June 26, 2007

Last night, Ellen and I participated in what Jeremy is now calling "Negligent Wife Adventures" (I think I need to cook him dinner tonight). Instead of having dinner with my family, Ellen and I walked to The Hill, had some divine crepes, and then she got her nose pierced. Note to my friends and family - if you need to be talked out of something, don't call me. I'm all for impetuous craziness. Of course I had to take pictures, so here they are (and warning, there is a pretty graphic one with Ellen and a needle in her nose. I think it's funny, you may not). And then we found a turtle on the way home, so I had to take a picture of that too. Jeremy said it was a painted turtle, Mr. Ellen said, "Don't touch it, they have salmonella!"

7:00 Drop off

7:15 Ariel once again refused breakfast

8:00 Ariel actually cried to be put in the pack-n-play, where she fell asleep.

8:45 Got Ariel up to take Alex to camp.

9:00 Ellen and I talked about doing swimming today, but bizarrely yesterday was 100° and today was only 72° (well, maybe not bizarre for Colorado) so we went to Starbucks instead.

9:30 Starbucks. I didn't get Adam or Ariel milk today but they did have a bit of a donut. They played outside for a little bit, but it really was quite chilly.

9:45 Decided to go to the indoor mall for some Old Navy fun.

10:00 Mall - Sweet Ellen's family has a wonderful habit of frequenting the quarter machines. Mae and Sam got a quarter, so I had to give one to Adam and Ariel too. Adam got peanut M&M and I picked Skittles for Ariel. She only had 4, but oy what a mess.

10:15 Slightly depressing trip to Old Navy. I tried on a few shirts that were all slightly unflattering and a dress. This whole billowy-emperor style baby doll dress is not for me. I don't want to spend all day explaining that no, I am not pregnant with my forth child. I did find a couple of camisoles on sale, so the trip wasn't a complete wash (and yes Becky, I finally used my ON birthday gift card).

11:00 Left the mall. Mae lost it in the car (well, actually before the car) so we thought she could benefit from some food. We made a quick trip to Noodles. Ariel shared a bit of Adam's pesto cavitappi but not much.

11:40 Realized we needed to boogy to pick up the boys from camp. Ellen had been riding in my car, so we had to speed to the other mall to pick up her car, then rush to Chautauqua.

12:02 Arrive slightly late only to find that the kids hadn't even returned from their hike. So we were not late after all.

Alex had skinned his knee on the hike and was pretty upset, so we rushed home to clean and bandage it.

12:45 After first aid, Ariel had some yogurt and the rest of the apricots from yesterday. Then we stopped by the library to pick up Magic Tree House books 6,7, and 8 and then went to Wild Oats for dinner shopping. I haven't cooked for a while, so tonight we are having blackened catfish, green beans and mashed potatoes. That should make the husband happy.

The kids had a quick snack. We got some organic raspberries, Alex and my favorite. Adam won't even try one. Doesn't know what he's missing.





And everyone loves the new camelbacks, even Ariel (and note the 4 Skittles mess on her shirt):



After making a mess on the floor, she had some waffles for a snack.

2:00 Put Ariel down for a nap.

4:30 Ariel slept until pick up time.

June 25, 2007

I had a fabulous girl's weekend in Winter Park. Ellen's birth mom's group was having a get together and since the boys were going to Grammie's house and Jeremy was bike racing in Wyoming and I was going to be all alone and productive, Ellen invited me along. It was a LOT of fun and the house was amazing. Here are pictures from the weekend.

7:00 Becky dropped off a grouchy Ariel.

7:15 Ariel was pretty mad about breakfast. She ate a bit of apricots and didn't want to try the gorilla munch.

8:00 Ariel went down for a nap.

8:45 I woke Ariel up so we could take Alex to camp. This week is a hiking camp in Chautaqua. It's for kids 5 and up and BOY was Adam jealous. Adam has gotten to do the other two camps and could not wrap his brain around why he couldn't go on this one too. Poor guy :(

9:00 Dropped Alex off. Then I followed Ellen to Toyota so she could get her car serviced.

9:30 Ellen and Mae hopped in my car and we went to Starbucks at the 29th street mall. All the kids had a bit of donut and chocolate milk (which Ariel managed to spill all over herself). They also played on the wonderful foam playground (man, I love that Starbucks).

10:15 We went across the street to REI. I had consoled Adam with his lack of camp by telling him that I would get him the camelback that I've been talking about. Of course, there was the REI brand on sale for $20 and the real Camelbacks for $40 and the REI brand was way to big. So I had to spend $80 on hydration for the boys, but I know they will get a lot of use out of it (if they don't break of loose it). And in the mean time, Ellen was trying to get replacement bite valves for her boy's water packs (which didn't exist) and took a LOT of time. I let the kids go through my purse, which was great fun especially since they didn't find the tampons in their new secret pocket.

(And yes dad, I put the purchase on your REI card).

11:00 We stopped back at my house to get a road rash bandaid for Mae's skinned knee. I also cleaned the camelbacks so the boys could use them right away.

11:45 Before we knew it, it was time to pick up the big boys from camp.

12:00 Got Ted and Alex. It sounds like they had a great day at camp. Later Alex told me (Crissy, brace yourself) that they saw a big bull snake on their hike.

12:15 Dropped Ellen and Mae and Ted off at Toyota.

12:45 I got home. Ariel fell asleep in the car and went to her bed.

2:00 Ariel woke up and had some lunch, string cheese and mac & cheese.

3:00 Left the house to drop Ariel off with Becky at Ariel's ENT appointment.

3:25 Drop off.

And the result of the appointment is yes, Ariel's ears are a mess and she has another appointment on Wednesday for tubes.

June 22, 2007

Ok, so it's Monday again and I'm trying to remember back to Friday.

Friday morning, Ariel went to PALS. It was a nice, small class with only 3 kids. Ariel liked the shaving cream with food coloring:

\



For snack, she had a popsicle (in case you were wondering, Becky, why she was slighly green)



And then we played outside and Ariel found a fun puddle to splash in:



And see that big long booger? Ariel's nose was running like a facet ALL day long.

At 11 there was a planned fire drill, which was a perfect time to leave. Ellen and I took the girls to Foolish Craig's on the Pearl Street mall. Ariel didn't eat much.

At noon, we picked up the boys from camp. When we got home, Ariel napped while I packed the boys up to go to Grammie's house.

I dropped Ariel off at 3:00 at Becky's work so I could meet friends for a fabulous girl's weekend.

June 21, 2007

7:00 Drop off

7:15 Poop

7:25 Breakfast - peaches. And she asked for waffle but wouldn't eat it.

8:00 Ariel attacked Adam so I figured she was tired and put her down for a nap but she didn't sleep.

9:40 Left for our activity of the day - joining Ellen and her crew at their library for story time. But first, we had a quick coffee across the street.

Story time was ok. When we got to the library we found out it was "toddler" story time so it was a bit young for Alex and Ted (thought when I asked Alex later he said he liked it). There were only a couple baby books read, and a few Raffi songs played. It actually was perfect for Ariel and Mae, but there were so many kids there it was hard for anyone to really enjoy it.



11:15 After story time we went to Ellen's house for lunch. Ariel only had a little bit of Pirate Booty.

12:25 We left Ellen's house and Ariel fell asleep in the car. I stopped at the drive thru bank and then we headed to swimming lessons.

1:00 Alex and Adam had their lessons. Both did fine. Alex has a lot of free time to dork around, he was experimenting with using the castle to push himself to the bottom of the pool. But both boys did everything they were asked, swimming, jumping in, going down the slide and diving for rings.

Ariel had woken up when we got to swimming and was playing with Mae. And then she bit Mae, pretty hard:



Both my guys went through a biting phase too. I think it's a combination of not being able to express themselves and general frustration and temper. I just need to watch Ariel more carefully so I catch her before she does it (18 month olds are not very sneaky) and if she does bite, she'll get removal from situation (aka time out in stroller, pack-n-play).

1:30 After class we stopped by the 29th street mall and went to Bath and Body Works. Then we stopped by Starbucks and in a huge show altruism, I bought the kids each a chocolate milk and a donut. Except for Ariel, she got pumpkin loaf (which she didn't eat a whole lot of). All I had was Ariel's left over pumpkin loaf. Then the kids played on the foam play set.

3:00 Got home. I put Ariel down for another nap and she still didn't sleep. But she did manage to get herself pretty tangled in her shirt, which enraged her.

4:30 Pick up.

June 20, 2007

7:00 Drop off

7:10 Poop

7:15 Breakfast - some waffle, some pancake and some peach

8:20 The boys finally left for camp with Jeremy. It got much quieter.

9:00 Mae and Ellen came over. I tried to get a good picture of the two of them together, so Ellen can use it for our MS fundraising. It was hard. I didn't do so good.

This is Ariel giving Mae a hug:



And this one looks like:

Mae: And this is how you pick your nose.

Ariel: Ohhhh, now I get it!



And this one is sweet but you can't see Mae's face at all (which might be good, she was a bit grumpy):



At least they are both looking at the camera, but Mae wouldn't get closer or smile:



Ellen got this picture of them jumping on the chair:



10:00 Laura showed up to get Hannah's pictures taken. Ellen took the girls to get coffee and bagels. The stroller didn't work out, it had a flat :(



Look how set up Ariel is with a peach smoothie and an egg and cheese bagel:



And then she found some fun ice:



I'm still working on Hannah's pictures, but here's what I have so far. And a funny story... When I took Hannah's picture last month, Laura and I both smelled poop, but couldn't find a source. After Hannah left, the smell was gone and I didn't think of it again. And then it smelled like poop again today. I finally figured out that my backdrop smelled like poop. No idea why, but I would guess it was cat related. It went straight into the wash.

11:30 Ariel and Mae came home, Ariel went down for a nap.

12:45 Put Ariel in the car to pick up the boys, she stayed asleep.

1:00 Pick up time.

1:30 Becky picked up Ariel from the school.

June 17, 2007

Well yesterday I just plain forgot to post father's day pictures. Nothing too exciting, they are here.

I made the socks, mom made the cake. My dad made out pretty good, Jeremy just got a loving fun day with his children (that's what he gets for leaving Friday/Saturday for a bike race).

7:10 Drop off.

7:15 Breakfast - apples and cherries and hot cereal.

7:45 Changed a poopy.

8:00 Put Ariel down for a nap. She didn't think she was tired, but she did eventually fall asleep.

10:15 Woke Ariel up for our Adventure of the day. We had a playdate with Alex's friend Jack at Jack's house. Jack's neighborhood has a pool, so we all went swimming.

Ariel liked the baby pool for a bit, then she found a more exciting way to pass the time by throwing pool toys in the pool and then crying when they floated away. Eventually I got her to eat a bagel and some Tings and juice for lunch:



The boys had lunch too, then went back in the pool. Here's Alex showing me he can jump in backwards:



Adam hung out a lot in the baby pool, but he did some real swimming with me in the big pool too, as I retrieved toys for Ariel.



1:30 Left the pool.

2:00 Stopped by Target because I wanted to get a book on CD that just came out (Lean Mean Thirteen). They were out, but I got a Starbucks and then tried a new Starbucks plan with the kids. I got them a venti chocolate creme frappachino and had them split it 3 ways. Ariel and Adam though that was a good idea, though Ariel spilled half her drink on herself and Adam didn't finish his. And Alex was happier with the accompanying water.

2:30 Stopped by Ellen's to say hello. The boys played for a while and managed to wake Mae.

Ellen sent some pictures of the afternoon:

Ariel and Mae dancing (note Ariel's maternity shirt):



And Ariel gave Mae some very sweet hugs (some of which seemed to hurt more than others):



3:20 Left Ellen's. Changed a poopy on the way out.

3:50 Got home.

4:30 Pick up.

June 18, 2007

7:00 Drop off

7:15 Breakfast - stawberry/banana/apple mush and hot cereal. Neither Adam nor Ariel care for "big" waffles.

8:40 Left for preschool camp

9:00 Dropped the boys off at camp. Then Ariel and I drove to Kangaroo Kingdom and she fell asleep.

9:20 Kangaroo Kingdom. It took Ariel a bit to warm up, but once she did she had a lot of fun. There are a couple of slides and a plastic club house and a ball pit. We met up with the stroller mommies and Ariel is one of the older babies. She's about the same age as Ryan and they are surprisingly similar in growth and development.





11:10 Ariel said, "bye-bye" so we went and got our shoes and left. She fell asleep in the car and transfered to her bed.

12:45 I moved Ariel back to the car, she stayed asleep.

1:00 Picked up the boys. Ariel finally woke up. We played a bit outside, then we went to Jamba Juice.

Look how Boulder Ariel is today with Mae's Hannah Anderson dress, crocs and a smoothie:



2:15 Becky picked Ariel up early from Jamba Juice.

June 15, 2007

7:00 Drop off one crabby Ariel. Apparently she had a lot of caffeine yesterday and didn't sleep well last night. Huh.

7:15 Breakfast - blueberries, 1/2 a mini waffle and some hot cereal.

8:15 Put Ariel down for a nap.

9:00 Left (late) for preschool camp, I had to wake Ariel up.

9:15 Got to camp. I got the big boys situated, then I took Ariel to PALS. Ariel picked out a very fancy dress today so I took it off for play. It took her a bit to warm up, but then she got into it. First, she banged on her drum all morning (picture courtesy of Ellen) :



The she did a bit of painting (note Ellen lounging in the background):



And then she had a snack. She said "apple" and licked it, but I don't think she actually ingested any. But the goldfish she ate.



Here's Ariel playing outside in her fancy duds paired nicely with crocs:



Except for Mae-Mae, this is a whole new group of kids in PALS from the spring and it's a younger group. There are twin girls who were born in October and then another girl who was born a week before Ariel, so she's with her contemporaries.

11:00 After PALS Ellen demanded that I come with a new and exciting place to go to lunch. Jeremy had given me a coupon for a free smoothie/latte/bowl(???) at a place called Rush in North Boulder, so I suggested that. Ariel and Mae shared a strawberry smoothie and I had a fruit parfait with hemp granola (oh yeah, this place is very Boulder). Ellen got a bowl, apparently they are very thing smoothies with hemp granola on top (she gave it a thumbs up). It was very good and I think we'll come back. Then we went across the street for a mocha for me (I had a tired morning with taking a little yellow pill and no caffeine).

12:30 Headed back to school because Mae said she had to poop (she didn't) and made it there in time for Shabbat sing. Ariel sat on Ellen's lap, it was very sweet.

1:00 Left preschool.

1:25 Got home, everyone was still awake. I started the challah, then Ariel had some yogurt and cheerios.

2:00 Ariel went down for a nap. Adam was supposed to rest too, so we could do a bike ride with Ted this evening. He never did sleep, so we didn't go. Apparently I made the right decision, because both boys fell asleep in the stroller later on my walk. Anyway, I cleaned house and listened to Harry Potter while Adam and Alex didn't rest but did play quietly and nicely. Or so it seemed with my headphones on.

3:30 Becky picked up a sleeping Ariel.

June 14, 2007

Oh yes, I did. I spent an obscene amount of time, energy and resouces looking for the very smallest sized crocs so Ariel could join our croc family. And it was worth it, when Ariel excitedly tried to take off her old sandals so she could put them on. Muhahaha!



7:00 Drop off

7:15 Breakfast - not much blueberries, hot cereal and a few bites of waffles.

8:30 Down for a nap

9:30 I attempted to take Adam's 3 year pictures. It was difficult. He seems to have lost the ability to follow instruction, sit still, or show any signs of listening. Here's some of what I got:

Adam's Pictures

11:00 Ariel woke up and I changed a poop.

11:30 Lunch - mac & cheese

12:00 Changed another poopy.

12:30 Left for the boy's swimming lessons.

1:00 Swimming. Both the boys did well. Alex is swimming a bit ahead of the group, Adam a teeny tad behind. But it's nice to get it done in one class.

1:30 We stayed to watch Ted do his strokes class (my boys are in class with Sam, and Mae's baby class is at 12:30).

2:00 After Ted finished with swimming, Ellen and I went to the 29th street mall for a Starbucks. Ariel stole my java chip frappachino and wouldn't give it back. It wasn't even decaf (but luckily only a tall). Ok, she probably only drank 1/2 of it, but now I know to get her a drink without caffeine in it next time.



Ellen took a picture of our little croc family. Ain't we cute?



3:30 Ariel was acting a bit tired (ok, crazy insane) but Becky was planning on picking her up from the mall so I waited her out. Mostly, she would get mad at irrational things and then wouldn't let me hold her.

3:50 Becky picked Ariel up from the mall.

After that, I went and bought a new purse. Isn't it sporty AND cute? It's bigger than my old purse and I can fit a diaper and a bag of wipes in it. Now I can leave the diaper bag as an extra back-up (it's got clothes and medicine) behind in the car or house, and just leave with a cool purse. It also has a matching mini-change purse that I can grab if I just need my credit card and license. And I only spent slightly less time on finding it than I did the crocs. Gawd, I hope I'm not turning into a shopper!

June 12, 2007

7:00 Drop off

7:15 Breakfast - waffles and apple/cherry mush.

8:30 Down for a nap. When I first put Ariel down I realized that she didn't have her nuk because she had left it here yesterday and I still hadn't found it. I looked in Alex's room and didn't see it and then sat down despondently on the bed and saw it under the train table.

9:40 Woke Ariel up for the Adventure of Day - swimming. We plan on swimming with Ellen et al on Tuesday this summer at her community pool. But since it was 60 and raining we had to come up with a new plan - the indoor pool at APEX.

10:00 First we stopped at Starbucks for some fortification. Paul's birthday was last night (and I decorated a fun soccer ball cake for him):



but we were also drinking some crazy rum drink that was like rocket fuel and I got a tad bit knockered.

Anyway, we stopped at Starbucks and then went onto the pool.

10:30 The pool was super fun. This was the pool I took Adam and Ariel to a few months back. That time, Ariel wanted nothing to do with the water so I held her the whole time and it was very easy. This time, she was a maniac. I kept having to pull her out of the water. She would cry for a second and then demand back down if I had had the chutzpah to pick her up. It was very nice to know Adam and Alex could handle their own, even though I was keeping an eye on them too.

Oh, and Becky forgot to pack a swim suit so Ariel borrowed Mae-Mae's.






12:15 We finally pulled the kids out of the pool (I think Ariel would have stayed there all day) and got them dressed. Then we drove back to Louisville and had lunch at a bagel store. Ariel only had a few bites of my egg and cheese bagel.

1:45 Got home, Ariel had more lunch - peaches, yogurt and cheerios.

2:15 Changed a poopy

2:30 Down for a nap.

4:30 Pick up

June 11, 2007

7:00 Drop off

7:15 Breakfast - waffles and apricot mush. Ariel is very insistent about waffles now, especially if that's what the boys are eating.

8:15 Changed a poopy

8:40 Left to take the boys to summer camp at the JCC.

9:00 Drop off at summer camp. The director had put Adam in the youngest age group and after I explained he was 3 he got moved up a level. So he was in class with Sam, and a few other kids that he knows from swimming class. And he also got to be on the playground with Alex and his friends, so I'm sure everyone had a good day.

9:30 Ariel fell asleep on the way home and transfered to bed.

11:00 Ariel woke up and we went to the store. While she was napping I made a grocery list and everything.

11:30 Grocery store was super fun. Ariel got a cookie that she didn't really eat but liked holding. She also liked holding the Frosted Mini-Wheats box that had a picture of Shrek on it. She was saying his name, but in her German-Hebrew guttural langauge.

12:15 We got home and had lunch. Ariel had Apple/Strawberry/Banana mush and yogurt and cheerios.

12:40 Left to pick up the boys.

1:00 After pick up we played on the playground. Ariel liked swinging:



Alex wanted Ariel and I to join in playing Star Wars with him. I got to be Princess Leia and after much debate we decided Ariel could be R2D2 because she can say, "Beep."

1:45 Much to Ariel's dismay, we left the playground.

2:00 Got home. Ariel was grumpy so I put her down for a nap again.

3:00 Ariel wasn't sleeping so she got up again.

4:20 Pick up.

June 8, 2007

Again, I apologize for writing this on Sunday... So Friday we had to hustle out of the house to get Adam to his swim class at 8:30. And then after swimming we had to hustle to get the boys to their last day of farm camp at 9:30. After drop off, Ariel and I stopped at the drive-thru Starbucks that I've just been aching to go to in Erie. I ordered my Tall Soy Mocha at 140 degrees and Mr. Drive Thru asked, "Did you order your drink at that temperature because you know of the special properties of soy?" And I said, "No, I ordered it at that temperature because otherwise it's too hot and it tastes burned." So he went on to explain that many of the things that make soy special are destroyed at high temperatures and then ended ended with, "Knowing is half the battle." How's that for crazy Starbucks?

Ariel slept in the car and all through that exchange and then we went to Kangaroo Kingdom. At the Kingdom, we met up with my Get Fit Mommy friend Rachel and her 10 month old. The summer hours weren't starting until next week so when we got there at 10, we were going to have to leave at 10:30. So the nice Kangaroo lady let us come in for free. We did our 30 minutes of fun (Ariel found a fast slide) and then we went next store to look at the toy store. I didn't buy anything, but Ariel found a new Lovey and got upset every time I thought she wasn't looking and I put it back.

Rachel had to leave at 11:15 so Ariel went and had some lunch at Deli Zone. I got an egg and cheese sandwich and Ariel actually ate some of it. We finished up at 11:45 and still had some time to kill so we went to Target. I looked for phones there and hit a jackpot. The cheapy phone I wanted was marked $9.99 on the display but $39.99 on the shelf. I asked Mr. Target about it and he said if it rang up $39.99 that he would still give me the $9.99 price. So I got a nice new phone with a new battery for only $10!!! And the battery thing is very important, my phone was dead all day today because I forgot to charge it yet again.

We got done with Target at 12:30 and still had time so we stopped at Starbucks and I got a frappachino. Ariel ate nearly an entire slice of pumpkin bread. She was being cute so I took this video of her talking:



At 1:00 we went back to the farm to pick up the boys. Ariel liked looking at the animals (she thought these goats were "puppies.")



Here's Adam, and Alex wouldn't pose.



Adam had a good day at camp. His teacher said he loves singing time and requested that they sing Star Wars. When the teacher said she didn't know the words, he hummed the theme song for her.

Alex's teacher had tried to call my cell because Alex had gotten his thumb caught in the tire swing. I'm not sure why they needed to call me, when I listened to the message at home it said, "You don't have to pick up Alex, but we wanted to let you know..." I guess he must have been crying pretty hard, but it looked fine by the time I saw it. What did moms do before they had cell phones?

When we got home from camp, Ariel had a little lunch then took a nap. I tried to get Adam to nap because he was a flipping maniac after both swimming and camp, but it was a no go. As Adam says, "I don't need naps anymore." Maybe not, but I sure do.

Becky did pick up at 4.

June 7, 2007

I'm writing this blog on Sunday because we didn't have internet for a few days and so this won't be as detailed as usual. Sawry :(

So after breakfast, I took the boys to Sunflower Farm Camp. The camp is on a working farm in Longmont, they feed animals and do campy stuff. Their first day was yesterday and it was Adam's first official drop off activity. Ted and Sam did it too so there was no issue at drop off. The only problem with farm camp is that it's a 30 minute drive there, but only lasts 3 1/2 hours, so it's not quite worth it to come home. So instead, Ellen and I drove down to the mall.

At the mall, I ran into the Get Fit Mommy class and everyone was still there but me. It was good seeing everyone and I said I would go to class next week.

Next, we stopped at Starbucks and the little girls had a coffee date:



Then we ran some errands for Ellen. That included stopping by the Croc kiosk and trying on Crocs. Ariel cried when I took off her too big Crocs and put her Mary Janes back on. Just thought you'd like to know, Becky.

The drive to the mall and the errands filled our time and we went back to the farm to pick up the boys at 1:00. We hurried out so Alex and Ted could got to swimming.

At swimming, Ariel passed the time doing her favorite activity, emptying my purse. If I had taken the picture a bit later, there would be tampons all over the floor too. Thanks Ariel.



After swimming, we came home and Ariel took a nap.

I'm sure I fed Ariel during the day too, but I don't recall what now. Again sawry.

June 5, 2007

Just a quick update on the Alex front. Last night after Jeremy got home, we took the training wheels off Alex's bigger bike (the first bike is a 12" on loan from our neighbors) and went to the school to practice some more. Jeremy worked with Alex on getting started and turning. Jeremy said that while I did manage to teach Alex to ride, my yelling technique (Pedal! Pedal! Pedal!) left something to be desired. Here's Alex again, and this time you can see his face:



7:10 Drop off.

7:30 Breakfast. Ariel was quite sure she wanted a Waffl! and then I fed her some mushed apricots.

8:30 After a poop she went down for a nap.

10:00 Ariel woke up, we went to the library. Alex rode his bike on his First Official Ride Without Training Wheels. It took much longer than usual to get to the library, but after several minor falls and lots of stopping and starting we got there.

Taking a picture of Ariel while she sat in my lap:



The boys at story time, a new contact sport:



Ariel, exploring whether or not my phone is truly dead, and looking for other things to destroy:



Oh, that reminds me, we all have new dino tattoos courtesy of Judy. Alex, Adam, Ariel and even me, Becky and EVEN Jeremy. Jeremy picked a T-Rex, the most manly one. Ariel growled at hers.

11:00 Went home. We ate a quick lunch (I tried Ariel on a PB&J sandwich, which she was enthusiastic about but didn't really eat) and then left for our adventures of the day. First we stopped by Starbucks real quick (Crissy, Dorothy says hi and she misses you and looks forward to seeing you in August) where the kids got some cookies.

Next, we met Ellen at her pool to check it out. I plan on swimming with the boys here this summer. It's pretty cool looking with slides and everything. Unfortunately, you have to pay to get into the pool to get to the playground equipment. The day was a bit cool and Ellen's kids were done with the swimming, so we decided to go to another park. The plan was for Ellen to go with Ted and Alex on their bikes to a different park, and I would take the 4 other kids with me in the car and meet them there, after picking up lunch for Ellen's crew. Sadly, after I left, Alex fell off his bike and got, "The BIGGEST OWIE EVER" on his arm and Ellen had to walk his bike the half mile to the park.

By the time I showed up, Alex was still crying. After close inspection, I determined that his arm was not broken, just a nice case of road rash. A hot wheels bandaid and a popsicle fixed it all up. Ariel had a green popsicle and as a preventive measure I took her shirt off while she ate the whole thing, intermittently painting her belly with the droppings (hence why Becky might have noticed her greenness in the diaper area). I missed some great picture moments, but alas I left my camera in the car.

3:00 Alas, it was time to go. On the way home, we stopped at Sports Authority (or as I like to call it, Garts) to get Alex a kickstand and a new helmet. Then we walked (very slowly) over to Jamba Juice for a snack. Ariel had some of her juice, but then threw it in a fit of rage so it was all gone. Then we walked (very slowly) back to the car.

4:15 Dropped Ariel off at the doctor's for her last ear infection shot.

And a general update, I've been letting Ariel only have her nuk at nap time and for the most part it's working our very well. She doesn't seem to miss it during the day and I'm not spending the majority of my day looking for it.

June 4, 2007

Once again we had a busy weekend. Saturday morning I did a photoshoot for one of the girls in the PAL class. Fun, and I thought it turned out well:

http://wendysweetphotography.com/anna_zach_6_2_07/

In the evening we went to a BBQ swim party at cousin Roy's house. More fun, and the boys showed off their new swimming skills.







7:00 Drop off

7:15 Breakfast - oatmeal and blueberries

7:30 My kids finally woke up.

Adam got dressed. He likes to put his underwear on backwards so he can see the design:



Sometimes he puts his pants on backwards too, if the back pockets are better than the front.

8:15 Ariel went down for a nap.

10:00 Ariel woke up. She had a big messy poopy.

Then we walked to the park. Ariel decided to carry baby Rufus and I had a cute picture, but then I accidentally deleted it. At the park, Ariel would put Rufus down the slide, then she would climb back down the stairs to get him and do it again. Goof ball. We didn't stay at the park too long because the elementary school decided to come and have a picnic. Grrr, one of my many pet peeves...

12:00 Lunch - Ariel had waffles

After lunch the kids played with blocks and Star Wars toys for a while. And then we went out to try the bike without training wheels again. This time it clicked and Alex did some real good riding. Now we have to work on him starting up on his own, I'm still having to give him a push.



3:00 Came back in, Ariel went down for a nap.

4:00 Pick up.

June 1, 2007

7:00 Drop off. All the kids were tired and cranky due to the previous day's festivities celebrating Adam's 3rd birthday. At 10:00, Ariel met us and Ted and Mae at Pump it Up for some jumpy tent fun. Then Ariel went back home with Grandma and we had a picnic lunch at the airport. It was a bit cool and windy there, but we did see some planes take off and land. And then Ellen took Alex to his swim class while I decorated Adam's cake. And in the evening, the fam and Ellen came back for a pizza party. It was quite the day for everyone, pictures are here.

Anyway, as I was saying, everyone was tired and grumpy and it looked like it might be a long day.

7:30 Breakfast. Ariel ate about half her blueberries before she freaked out so her breakfast was over.

8:15 Took Adam to his swim class. Ariel was pretty calm, except for when Mae wanted to sit on my lap and when I wouldn't let her have a treasure toy.

9:00 The moms at class decided to go to the new Starbucks at the 29th street mall and we came along. They finally put in a play area at the mall (and I think a Jamba Juice too) so we might actually go there.

Everyone had fun playing. Ariel liked playing with the big girls, Rachel and Lucy.



And then she got some donut and that made her really happy.



10:30 And after Starbucks, the moms were going to go to a meeting at the JCC (which I did not know of) and since I had nothing better to do, we went there too.

The meeting turned out to be brainstorming for new programing for our demographic, which, while not riveting was at least not boring. And best of all, there was free childcare. One of the preschool teachers watched all the kids on the playground. Even Ariel wanted to be outside and had no problem being away from me.

12:00 Went home, Ariel fell asleep in the car.

12:15 Home - Ariel went right to her bed.

2:30 Ariel woke up, had some lunch. Finished her blueberries and had some yogurt and then threw a fit.

3:00 Ran some errands - first we went to McGuckin's to get a new water filter (which would have worked great if Jeremy had not broke the actual under the sink device while trying to install said filter). Then we went to Target to exchange one of Adam's new extra Darth Vadar toys. They had a small selection but the boys didn't want to check elsewhere so we got an Imperial Guard and an Imperial Shooter. Ariel just wanted to play with my phone (again) which would have been fine if she hadn't thrown it on the tile floor. Now it's slightly broken:



It's going to cost a lot of money and hardship to replace my $30 pay-as-you-go-phone. Actually, now that I think about it, this was Jeremy's old phone, I might have my old phone around here somewhere. Hmmmmm.

3:45 Becky picked up Ariel from Target.