A great way to end March

First the good news: my little brother is engaged! We already adore Aunt Ali at this house, so the news was greeted by the kids with “hooray”s, especially after I pointed out they’d get to be cousins with Gus, Allison’s dog/pony (I posted a picture of Katherine riding him back in December (“December fun”))! I loved Katherine’s comment the best: “It’ll be so nice to call her Aunt Ali and mean it for REAL!” Seriously, we haven’t spent that much time together, but some people you can just tell right away that you’re going to like them, and for me, Allison is one of them. I’m looking forward to getting to know her better, and I’m so happy for them. The only downside to this news is that Scott has to go away on deployment (he’s a Captain in the USMC) for the next 10 months or so. And Scott, I’m biting my tongue and NOT making any lame jokes about not scaring her off before you get back!

The last weekend in March was a really busy, fun one, and I didn’t think to take a single picture. That really says something, since whenever anything fun happens these days my first thought is usually, “Oooh, I can put that on the blog!” Pathetic, I’m well aware. On Friday, the 25th, I took the kids to my parents’ house for a really cool mini-reunion of some long-lost family. Two of my mom’s cousins, that I’d never met, were in town. In fact, the last time my mom saw one of them, she was only a month old! All the women in this picture are first cousins. My mom is the one in the orange shirt. Donna, in the turquoise shirt, brought her son (my second cousin) and his sons, who are my kids’ 3rd cousins. I don’t think I’ve ever met any of MY 3rd cousins, so that was neat for them. (Neater if I’d taken a picture, right?) Anyway, it was really awesome to get to meet “new” family! Growing up, Mom always dragged us to every family reunion and was always emphasizing the importance of family, so I’ve at least MET most of my close relatives. This was a treat!

After lunch Saturday, the kids and I hurried back home so we could change into swimsuits for a cookout at our friends Karen and Marko’s house. I, of course, did not even contemplate wearing a swimsuit beyond an immediate, “Are you crazy?” I didn’t care if they DID have a diving board, that water was COLD! But the kids were wildly excited about the prospect of getting to jump off a diving board. Most pools don’t have them anymore, I guess, and we mostly go to neighborhood pools where liability issues make them impossible. Despite the fact they were blue-lipped from the cold water and visibly shivering, they kept jumping in and had a fantastic time! Chris and I also had a fantastic time, but mainly because the company was great! That is one of our main goals this spring and summer – have more people over!

The kids have finally recovered from the time-change in early March. I HATE, hate, hate the switch (not that I’m alone in this)! What happens is that the kids, who used to go quietly to bed and just go to sleep without fuss, suddenly are in bed for an hour before their usual time and aren’t sleepy, so they play and make noise. But do they sleep that hour later in the morning? Nooooooo, they’re up at the “new” time and are just an hour short for what seems like weeks!

Random stuff:

Katherine just got the idea into her head that it would be fun to stack cups. She’s not into speed, but height. Caroline is of course happy to pose for a picture with any of Katherine’s achievements. Now we’re out of paper cups… I really wasn’t thrilled to wake up one morning and discover Katherine’s new hobby. (Thankfully, it was short-lived!)

 

 

 

Katherine has also been very helpful lately about getting Caroline ready to go when we’re leaving the house. The other morning, she picked out a dress, got her shoes on, and fixed Caroline’s hair. I was appreciative, really, but geez. Neither one of them thought there was anything wrong with it (and I didn’t tell them there was!). I let her go to library story-time just like this!

 

 

 

 

 

Rachel had to go back to the dentist’s office to get several molar cavities filled and this is a picture after her first visit (yes, it will take more than one). Can you guess which side is numb?

 

 

 

Elizabeth is finally old enough to go to Miss Lizzie’s cooking club at the library, where she teaches them how to cook simple foods. I’m proud of Katherine for sharing “her” club with Elizabeth (she didn’t initially want to), and now they can make cinnamon twists for us (except Chris and I can’t eat any because of this stupid diet). Here they are eating their twists. They were kind enough to save some to bring home to the other kids!

As a parent, you know which of your kids is more likely to get into certain situations. Basic. For example, if one of my kids is going to fall down or spill something, it will be Rachel, no question.  If one of them is going to say something embarrassing, it will be Daniel. But if one of the is going to do something weird and get stuck or hurt, it will be Caroline. Here’s a picture of her hair after a fight with a jump rope. I know how she did it (she draped the rope over the chin-up bar and put her head against it while twirling round and round…), but for a minute I thought I was going to have to cut it out, and that would’ve been a disaster. Fortunately, Katherine was able to work it out gently with minimal damage…

 

 

 

And of course, I spent the end of March in complete denial that Rachel’s 6th birthday was fast approaching…