 19 months now, and truth-be-told, I took these pictures veeeerrrrry close to the 19th month mark. But, they complete the set and they're pretty cute, so I know you won't mind=) Callie's 18th month went by just as fast as the 17 other months before it. She's a bona fide toddler now although she continues to wake up twice a night for a bottle, just like a baby:/

I'm less inclined to rush her through bottle-weening because it's her last vestige of babyhood. She's so much fun these days and just a bundle of affection and giggles. It's awesome to watch her really play with Ben and Emily. She loves to do naughty things that make them laugh;) Here's the last set of "chair pictures" for my last baby:..( Wahhh!

Look at the difference! Awwwww, it *almost* makes me want another;)