I am STILL trying to get over this cold/sinus thing/allergies???????/whatever it is that makes my face hurt all the time. There are days where I feel totally fine and days where I feel like I might actually die. The doctor’s office keeps telling me to try a saline nose spray and a humidifier but that’s helping about as much as hitting myself in the face with a hammer would. Maybe I should try that instead.

Sunday:

New car seat in the back = BFFs are very happy

Crazy farm kids

Editing goat pictures, watching the Harry Potter marathon

Monday:

No Linc, that is not your seat

Beach weather for a New England baby

Doing important baby work

Tuesday:

That’s a happy scream

Climbers

Dudes doing their Insanity workout

Wednesday:

Still not sure about swim

THAT IS NOT FOR BABIES

70 degrees = time to go in the ocean

Thursday:

Trying and failing to calibrate my 50 mm

Tree climbing shoes

Lying on the couch being sick while my A+++ husband cleans

Friday:

Accurate

Style Video Show Time!

Link to Caroline’s video is here!

Game night!

Saturday:

Friends

Caroline and Maggie, twinning at the outlets

We put the babies to work making dinner

BREAKING NEWS! I finally got ahold of my OB and she said I can take Tylenol Cold and Sinus if my head REALLY hurts and I’m REALLY sure it’s not just a regular headache. Going immediately to the store for both meds and a pint of Ben & Jerry’s, since that will definitely improve both my pain and my mood.

First I need to convince the toddler he doesn’t need to bring BOTH lightsabers with us. That seems excessive.

I started and ended my week with beautiful photo sessions where everyone wore short sleeves. The heat in my house is still kicking on most nights but I am almost confident I can put away my winter coat. Which is good, because today starts soccer GAMES in addition to practices so we’ll be spending even more time outside…

Sunday:

My new favorite beach spot for photos

Another week, another goat

After a very full day we still managed to grocery shop thanks to a happy back wrapped baby

Monday:

OUTSIIIIIIIIIIIDE

She’s such a pro

Catching up on Scandal (ugh, why do I bother?) while editing

Tuesday:

This wrap is called Arendelle’s Meadow and I HAVE to own it (I’m just borrowing it right now)

Her happy place

Evan was complaing it was too sunny to see the iPad screen so he put my jacket over his head. Kids these days.

Wednesday:

Let me oooooouuuuuut

I had to pin him down with my foot and then pull it out of the picture really quick

Swinger

Thursday:

BEST wrap meet-up ever

Practicing

Love soccer practice because of the dirt-eating opportunities

Friday:

This face was temporary…

…because this is what he wanted

Mommy, I’m a koala!

Saturday:

BFFs

Cheese, guacamole, bacon, and chipotle sauce from The Whey Station

Perfect evening for some photos

Today we went OUT OUT OUT to enjoy the 75 degree weather and now we are all tired tired tired. We just at dinner (it’s 4 pm) and I’m counting on a 6:30 pm bedtime for everyone – probably including me. 12 hours of sleep (even interrupted sleep) sounds amazing. The only family member who isn’t tired is Linc, who is currently out on the porch screeching at anyone who walks by and shoving push-cars around. I WISH he was in here nursing to sleep in my lap – because that’s always a nice excuse to sit on the couch instead of clean stuff – but he has an endless amount of energy. I’m actually looking forward to him walking so I can wear him out more.

I am apparently allergic to everything that is blooming/growing at the moment. I ran through all the OTC drugs I had and I’m afraid to buy anything else in case the cops show up to look for my meth lab. Plus I can’t take any GOOD stuff because I’m nursing. If spring is going to kick my ass this much I would really appreciate it being warm enough to actually BE OUTSIDE.

Sunday:

Those are actually suck pads for my Tula, not elbow decorations, but don’t tell her.

I’m not exactly sure WHY Anna and Elsa were at the horse farm, but Caroline enjoyed it

Stop being a jerk, Zebra-Donkey

Monday:

He’s pleased with himself

She said she’s building a fairy house

Swim girl

Tuesday:

How does a baby who can’t dress himself lose so many shoes?

Look at the little fox with the camera!

First day of soccer

Wednesday:

I did a LOT of babywearing this week

It was not actually as warm as it looks. He just really wanted to touch the grass.

He nurses like this every time.

Thursday:

It SNOWED while we were outside

Evan switched to the U8 soccer team instead of the beginners, so we’re at soccer for 2 hours. Which is NOT FUN when it’s SNOWING.

Sight words today, learning about copyright infrigement tomorrow

Friday:

Practicing

Happy baby

Unimpressed with the outlet mall

Saturday:

Helping me with the seasonal clothing switch

Very excited about Moe’s

THIS BRUSH IS DELICIOUS

This is our second week with our new very busy schedule. I really hope the baby and my allergies let me sleep enough to survive it. I would give almost anything for 12 hours of uninterrupted sleep. It’s amazing how quickly a few bad nights catch up with you. I should in fact be sleeping right now but I was a) finishing this post and b) watching episodes of Call the Midwife I didn’t realize were new and my DVR was kindly recording for me.

This week was spring break. We didn’t go anywhere in the stay-over-night-on-vacation sense, but we did go do a lot of things. Especially Caroline and I – we are cut from the same cloth that refuses to just sit on the couch on a sunny day. We need to go “do fun things”.

Sunday:

Can’t stop won’t stop visiting the goats (except probably now, since all the baby goats are getting big)

Treat yo’ self

Evening walk

Monday:

Not a real cow

So excited about the zoo he fell asleep

Art in motion

Tuesday:

Band-aids are really exciting

This is not a good wrap job but the wrap is so pretty I don’t care

If you give a baby a flashlight, he will think that is the best thing ever

Wednesday:

During the treasure hunt, a pirate asked them to sing a pirate song, so they both sang “Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!”

That hat though

Seriously. The hat.

Thursday:

I thought a nice long walk would be fun. They disagreed.

Caroline arranged her own storytime at the library, despite the fact that a) she can’t read and b) she doesn’t know that girl

Don’t let the cute messy face distract you from the path of destruction behind him

Friday:

Maybe I should try to teach her to read

Hide out

That’s his concentrating face

Saturday:

She is very disappointed that no REAL birds will get to enjoy the houses she decorated for them

Wearing his new hat while we enjoy dinner on a deck

These kids, you guys

I am BEAT and I feel about a million years old. I wish I could sleep for 24 hours straight. I feel like I’m right on the edge of getting sick and I do not have TIME to be sick. The kids are supposed to start soccer this week but somehow soccer (which is supposed to be Monday/Wednesday) is now on Thursday during the same time as swim. Obviously they can’t be swimming WHILE playing soccer so I’m going to have to get swim moved (there are other swim classes, there’s just one soccer team). But this swim session is really full and it’s going to be SUCH a pain to work out. I’m dreading making that phone call but both soccer and swim cost too much money to just skip. Stupid sports.

The weather is finally warm enough that I’m confident it’s time to switch out everyone’s wardrobes, but that means it’s time to sort out the donate/consign/pass on piles. Just ONE kid’s clothes could keep me busy for a week – and I have 3 kids with way too much stuff. I suspect absolutely nothing from last year will fit anyone (especially Linc, since he didn’t exist this time last year) so I will be forced to buy EVEN MORE stuff. Stupid stuff.

Thank God spring break is over. I’ve become just a whiny as my children.

This year, Evan’s birthday and Easter were the same day. We actually did his celebrating the day/night before and did Easter stuff on Easter, so these pictures are out of order but I’m hoping to put together a real birthday post with a kid interview before I finish it. So I’m starting with Easter.

The Easter Bunny was very generous this year and shockingly well-prepared considering how early the holiday fell. She was smart enough to buy several things on clearance after Easter last year AND THEN put them in a well-marked box in the basement AND THEN remembered to go down and LOOK in the box. Besides the last-year stuff and the standard candy, Easter Bunny also brought each big kid a Lego set because a) everyone loves Legos and b) spending money on Legos seemed like a wiser choice than buying $20 worth of junk they’d forget about instantly. So far it has worked out extremely well.

Even Lincoln got a basket of baby-appropriate stuff (book, ears, finger puppets, rubber ducky). I was also SUPER excited each kid finally has a permanently designated basket complete with their name and everything. They came from Personal Creations and were perfect for egg hunting at church and filling on Easter morning.

This chocolate bunny seriously blew his mind. It’s the solid kind, which means he ate approximately a whole pound of chocolate before church. #eastertraditions

Before we went to church I dragged the children outside for an Obligatory Fancy Clothes Holiday Photo. It didn’t go super well.

Don’t worry though, I/they made up for it later.

After church we went to Mystic Seaport to run out a little energy before our 2 pm brunch reservations. E insisted it is no longer “brunch” if it is served at 2 pm but I say anything with both a carving station and a custom omelet bar counts as brunch on Easter.

Lincoln was D O N E by the time we actually sat down to eat, but it still went fairly well. I wish he would have nursed and then slept on me so I could have sent my husband to fill my plate with ALL THE THINGS from the dessert table, but there was way too much going on for a distractable 8 month old to nurse. He did shove most of a dinner roll in his face. Caroline ate all the meat. Evan mostly ate crudités (if I call them crudités I feel less bad about the cost of carrot sticks). I ate more than enough stuff to make it feel worth the effort and expense. Easter brunch at a fancy place has ALWAYS been one of my favorite things and getting to do it once a year with my own family is fun. I imagine in 5 more years when everyone eats more and sits still and is as excited as I am about the crepe bar it will be an even nicer tradition.