Swingset

Thanks to my parents, we got a swingset for the kids this spring! Jason and my dad spent an entire weekend putting it together - as in, 5-7 hours each day for a total of 12+ hours. It was definitely a challenge to put together, but I (speaking as someone who had no role in the assembly) think it was worth it. The kids love it!

Bonus feature: windowbox for plants, or cupholder for adult beverages.

Preschool Farm Trip

I went with the kids on their field trip to a small local farm. The preschool teacher usually transports kids herself, and some moms come too. Since we have 3 carseats, and they are a big pain to install, I decided to just take the kids myself. It was fun to be a field trip mom!

We visited a small family farm with pigs, chickens, and rabbits. First we fed the pigs.

Then we checked the chicken coops for eggs.

Then we fed the bunnies.

It was a muddy but fun time. The kids loved seeing all the animals up close. Abby was a bit disappointed that there weren't any "baa baas" though. Maybe next time...

Mother's Day 2013

I had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend this year. I had a little bit of relaxation time to myself, and some good family time. The best part at home was Jason building a raised garden bed for me. I've been wanting one for awhile - last year I tried growing tomatoes in pots on our deck and they just didn't produce much.Our soil is rocky red clay so planting directly in the ground isn't a great choice. So, Jason made me a bed.

 The kids helped.

 No cute posed pictures of me and the kids all dressed up and looking perfect. But lots of pictures of us planting seeds and plants in the bed.

The other awesome part of the weekend was the Mother's Day Tea at the kids' preschool. It was only their second day at the school and they did their best to fit right in. Their wonderful teacher, Miss Evelyn, taught all the kids sweet songs about mommies and the kids did a little concert. You can see that our kids are the smallest of the bunch!

She also had them make salt dough handprints, and pretty paper corsages, and "I love my mommy because" notes. It was all so sweet and special - I felt so lucky to get to pin 3 corsages to my shirt.

So, my fourth Mother's Day was pretty cool....

First Day of Preschool!

We decided to start sending the kids to preschool next fall, and we recently found out that the school had openings this spring on Fridays. So, even though Friday is one of my days off to be with the kids, we decided to send them one day a week so they could get used to going. And so I could have some time to myself to get caught up on work, chores, and errands. I even have fantasies of someday being "caught up" enough to do fun stuff like get a massage or meet a friend for coffee. But right now just being alone in the house for a few hours is pretty awesome.

Sitting on their bench and excited for their first day of school.

Did I also mention that we finally turned their seats forward-facing after their third birthday? I still feel a twinge of guilt about it since they're still under the weight limit for rear-facing.

The school is very small, and in the teacher's home, so it has a cozy feel. The teacher has a master's in education and is very warm and nurturing. It feels like a safe place for the kids to have their first school experience, and it eases my anxiety a bit about leaving them.

Even though the kids were excited about the idea of school, when we actually pulled up they started to look nervous. Abby had barely eaten breakfast, and Zoey did her lip-rubbing thing that she does when she's anxious. Once I got them in they were curious about the classroom and started to warm up a bit. Lucas discovered markers, and Abby wanted to eat her breakfast. 

Zoey found the dolls and strollers and started playing (note her lip rubbing here). Here's a funny story. We had been reading books about going to preschool, and in one book a child hangs up his vest when he gets to school. So Zoey insisted on wearing a vest that morning and hanging it on her hook when she arrived. :)

I had a hard time dropping them off, and spent my whole time at home cleaning the house because I couldn't sit still. I felt relieved when I went to pick them up though - Abby came running to hug me, Lucas said "what are you doing here?" and Zoey said "mommy's here already?" The teacher said they had a great day, and since they were some of the younger students in the school, the older kids sort of took them under their wings.

So, I think this is going to be a great thing for them to do this spring and summer, and I hope we'll have the routine down by the fall when we'll be sending them 4 days a week! It's definitely overwhelming to get everyone dressed, lunches made, and in the car on time. It's going to take some practice to get all of that done and get ourselves ready for work too. At least on Fridays I don't have to shower before I leave the house. :)

Seattle Trip

[subtitle: Only our second 4-day trip together without the kids in the past 3 years. A couple of overnights here and there, but that's about it]

We were very lucky this year to be able to take a trip together without the kids. Jason had a conference to attend in Seattle, and I was able to go with him. It's a great way to take trips because his airfare and the hotel are paid for, so it's really just my airfare and spending money we need. The last time we did a trip like this was two years ago, for this very same conference, to Montreal. Grandmas Di & Peg came to stay with the kids, and MeMe and Hat-Dad were on call as needed.

Jason flew out on Wednesday, and I flew out on Friday. The time change was exhausting, but having time on my own was great. We had a nice dinner Friday night, and Saturday morning we walked around the city and had a great breakfast. We found a French restaurant and got to have strong coffee, beignets, and yummy egg scrambles.

Saturday afternoon Jason had more work to do, so I got to go to a spa. Massage, lounging, and swimming for a couple of hours was awesome! And then shopping - our hotel was right in the middle of a great shopping area. I barely made it back in time for our dinner plans!

On Sunday morning we walked around Pike Place Market and saw the famous fish throwing guys. I just kept thinking about all the scenes from Sleepless in Seattle that took place there. :) In the afternoon we decided to take the ferry to Bainbridge Island. It was a beautiful ride, though cloudy. We ate at a great pub, did a little shopping and walking, and then took the ferry back.

View from the Ferry

Self-portraits on the ferry

On Monday morning we had a little time to take one more walk and drink more amazing coffee before we got on the plane. The most exciting part was that we finally saw the sun, and the mountains!

It was a long plane ride back, and we were exhausted at work the next day. Still, it was worth it to have a few days to relax and spend time together. :)

Happy birthday, Jason!

Jason's birthday is only a few weeks after the kids' birthday. It was a hectic day since it was in the middle of the workweek, but his mom was in town again, so thankfully she was able to make a nice dinner and bake a cake while we were at work.

The kids helped blow out candles just before bedtime. According to the number of candles the kids chose to put on the cake, Jason is barely in double digits this year. :) [and p.s. chocolate cake right before bedtime is not a good idea]

Then there was a little present opening. (very little, since I hadn't had time to shop for his gift yet!)

Our anniversary is the day after his birthday. This year, we get to take a trip together to Seattle, since Jason has a conference there. We're excited to have a few days to get away on our own! Stay tuned for pictures...