I’ve been doing these weekly posts since I was pregnant with Caroline. She’s now a fully functional human (well, unless you try to stop pushing her on the swings, then she is a hideous raging monster beast) and I’m only a few weeks away from another baby. If the entire internet self destructed tomorrow, these posts the things I’d be the saddest to lose.

Sunday:

This was pretty much the only awesome stroller we DIDN’T take home from New York. It’s really awesome.

Caroline made herself right at home.

It was so great to have E with us in NYC for the first time.

Monday:

Reading Spiderman books to Doggy. Obviously.

Bubble machines are priceless. PRICELESS.

Someone is still exhausted from New York.

Tuesday:

She thinks the a/c vent is tiny stairs for tiny people.

Another Tuesday, another non-stress test

They can find their way around the hospital without me now.

Wednesday:

OFFICIALLY SUMMER

Weirdoes

Swam all the way to the deep end by herself

Thursday:

How one child gets so many scrapes and bruises (and almost never mentions them) is beyond me

Cute kid. Trashed house.

Performing at the spring Science Fair. He knew all the words.

Friday:

Enjoying her tiny rain-proof house at Stroller Strides

God bless iPads. Seriously. SERIOUSLY.

Well earned cheeseburgers after our appointment.

Saturday:

I dunno, it’s a wall. I liked it.

The best food in the world.

Motherhood: when your nice relaxing bubble bath is ruined by this thing staring up at you.

I have too many things to do and not enough time to do them all, so I am mostly doing nothing. Besides editing pictures. That is both fun and able to be done while I sit on the couch and watch this Star Trek movie. Again. There’s a tribble! I love tribbles! Tomorrow I am making a pie, which should count as more than enough things for one pregnant lady to do in a weekend. Maybe I will make two pies, just to be sure someone besides me gets to eat some.

This week felt really, really long. But in a good way. A full way. Something about going away for the weekend to Mom 2.0 changed things at home – maybe we ALL needed a break from each other – and we’re all happier to be around each other. Despite spending an awful lot of the week in various waiting and exam rooms, we ended it in NYC proving our kids are really good sports (we made them walk everywhere) and really fun (when they aren’t driving us crazy).

Sunday:

These are my “before” flowerpots, but that didn’t stop her from trying to take care of them.

She asked for purple flowers to plant (I don’t even know what these are).

Mother’s Day at Chili’s (again) calls for finger guns

Monday:

Freezing, FREEZING cold water

The gingers are unphased by cold

So excited about her chocolate frog she forgot to take the plastic off.

Tuesday:

She tied that all by herself.

Thank God for iPads (during my NST)

Wishflowers

Wednesday:

Pweeeese we swim some more Mommy? Pweeeeeese?

We bought cat food and paper towels and batteries at Walmart. She is hugging the batteries.

Fawkes Phoenix is Evan’s new BFF

Thursday:

Looking pensive about the rain

In case you thought they were GOOD at posing for pictures.

Sleeping Beauty

Friday:

What is this weather even??

Next year, SHE is going to be coming home on that bus.

Another day, another visit to L&D

Saturday:

When you get the Metro-North seats with the power outlet, you get to play Angry Birds all the way in to the city.

Shake Shack is actually as good as everyone says.

I think our last family picture (selfie or otherwise) was in October. We heart NYC.

And now I am literally going to crawl upstairs to bed because my left hip is broken (out of joint? sprained? can you sprain a hip?) and I can’t walk. I finally found my sense of direction in New York, but unfortunately it was because we walked EVERYWHERE. I’m pretty sure even the gingers are going to sleep in tomorrow.

Although I did get a super awesome new stroller that’s inspiring me to get back to Stroller Strides. Maybe if my hip pops back in we’ll actually make it this week.

Today it is only in the 60’s and threatening to rain, but Monday was gorgeous so we went to the lake. The water was can’t-feel-your-toes freezing – almost as bad as the ocean this time of year – but the kids had a great time.

(Sidebar: The one zillion dollars I have spent on swim lessons so far is totally worth it for the peace of mind it brings me around the water. We’ll still be sporting those across-the-chest floaties for most of the summer, but the fact that both kids understand how to hold their breath, float on their back and get to the wall/shore means I can actually ENJOY going to the lake instead of freaking out the entire time about the very presence of water more than 1 inch deep. I plan to continue throwing money at our swim lessons all summer.)

We were not the only people there. Evan actually ran into a friend from school and that friend has some siblings/friends for Caroline plus their favorite baby-friend Baby Charlotte came too. I like this lake in May. by July it’s crowded and trashed (because it is free and has lots of parking and people are jerks) so we’ll be at the real shoreline beach with everyone else.

Late, so late, but Mother’s Day was spent planting and napping and today was spent at the lake enjoying our very first 80+ degree day of the year so I’m just patting myself on the back for getting it done and not decided 183 weeks straight is enough.

Sunday:

Hello New England, you look lovely from the air.

May the Fourth be with you!

Exhausted and swollen but shocked by how much I missed these kids.

Monday:

Yay Spring!

Caroline picked me flowers

Moe’s was as close as we got to celebrating Cinco de Mayo

Tuesday:

Preschool drop off shenanigans

Weirdo is obsessed with this basket

Evening family walk is my new favorite

Wednesday:

First of many non-stress tests for Baby #3

They’ve graduated to the deep end (with help) and it stresses me out

Who doesn’t love H&M?

Thursday:

Three going on sixteen

Not mad, just showing off the guns

Super happy Daddy is home

Friday:

Someone threw money in this statue which only has 2 inches of water in it. I made the gingers put it back after they fished it all out because it felt like…stealing? Ruining someone’s wish? I’m not even sure.

The best ice cream in Connecticut @Mystic Drawbridge

Green

Saturday:

Back in the hospital birthing center, my new home.

Humid weather gives her curls

The sky after the wedding I photographed

The beautiful, sunny weather for the past couple days means I’ve been carrying my camera around again to take pictures, so they’ll be a bunch of those to post this week. Probably. Or they all might end up living on my hard drive indefinitely because I’m too busy sorting and then editing the 1000+ photos I took at that wedding. Luckily I can do all of that sitting down, since being 30 weeks pregnant plus carrying extra amniotic fluid means doing anything for more than about 30 minutes straight is uncomfortable. So hurt. Much huge. Wow.

I have almost totally completely recovered from the Mom 2.0 Summit in Atlanta this weekend. The combination of standing/walking/dancing/flying made me swell up like a bullfrog and I was worried I might have overdone it, but things seem to be getting back to normal. But definitely no more travel for me until I have an outside baby.

Sunday:

Furniture in an orchard. What, that’s not how you spend your weekends?

Evan is “helping” her read a book. This definitely didn’t end well.

STOP JUDGING ME, YOU ARE A CAT.

Monday:

I was very tempted to just throw that whole pile away, but I mostly put it away. Mostly.

Captain Barnacles and Peso to the rescue!

Who knew applesauce in a pouch was THAT delicious?

Tuesday:

Adorable shopping cart sharing.

Making herself at home.

We don’t ACTUALLY live at Target. My kids just get confused sometimes.

Wednesday:

Swim lesson shenanigans

Her side-eye is already perfect.

If this is what happens after a 30 minute swim class, maybe summer will involve LOTS of naps.

Thursday:

Goodbye Providence…

Hello Atlanta!

Chocolate fountain = pregnant woman’s dream come true

Friday:

No YOU cried like 5 different times during the first 4 hours of Mom 2.0

I’ve never had such amazing food at a conference. Parmesan encrusted shrimp OMG.

Fancy hairs courtesy of the Dove suite

Saturday:

High tea at the Ritz. Is this real life? (No)

Fancy award ceremony is fancy

My amazing, beautiful roommate Miranda who I miss so much already

I’ll write an actual conference post later (that will probably be mostly photos, duh) but it was an amazing experience. I had literally zero negative interactions with people – even people I would consider Kind Of A Big Deal on the internets – and loved every conversation I had. Even though right now the logistics of going next year (not knowing where we might be stationed, having a 10 month old) are overwhelming I already bought a ticket.

Now I am back to real life where I am responsible for butt-wiping and laundry and a severe lack of fried green tomatoes. But cuddling with the ginger babies makes me super glad to be back to life (back to reality).