Easter 2013

Despite the so-so weather and some current and lingering illnesses (and whining), we had a great Easter! Marmee and Grampy came in town and spent the weekend with us. We enjoyed the Westwood easter egg hunt and party, lunch, shopping, and dinner out on the town, and of course, lots of fun Easter treats.

Margaret headed to school last Wednesday in her Easter outfit.

Dying eggs with Marmee

Julia sporting her best "mush mouth" face at the Westwood Easter egg hunt.

Grampy and Julia at Westwood. 

Much better, Julia!!

Can you find Caroline??

Margaret was a CHAMP at the toddler egg hunt. Double-fisting eggs right and left!

Julia was a little less enthusiastic about the whole thing.

Sweet Caroline on the playground after the egg hunt.

Margaret collecting her stash of eggs

Daddy and his mini me.

Margaret and Marmee 

Wheee!!

Julia and Grampy 

Making our bunny cake!

Grampy on double duty. 

Julia

Easter baskets

Caroline and her favorite gift from the Easter bunny.

Mmm...cake!

Margaret so serious about getting the frosting.

I love bunny Peeps!

Love this girl

The girls and their baskets (and yes, Caroline is wearing Christmas pjs!)

Sick Sisters

I greatly anticipate and celebrate the arrival of spring. It is hands down my favorite time of the year. With warmer temperatures, more daylight, outdoor playtime and activities with friends, and beautiful flowers,  what's not to love? Well, I can tell you one thing: when your favorite season arrives and brings with it 3-4 inches of snow and 4 days of an incredibly nasty virus, that is a real downer. Big time.

We are (hopefully!) on the tail end of a horrible bug that induces malaise, sky-high fever, runny nose, endless whining, and ear infection. We just got back from the doctor and here's the rundown: Julia, 4 days of fever, runny nose, and double ear infection. Caroline, very high fever, blood draw to check for high white blood cell count, no ear infection. Margaret, ear infection. All three girls have been a mess.

Now that we're getting souped up on meds, rest, and fluids, we are looking forward even more to Marmee and Grampy's visit this Easter weekend. Come on, spring!!

Happier times, just before the bug hit our house...

Julia

Margaret

Caroline

And then....Margaret feels fine...

...Caroline does not...

 ...and Julia goes down.

 I'm still feeling pretty good, Mom!

           

Actually, maybe I don't feel so hot.

Back to back to back appointments at the doctor!

Julia commandeered the excersaucer at the drs office

Back at home, taking our meds!!

Triple Trouble

Our trio of ladies have been getting along swimmingly lately. On one hand, the camaraderie is fabulous, but on the other hand...well, it's a hassle. Caroline, Julia, and Margaret have joined forces to create a triumvirate of trouble with Caroline as their fearless leader. Fun for them, not so fun for Mommy.

Case in point: last week, I left the girls alone to (gasp!) go to the restroom. When I returned to the living room just a few minutes later, I found three little girls drawing all over the rug with markers. It was amazing the amount of damage they had done in such a short amount of time! Caroline was quick thinker and was not about to take the fall for the handiwork that I'm sure she initiated. As soon as she saw me, she threw her marker behind her back and exclaimed, "look what the babies did!!" Not so fast, Caroline, not so fast. The mess they made was too big for Mommy to handle. Thankfully, Stanley Steamer was able to rectify the situation and get our carpet looking (almost) brand new).

Here are some pictures of the girls looking cute and staying out of trouble...for now!

At lunch with my three favorite girls...

Margaret

Julia

Caroline

At Home Depot...

Julia loving the ride on mower...

...Margaret hating it...

...and Caroline having a blast!

Don't ever put me up on something like that again, Mom!

I'll ride this thing all day if you let me!

I caught Julia grooming Isabel in the bathroom.

Isabel was not pleased.

Julia didn't care.

Spring Break??

As a child, teenager, and young adult, I spent many a Spring Break visiting fabulous Caribbean destinations with my family, soaking up the sun and enjoying a carefree vacation from my everyday life. Fast forward about 10 years, two dogs, and three kids later, and my Spring Break looks a whole lot different! Now it means a week of no preschool (plus the unfortunate timing of our part time nanny being on Spring Break too), no vacation, and a whole lot of panic about how on earth we're going to fill our time.
Thankfully, the week has been just fine so far. Over the weekend we hit up the playground, and yesterday we joined our friends Wingrove, Ashby, Claire and Austin at the children's museum and successfully went out to lunch afterwards (7 kids in all!). Today we spent a lot of time at Westwood, with Mommy getting her booty kicked in exercise class and the girls enjoying their Big Sister, Little Sister class and then lunch upstairs at the "fancy tables" (as Caroline calls them). Later this week we have more play dates with friends, and every day Caroline has swimming lessons. It's certainly no tropical getaway, but this Spring Break isn't so bad!

Trying with all her might to climb to the top of the jungle gym.

Margaret insisted on wearing her tutu to the playground.

On the go with Julia!

Margaret always wants to travel with a snack - and she wants to take the whole container!

M and J horsing around on the couch. 

Hug!

Kiss! 

Do YOU want a kiss??

Just because we're not somewhere warm, doesn't mean I can't wear my swimsuit!

Margaret latest obsession...brushing her teeth.

Caroline ready to take the plunge!

Julia loves watching the swimmers.

Caroline has taken to wearing her swimsuit in the tub now.

 Here's Caroline during one of her lessons...