May 20th-26th

(5/20) Work day for Dad and me, and Kathy had the kids.  I forgot to put the stoplight clock out again, so C was up at the crack of dawn.  He was a total grump all day.  Yaaaay.  The littles took nice, long naps though.


(5/21)  C's teacher was out today so asked that I not come in to volunteer.  Sweet!  I met Sarah at her house and then we walked with her littles out to Starbucks and the park.  We were so impressed!  Jamie and another little boy went on foot nearly the whole way there. My littles don't listen well enough yet to trust them to walk along a road without a hand, so I just kept them in the stroller until we got to the park.  After the park we came back for nap and then grabbed C from school.

(5/22) Work day for me, and Dad had the kids.  I met the crew at hockey and took the littles on home.  They were FURIOUS!  They cried about going to hockey the entire way home.  And there was lots of traffic, so that made that drive extra fun.  Once we got home though, they were fine and we played a bit before bedtime.


(5/23) Work day for Dad & me, and Kathy had the kids.  I was off early and got to go shopping by myself before picking up the kids.  Finally got to the hardware store to grab some plexi for the china cabinet.  Got home and realized we didn't have a saw, so left it and went back out shopping.  Twist my arm and all.

(5/24) Yay, camping!  We spent the morning getting organized (spoiler: we weren't) and grumbling at each other about who should do what.  When we finally got on the road, we realized all the things we forgot, so this weekend should be interesting.  We first drove out to Leavenworth hoping to grab a spot.  We'd come through there a few years ago and there were lots available, so figured it was worth a shot.  Nope.  We were greeted with "Campground Full" signs and though we were equipped to boon-dock, we decided to go back to Sarah's site, where there was a guaranteed spot. We had to back-track nearly all the way home and then head out again.  We got there after about 5 hours of driving. We let the kiddos play and soon made dinner.  They played and played and played. At s'mores time, we fixed them up and then it was obvious the twins were tired.  Or at least J was.  So we decided to attempt bedtime.  Well D had just mainlined sugar and was full of bananas.  He was jumping up and down, hanging off the shepherd's pole in the trailer, flopping like a fish, etc.  J was upset about bedtime and had a runny nose which made him gag.  He threw up everywhere and then was more upset about that and cried harder.  We finally separated the twins and just went to bed.  It took about 2.5 hours of (them) sobbing.  UGH. Our friends were still out at the campfire playing Cards of Humanity, but we were just done, and not feeling very social.

(5/25) We were awake early with the birds, though the twins slept until C asked to get up.  Dad slept very poorly, and managed to tweak his back.  J wouldn't stay under the covers and kept waking and crying.  It was a bit drizzly this morning so we called it, packed up the camper, and went home.  C got to stay another night, which made him so happy!  We got home about nap time, so I made the twins a quick lunch,  and then put them to bed.  They slept much better for nap, and maybe it would have been better up at the campsite. I don't know.  Dad & I crashed too.  We had breakfast for dinner, after running out for more eggs (since D had spilled the ones we brought camping the night before).  Then bath time for the littles and bed.  They were awake for 2 solid hours again, but they can't do anything up in their room.  And it's fine to leave them.  In the camper they were swinging off the poles, turning on the water, getting into the cupboards, etc.  It would have been a disaster.

(5/26) Memorial Day.  We'll be spending the day trying to recoup from the weekend, and maybe finally getting around to some outstanding projects.

May 13th-19th

(5/13)  Work day for Dad & me and Kathy had the kids.  I guess the boys took monster naps today.  Good thing since my cousins, aunt & uncle were in town and we had a dinner date at Granddad's!  Grandma sat with the kids at dinner so I had the rare opportunity to actually visit.  That was so nice!  The boys had a great time playing inside and out.  I felt like I had gotten smacked upside the head by allergies or something today, and even left work a few hours early to go sleep off some of the medication I took to try to get a handle on it.  I still felt like crap, but had a fun evening and lasted as long as I could before taking everyone home and putting the kids and myself to bed. 

(5/14) Work day for Dad & I had the kids.  I started the morning off working in C's classroom and listened to a bunch of kids read.  There has been a lot of improvement since the last time I listened!  The littles went down shortly after I got home and I took the time to work out in the yard, clearing the vegetable beds. I think I have four kinds of sage if anybody needs any.  Oh, and some thyme.  And one mystery plant whose tag wandered away.  When my allergies go away and I can breathe again I might be able to identify it by smell. We'll see.  I woke the boys to go get C from school and the sillies played out in the pool even though it was just barely 70 degrees.  I made dinner and then we met Sarah and her boys at the park after for some more playtime before bed. 

(5/15) Work day for me & Dad had the kids.  After work, C had hockey so the bigs left right after I got home.  The littles and I got some cuddle & play time in before they went to bed.  They are such goofballs.

(5/16)  Work day for Dad & me and Kathy had the kids.  I had book club this evening so the plan was for Granddad to come watch the boys after work.  I met Granddad at the house after picking up the kids, got dinner started and was about to leave when Dad walked in.  He had forgotten about book club and arranged to take in a foster kiddo through Monday.  Quickest babysitting for Granddad ever!  Granddad went home, I left for book club, the littles went down and then our foster boy arrived.  He came armed with Nerf guns, and C was instantly in hog heaven.  Dad said they played from the minute he arrived until it was past bedtime.  Sounds like a real nice kid - can't wait to meet him!


(5/17) C called this morning a "boy party" ~ we had 6 boys in the house, not including us parents.  It was a zoo!  But I am happy to say the house is still standing. I told D yesterday that Jor and Jamie were coming to play, so all morning they called our foster kiddo "Jordan".  When the real Jordan showed up, he became "Not Jordan" and the nickname stuck all weekend.  The boys again had a Nerf war, then settled in to play some video games.  We had snack around the time Jor & Jamie got picked up and then the boys lobbied hard for more screen time.  Usually we let C have more after he does some reading.  They agreed to that and played some more video games.  I put the littles down after lunch and the bigs went back to Nerf, Legos and other toys.  After a while I started to get the "We're soooo borrred!" Cause, you know, there's nothing else to do.  They started volunteering to do jobs like wash the windows and I said I was going to work outside and they could join me if they liked.  They ended up talking me into doing some weeding in exchange for more screen time.  They pulled weeds in the middle of the yard, dug some holes 'pruned' the rose bushes.  Whatevs, they had a good time. Back in for a little bit more video games while we waited for the littles to wake up.  After they did, we all went to the park.  We brought a basketball, the littles' push cars, a scooter and the real entertainment was already there: a puddle!  D, of course, found it first and came running up to me as I was pushing J on the swings.  "All wet!" Yes, yes you are. The boys played themselves out, and then we headed back home for dinner and more playing. 

(5/18) Busy day today.  C and Dad were the only ones up when I got back from my run this morning.  Dad got breakfast together and bonus our kiddo stumbled down a little later.  I think we may have worn him out yesterday.  The littles came down once breakfast was ready and joined us.  The bigs played video games and then inside for a bit and I took the littles out to play in sand box and work in the yard.  When I was finished I parked myself in the sunshine while they played.  Heaven!  We went in for lunch and after I put the littles down, I told the bigs I'd take them to the park but they'd have to come on a few errands first.  They agreed.  They played basketball, on the scooter, played catch, etc. We wandered home after an hour or so and they both claimed to be so BORRRRRED (because we both said no to more video games ~ horrors!).  I went back to work outside and C eventually joined me.  We filled up the yard waste bin and then came in.  Dad got dinner started and we had an earlyish dinner since the bigs were going ice skating.  Dad said both boys did awesome and they capped off the evening with ice cream.  The littles and I watched some McQueen, had bath time, etc.  Good ol' Sunday fun.     


(5/19) Ho hum.  Our foster kiddo goes back today after school.  C is going to be so bummed.  They really got along great this weekend.  I am at work, C has school and Dad has the kids. 

May 6th-12th

(5/6)  I took today off since I had a class in downtown Seattle this evening.  Sarah suggested we meet at preschool playtime at Gymagine and let the littles play.  They had a blast!  J loved the foam pit and D loved standing at the top of the ramp and yelling TOY BOX!!!! at the top of his lungs and then running down the mats to the foam pit.  He calls the sand box the toy box, and I'm thinking he thought the foam pit was one too.  After playing hard, I drove us home past the park... well, the twins saw that and started to holler.  Mama fail.  I bribed them with lunch when we got home and then they got in a quickish nap.  Granddad and Grandma met us right after we got home from picking C up from school to watch them while I went to class.  They said the littles went down with nary a peep, and C got to play about 1.5 hours worth of Monopoly.  His favorite!   The class was tough for me.  It was on Navigating Adoption. Seeing all the families in various stages of the process and hearing their struggles was a real eye-opener.  And then when I got out of class, I checked my voicemail and picked up a message from the placement desk.  We're licensed! 


(5/7) Today I got to go on a field trip with C's class.  It was to the Imagine Children's Museum, which we've been to a bazillion times, but we still had fun.  I had C and 5 other of his classmates.  I'm so glad it was sunny and that the roof was open for them to go play.  They loved it!  Nanan came to watch the littles while I was out on the trip and stayed until I had returned and then fetched C from school. I had to run out to get a new pool since Cass decided to eat our last one... And the boys tested it out on the deck while I cooked dinner.  After dinner, we decided on an evening walk with Sarah and her boys.  The big boys used their scooters and Sarah & I pushed the littles. The twins didn't care for their dinner tonight so kept yelling about having a snack and drinks along the way.  I brought them juice and fortunately had a granola bar for them to eat. 

(5/8) Work day for me & Dad had the kiddos.  It was rainy out, so Dad had me just come to hockey after work.  We didn't take the stroller in, and the littles know all about how to have fun at hockey.  So they did their laps around the arena, shouted in the halls to hear it echo and tried to turn the lights on/off.  After Dad got C all situated and out on the ice, he was able to take a twin. We let them run for about half of the practice before I took them home and put them to bed.  C looked great out there from what I could see.  J wanted to watch hockey from every panel of the rink, so I'd lift him up, we'd watch for a second, then he'd want to go to the next one a few feet over, and repeat.  Goofballs.


(5/9)  Work day for Dad & me and Kathy had the kids.  Colton was in a mood tonight when I picked him up (didn't want to go home; we don't have any fun toys; etc.) so I told him I would talk to him when he was in a better mood and listened to D point out all the stop signs and diamonds (cross walk signs).  Very important.  Dinner was squetti, and the children wore most of it.  These are the days that I'm thankful for the high chairs that hog most of the space in our living room! 

(5/10) Sarah and I were not up to running a race this morning, so chose a long walk instead.  Grandma won her division at today's race and she and Granddad looked great in pictures! I kind of wish we had gone, but the walk was good too.  After we got back and Dad came home from shopping, the boys and I went out Mother's Day carding.  We stopped at Grandma's and caught them just pulling in.  We visited for just a little bit, then we headed up north hoping to catch Nanan at home.  She wasn't, and the weather was iffy, so we decided on lunch before playing at the park.  Got in about an hour before it started to rain!  The littles napped on the way home, but it was only a quick one so when bedtime rolled around they were totally ready to go. 

(5/11) Mother's Day was lovely!  The boys picked up donuts for breakfast and then we piled into the car and headed out for a picnic.  I chose north as our direction, and we drove out to Rosario Head.  After we ate, we checked out the tide pools and climbed the bluffs.  It was beautiful and I love being at the beach!  Once we got home, I put the littles down for a bit and the big boys ran out to grab grilling stuff and some new sandals for C since last year's sandals were in sad shape.  We fixed up a seafood feast with grilled veggies and corn.  Yum! 

(5/12) Happy Monday!  It's supposed to be warming up, so my rule of using the pool after it hits 70 should stand... instead of yesterday's 65 ;)  Dad has the kiddos today, I am working and C has school. 

April 29th-May 5th

(4/29) Work day for Dad & me, and Kathy had the kiddos.  It's starting to warm up--hooray!--and the kiddos were all out riding bikes.  Such a great neighborhood for them to do that! 

(4/30) I had a surprise morning off from working in C's classroom since his teacher was out.  So the littles and I spent some quality time watching McQueen for the eleventy-billionth time.  Granddad came to watch them so I could go to my boss's retirement lunch at work.  After I got home, it was time to wake them up so we could go get C from school.  On the way, we watched the temperature climb from 86° all the way to 90°!  At that, I said we're stopping for popsicles and a pool!  The boys had a blast playing and got soaked. 

Drunken Easel

Dinnertime came and Nanan arrived so I could go play with the girls.  I had a date for a wine and painting class at the Drunken Easel.  What a fun idea!  We did lily pads.

My masterpiece?

(5/1)  Work day for me and Dad had the kiddos.  We always get excited for May because it brings taco pizza from Papa Murphy's.  Tonight I came home to pizza-sauce covered thieving twins, pizza on the floor and the big boys were rushing to get out the door for hockey.  WEEEEE, welcome home, Mama!  The non-floor slices were delish though!  The twins and I cleaned up and cuddled on the couch before bed. 

(5/2) Work day for Dad & me and Kathy had the twins.  It cooled off a great deal today, and the twins took monster naps.  I got them home, made dinner and put them down again.  The boys all ate about three tacos each and we didn't leave anything for Dad. Sorry, Dad!  You didn't want tacos, right?

(5/3)  Today Nanan arrived early so I could join Sarah, Granddad & Grandma in running the Tacoma City Half Marathon tomorrow.  Dad had to work until late, so Nanan wrangled children for me.  When the grandmas showed up, J predictably lost it so I bribed them with strawberries as I dashed out the door.  Sounds like they had a good time.  The littles took a long nap and when D announced bedtime fairly early, Nanan said they went down without a peep.  Whew! 

(5/4)  Nanan skedaddled early today and Dad had the boys while I was running.  I had a great time!  Lori & Sarah both had speedy-fast times, and I got to run the whole thing with my Dad.  We had yet to do that, so that was so fun.  This was my 34th half marathon and his second.  Looking forward to doing many more!  I got home right as the twins were getting up and managed to squeeze in a shower at least.  I took a quick power nap with the twins tucking me in about every 30 seconds and then had a nice dinner with the boys.  I may have put the twins to bed early after to their bath since we were up there and already dressed in jammies.  I was tired. 


(5/5)  Work day for me & Dad has the kiddos today. 

Tacoma City Half Marathon start