January

"Shh! Mommy I calling Daddy at WORK."

Going in the boat is the BEST part of swimming lessons!

There's a viral video going around where the dad sneaks behind his tween daughters making a dance video and out-dances them. That will TOTALLY happen in our house.

Morning meditation.

Daddy is wiped out.

Yes, yes I do let my children dress themselves. How ever did you know?

NOT approved, Talie.

I'm not supposed to shovel in my delicate state (rolls eyes) so I hired these two to help me.

Trader Joe's had a GREAT sale on 3 year olds.

I've said it before and I hope I'll say it again: elementary school is a magical time.

WHEEEEE!  Get me a bumper sticker!

She was very proud of her portrait.

These are totally weather-appropriate jammies, right?

COOKIES!  COOKIES ARE HERE! 

This is her clean up dance.

Loose tooth!

Well it wasn't actually loose ... but it's gone now. E took a bite of dinner the other night and one of her bottom teeth got pushed into her gum in a weird and gross (and painful) way. It wasn't coming out on its own so we headed to the dentist. She thinks the tooth fairy is going to bring her $100 tonight. Hate to break it to you kid but it cost me $76 at the dentist to get the damn thing out so you'll be lucky to get *A* dollar. Although I DO think the trauma earned her $2 this time. The receptionist came over and closed the door because she was so loud. I simultaneously wanted to cry, cradle her like a baby, and roll my eyes. Maybe I'll give her 100 pennies ...

In related news, there is a special place in heaven reserved for pediatric dentists and hygienists. I need an adult beverage.

Poor kid. That was NOT fun.

Hallway Fairy Door!

Skiing Weekend

This weekend we had our 2nd annual ski trip with the Massaro clan up at Sunday River.  Well, everyone else skied. I did my best to not fall down on ice. Being pregnant in the winter bites -- I can't go in the hot tub while everyone is skiing, I can't have a glass of wine while everyone is ice skating -- I guess I'll just do the dishes and be a taxi service. I kid. I still had fun. We added another family to the trip this year (coworker and college friend) and upgraded to a kick-ass condo slope-side that had a community OUTDOOR pool.  So cool.  I hope we have a third annual trip next year!

I bought a bunch of busy bag crafting to keep the littles entertained while the big kids were skiing.  Jas liked the pipe cleaners with beads craft the best.

On one of my taxi trips, I left the littles with Mike for a few minutes. Talie is pretty well potty trained but still needs help with #2. Well of COURSE, during the 10 minutes I was gone, she had to poop.  Rather than ask Mike for help, she went by herself. When I came in, she had just finished and proudly told me that she wiped herself -- but since she couldn't reach the toilet, she just washed her hands ... IN THE POTTY. Thankfully she hadn't left the bathroom yet and hadn't touched anything!  OMG.

Elliott rocked her ski lessons.  She advanced 2 levels in 2 days.  She even went on the chair lift!  Hopefully next year Jas and I will be able to ski, too (his back was hurting this weekend).

Theo fell down so Talie joined him for a little nap.

So many kids!

Look!  A grownup picture!

Outdoor heated pool.

The entrance to the pool was inside and sauna-like.

My view from inside -- could only be improved if it had been wine instead of hot chocolate!

Knucklehead.

Talie was eavesdropping on the grownups and fell asleep by the door.  The big kids were all in bunk beds in the basement -- Elliott and Maddie insisted on sharing the top bunk. Ha!

My friend Mary Michael was on the chairlift and sent this picture asking if this was our condo -- it was!  Our unit was on the far right but we were that close to the slopes. Convenient-ish -- the only way to get to a chair lift was via a black diamond so ti was a little tricky getting the kids out ...

Mini Vacation

We took a mini-vacation to CoCoKey Indoor Waterpark on the North Shore this weekend -- we were only gone for about 26 hours but it really felt like we got away and relaxed. Indoor waterslide exhaustion for the win!

Small, medium, and extra-large!

They were so exhausted after swimming all afternoon that they put themselves to bed. They were up giggling at 5:15am but still.

Up the stairs, down the blue slide ... times 800.

Jas was with us -- he just didn't make it into any of the pictures?