The Rainbow Connection

Our first BBQ of the season.

We are thankful to be out of the mandatory Baltimore Winter Hibernation.

Good to turn the hose on the kids who were dripping with sweat,

caked with dirt

and sticky from watermelon.

It was just too quiet without Meg, Priscilla and Brooke.

You guys will be thankful that I dropped the F-bomb freely in your spirit.

But Brooke, I drew the line at doing the butternut squash joke.

The Dripping Is Not So Adorable Anymore

What kind of mother chooses a camera over a kleenex when such a disgusting thing occurs.

This one.

Here we sit in allergy central. Runny noses, post nasal drip coughs, itchy and watery eyes.

Poor Beatrice had an emergency pediatrician appointment because she was wheezing and breathing shallowly the other day.

Jane was absent for the first time this year because she was "too tired from blowing my nose"

And Molly gave us quite the allergy surprise.

We took her to the potty before we went to bed and wondered how she got

"special cough medicine" (honey)

all over her face.

Oh wait, that's not honey.

That's blood.

(Good to know that blood comes off of Pillow Pets with amazing ease.

They should certainly add this information to their stupidly catchy commercial

that has already cost us $80.)

This picture was snapped right after Beatrice sneezed.

I was mesmerized by this double snot bubble.

I thought,

"Wow, Andrew will never believe this.

There's no way possible that this will last for me to go to the next room to get my camera"

Thankfully, I was wrong.

I think she's gifted.

Look at how happy she is.

The Morning Mom Went Mental

Today was Jane's last day of preschool.

If she and Molly hadn't been so ridiculously out of sorts this morning, I may have had a second to reflect on this milestone and shed a tear or two.

But instead, right after I took this picture it started to piss-pour rain on us. We ran to the car and the fight over who got to get in first ensued. I ignored this battle using the impotent mantra "Work it out" while I put Beatrice in her seat. By this point my ass is soaked from the rain.

And then I had to run back into the house for rain coats for the girls. While I was gone for 45 seconds, Molly realized that Jane had a stuffed animal (cubby) and she did not. Trying to avoid a Molly Meltdown that would certainly ruin this already glorious trip to school, I ran back into the house again and grabbed her a kitty stuffed animal. This was not the cubby she had in mind so she snatched Jane's stuffed dog. This caused Jane started to whine at an unbelievable decible about this injustice and how Molly is "wuining evwything". Molly is still screaming.

Mind you, I was still standing in the rain because I failed to get raincoat for myself.

Mothers don't deserve such luxuries.

I had to do something, so I flashbacked to all of the parenting books I have read, all of the disciplinary tactics I studied and employed with great success in my years of teaching and made a choice.

I threw both cubbies out of the car into the rain and yelled, "No one gets anything ever!"

Surprisingly, this did not fix the problem.

Molly's crying elevated to shrills of injustice and Jane's whining turned to guilt inducing moping.

It was a banner morning.

One that I will treasure for always.

At least the picture is cute.

"Did she dress herself?"

"No, Lady. I dressed her in a fur vest, a Lucy t-shirt, short-shorts and hello-kitty socks jacked up to her knees."

On non-school days, Molly has not allowed me to dress her in about a year. I am allowed to do her hair to her specifications and I am allowed to launder her clothes. I am not however allowed to pick out her outfits OR assist her in dressing. She puts on all of her own clothes --including (up until last month when she night trained herself) her night-time diaper--not a pullup, but a diaper. Shoes are on the wrong feet mostly and sometimes entire ensembles are on backwards.

Socks are jacked up to her knees and why accessorize with only one hairband, why not three or four.

On school days (Jane's school days) she picks from two Mommy-approved options.

On non-school days, I put down my battle shield and let her go wild.

Some parents dream their children will grow to be famous doctors or athletes.

I would piss myself with pride to hear Tim Gunn tell my baby to "Make it work".

Our New Play Set

or

in Molly-ese

"The GayGround"

Cousin Julia graciously gifted us her play set.

The girls adore it!

What took the strength of five men to move and load into a rented truck, took Andrew a few hours of applied mathematics and the knowledge of levers, pulleys and wheels to unload by himself.

Everyone is having a great time showing off their courage going down the slide backwards, forwards, sideways, on bellies, backs, butts

(and unfortunately twice going off the side of the slide giving me a heart attack.)

But we are thankful for the smiles, the dirty feet

and the sweet silence of utter exhaustion.

Thanks Pincus Family!

A Little Cold

Yes. That's snot. Beatrice is dripping.

Allergies? Maybe

Cold? Perhaps

Adorable? Absolutely

(And I got a cool new camera!)

Apartment 3G

Apartment 3G = Three Girls

Jane Ellerslie

4 Years old

Sweet, Nurturing, Thoughtful

Margaret Emmeline

"Molly" "Mimi" "Lucy" "Sally" "Peppermint Patty" "The Girl"

2 years old

Determined, Silly, Strong

Beatrice Gray

6 months

Happy, Bubbly, Affectionate

Embracing the chaos that is three girls.

Filling our house with giggles, screams and a lot of dirty dresses.