Today

Wanna know what we're up to this morning?

Potty training. He's ready... I'm not. So far, so good... Wish me luck!

First day of school

Allison started pre-K yesterday, and she was so excited.

All ready for circle time to start! She might have been one of the first kids to sit down (there was an issue with the school-aged kids using the classroom right before her class and a late bus). That really is a smile of her face, not a grimmace... camera delay...

When did she get so big?

Me? I'm enjoying 2 and a half hours every day of just one kiddo (at least for the next 3 months). And Carter? He wasted no time styling himself out at Target during our first run of preschool-time errands yesterday. What a cute, crazy kid...

Fall Goals

Many, many, many, many, MANY times, I feel like I spend my days accomplishing nothing of merit. Everything I do just has to be redone... clean laundry gets worn and dirty, clean dishes get used and dirtied, meals get eaten and people are still hungry again 4 hours later, clean playroom get played in and cluttered... you get the picture, right?

So, in hopes that maybe this fall, with Allison going to preschool every day (which will bring more structure and schedule to our life), I can accomplish a few big goals. Not many... just a few. So I don't feel so anti-accomplished all the time.

And a goal not written down is merely a wish, right?

So...

September: Deep clean the house (including hiring out upholstery and carpet cleaning) & paint kid's bedrooms, possibly the living room, halls and stairwell too.

October: Move Allison & baby furniture into her new (shared) room (which also means moving my craft stuff out of it) & finish decorating kid's rooms (I've got a few projects I want to try for each room on my Pinterest boards).

November: Stock the freezer with freezer meals, menu plan through January & finish all Christmas shopping and projects by the end of the month.

December: Um... how about survive? :)

What do you do in the summer time...

when your parents are insane enough to plan a 2-week cross-country trip with 2 kids under 5?

You sleep in the car.

You sleep on the plane

(and then avoid sleeping on the next plane when you SHOULD be sleeping because going from East to West is hard like that).

You go to the park... lots of parks.

You ride the ferry...

and the big gold pig at Pike Place.

You go for a hike,

And throw rocks in the ocean.

You "help" grandpa rebuild the deck stairs.

And play with the toys rescued from the attic (even though they've already been sold on Ebay).

You go to the Children's Museum (on the day you thought you were flying home because mommy got the dates mixed up).

And when you finally do get around to flying home you spend a solid 21 hours (!!!) travelling in cars and airplanes to make it all the way home. Which makes your parents vow to pretty much never do that again.

It was great to get to see most of both of our families... But next year, we're staying closer to home for vacation.

Birthday girl!

I can't belive that Allison is 4! Where did all that time go?

How's this for lazy mommy? I just couldn't bring myself to make a cake, so we got one from the grocery store and plopped a Rapunzel figurine on it. I got lucky with a pink and purple accented cake.

She loved all the attention. It was low-key on Sunday, but we'll be hosting a birthday party for 8 little girls on Thursday... wish me luck!

Today I...

Today I yelled at the top of my lungs.

Today I told my almost 4-year-old that I was cancelling her birthday party.

Today I ignored my 2-year-old when I knew he was awake and finished with his nap.

Today I refused to make dinner. Or put the kids to bed.

Today I wanted to run away.

Today was not a good day on the mommy front.

Maybe tomorrow will be better...

Yesterday

Yesterday morning, I had an ultrasound and we all got to find out the gender of baby #3. It was a pretty amazing machine, but a REALLY squirmy baby... which is why the picture is a little unclear...

Baby's profile with hand near the face. :)

Yesterday evening I went shopping... cause thats what you do when you find out... buy baby a new outfit, right? Or two or eight...

...

...

Its another girl for us! :)

By the way, if you love the cuteness that is Gymboree, I asked one of the employees at my store if they had any 0-3 month fall/winter things in back (read: old stuff marked down cheap), and they brought me out a big ol' pile of things to pick through. You just have to ask and they're usually happy to pull stuff for you if they're not too busy. Everything I got was marked under $7 per peice.