Catching up

I realize that I have once again been deficient in posting.  Here are some recent events:

I turned 35. The day itself was pretty uneventful, but it ended nicely with a big dinner out with my parents and Eric.  We ate a lot of good food and laughed and enjoyed each other's company.  Then I managed to drag out the birthday celebrations a little by taking the following Friday to do a girls' day of shopping with my mom, and next week I'm going out with my girl friends for dinner.  Eric gave me a groupon for Botox for my birthday, and I got my first injections on Monday.  I am pretty sure it is working, which is nice. I feel younger already.

Eric turned 35. To celebrate his birthday he bought himself some new cycling shoes and enjoyed a bike ride with his friends in beautiful weather while I took the kids to the Cherry Blossom Festival.  He took the boys for their first race in a series of "Healthy Kids Running Club" races, and then we grilled outside and ate cake- I had made Eric a yellow cake with chocolate frosting, and my mom made me a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.

We had a visit from Eric's parents, who brought our nieces with them.  The girls are so independent and helpful, and it's always fun to have them. Our kids adore them!  With them, we got beautiful weather both days.  Saturday we took a picnic lunch to Chanticleer and toured the gardens, just enjoying being outside in the warm sun after our long winter.  Saturday night we grilled and ate outside, and then on Sunday I went to the zoo with Eric's mom and all of the kids.

Selfie by the water table

Asher and Taylor

showing off blossoms

Another Mommy-Charlotte selfie

The most memorable part of our zoo trip was lunch- a goose came over and got extra-interested in the kids' rice krispie treats.  I wasn't watching closely, but there was a scream from Charlotte, and she said, "It pecked me!"  She said it pecked her tummy, but one of the boys said it was her finger.  She was crying and clinging to me like a little monkey, when all of a sudden, I heard a crash- Asher had climbed into the stroller, which was on a hill with the diaper bag on its back, and the whole thing came crashing down.  Asher just sat there, stunned, Charlotte kept screaming and crying, Asher started to cry, and Pat and I just burst out laughing.

Myah and Charlotte wore matching shirts and got lots of compliments

The 5 kids by the bears

Eric and his dad stayed home and worked on our garden.  Poor garden only gets attention from Steve, and he hadn't been in a year! I am eager to see what bulbs he planted for me when they come up this summer.

We have tried to make the most of whatever good weather we get. This week turned cold again, and it seems like spring has frozen.  Spring is so late this year- it is the end of April and the trees do not yet have leaves; the azaleas aren't even close.  At least spring paused while all the cherry blossoms are out, so we've had an extra week to appreciate them (that is really looking for the silver lining- what I'm really thinking is- COME ON, I DON'T WANT TO WEAR MY WINTER COAT AT THE END OF APRIL!).

On Monday we had friends over for lunch, and what had been a rainy day turned sunny.  We put on boots and stomped in puddles, and the kids ended up going on a worm-hunting mission.

Puddle jumping

Worm hunting

Friday I took the kids to the Please Touch museum.  They played nicely together- having 3 kids makes every trip an adventure with friends, which I love.  The boys tried on different costumes:

Post man

Construction workers

Doctor

I will leave it to you to guess which of these careers my stereotypical Jewish-mommy self finds acceptable...

The kids had fun playing at home today. No matter how fast we try to clean up, they are working against us.  They got into the box of winter gear that had not yet made it to the attic.

Trying on winter hats

"Meow! I'm a kitty cat!"

We had friends over for dinner tonight, which is always fun. We put the kids in one room and ignore them while we drink wine in the dining room.  So nice.  I made baked ziti and cookie bars, which was great because I had no prep work or cooking when our guests were here.  Tomorrow we have family day- a weekend day with all 5 of us and no major obligations.  Time is flying by so fast- in one week I have the Broad Street Run again, which I am really looking forward to.  I just love that feeling of crossing the finish line!