Spring is here and so is Grandma C.

Mae sings a song, taught to her at school, quite frequently. I know that one day I will say what the heck was that song that she used to sing at this time of year and how did it go. It is titled Spring is Here, which is also appropriate because the weather has been pretty spring like here for the last couple of weeks.

Spring is here

Said the bumblebee

How do you know

Said the Old Oak Tree

I saw the yellow daffodil 

Dancing with the fairy 

On the windy hill. 

As also mentioned in the title of this post Grandma C is here for the WHOLE month of May! We are beyond excited to have her, Mae being the most excited. Johanna mentioned to me how lovely Mae sang the above mentioned song to her today, which triggered my need to write it down so that I have a reference point in the future. I will try to get some video up of her singing it. It is pretty adorable in her little kid voice. 

Feeding the Ducks (in black and white)

Today we met up with two of our favorite people [Kelly and Eloise] to feed the ducks in the Arboretum. Two hours of total enjoyment feeding ducks, seeing baby geese, running on the trails, and stomping through the water. 

Mae went home with no pants because she was so wet. 

And the band is back together

Pearson came home last night after being gone for 7 days and it couldn't have come soon enough. As much as I love to think that I can hack anything doing this parenting gig solo is hard and exhausting. Every time Pearson is gone, I am always reminded of people who do this for far longer or indefinitely because their spouse is deployed or due to an unfortunate circumstance. Hats off to all those parents, they deserve the real praise in life. 

Soccer

Mae started soccer last week. This is her first foray into a "team" sport. Mae is doing it with two of her classmates [Lucy and Cooper]. It is  great because I am good friends with their moms [Sarah and Sarah] so we get to sit and gab during the "practice." It is at a gymnasium at the local community center and Coach Jason couldn't be more patient with the kids. He also allows Whit to run around and pretend to be participating. 

Mae and Cooper

Emmett and Whit think they are also part of the class. 

And they humor Whit. 

Lucy

After class, we headed outside and enjoyed the park and the beautiful weather. 

Trying to figure out...

How my grandparents raised families without dishwashers?  I ran our dishwasher right before bed on Sunday night and woke up to a dishwasher  STILL full of dirty dishes (This is, of course, the week Pearson is out of town in London). The repair man can't get it here till Friday so I have been hand washing dishes for the last two days. After every meal that I make and then have to clean up, all I can think is HOW in the hell did my grandmothers do this? (My one grandmother had 5 kids, the other had 3 and ran a bar). They must have spent the better part of every day washing, drying, and putting away dishes. Every time I think that parenting is hard, I need to remember how hard parenting must have been without a dishwasher (or washing machine, microwave, etc..). I don't know if I could have hacked it.

**This post can be filed under first world problems.**

First Dental Appointment

Today was Whit's first ever dental appointment. I took him much earlier then I ever took Mae. (I took her after she turned 3). Mae's dentist recommended that it is good oral health to take kids as early as possible. I decided to go for it and feared the worse. I was sadly mistaken. He was amazing and sat  quietly in the chair and let the dentist and hygienist do their job. I think having TVs on the ceiling also really help out. Here are photos from his appointment. 

Dora on the ceiling isn't a bad idea. 

Getting settled in. 

A total stud. 

And not to forget about Mae. It was only her second appointment but she was an old pro and did fantastic and promised to show Whitaker how it was done.

Bite or Flight

This morning I took the kids to Museum of Flight. I normally don't take the kids anywhere on weekends that I can take them on weekdays. Since I don't work, museums on weekends always draw lots of crowds. Since my kids aren't too good at listening and run here and there, I try to avoid anything with large crowds when I am flying solo with the kids. But with Pearson out of town and the kids asking to go I decided to do it (against my better judgement). 

By the looks of the pictures (below) it was awesome. In reality it was less then ideal. Mae was fantastic, listened great, and was a wonderful museum patron. Whit was not. He was a total animal and ended up biting my shoulder four times. Anytime I picked him up to move him from doing something destructive or running away from me, he just laid his teeth into me. Needless to say, I was not a happy mom. 

The day ended on a high note with a clearing of rainy skies and an afternoon to the park, where we unexpectedly ran into a bunch of friends. Thank god for happy endings. 

Tomorrow is a trip to the dentist with BOTH kids - Whit's first trip. I hope he doesn't decide to bite the dentist. He will probably be less forgiving then me. 

Thinking of Daddy in London. 

Cry Me A River

Pearson left today for a week long business trip to L-O-N-D-O-N. Rough life, right? Prior to his departure this was our conversation.

Pearson: I really don't want to go on this trip. 
Me: Really? I don't believe you. 
Pearson: Yes.
Me: You are telling me you don't want to go to London for a week. 
Pearson: Well...
Me: You aren't convincing anyone. If you REALLY don't want to go, I will go in your place.  

I really can't believe that going to London, albeit for work is going to be that big of a hardship. Shit, flying on a plane for 10 hours solo and ending up in a city with a load of culture sounds like a down out right luxury to me. Regardless we will miss good ol' Dad around these parts. Here is hoping he brings back some decent presents for us.

Happy 4th Birthday William Joseph Sanne

A BIG Happy 4th Birthday to Will (mine and Pearson's nephew/Mae and Whit's cousin). 

Even though we aren't able to spend his special day with him, we have been thinking of him all day (and Whit even had a special treat in his honor). 

A Perfectly Great Day

You know those days where the weather is perfect. The location is perfect. Your mood is perfect. Your kids are being (imperfectly) perfect. The company is perfect. Well that was today. Pretty perfectly perfect. 

I have written about visiting Fox Hollow Farm before, it is without a doubt one of most unbelievably outstanding places I have ever been. The place never disappoints and provides so much delight and wonder for my kids and myself. We headed out to the farm today with our friends Kelly and Eloise. We were also joined by our friends Sarah, Cooper (Mae's classmate), and Molly. The farm got a few updates since we were there last, including a new parking lot, new miniatured sized homes to play in, and three huge bouncy houses. In addition to those structural updates, there were baby sheep that were born only a week ago. And since this place is magic they let you hang out and pet them! There was also a baby calf (that you could also pet since it was in with the baby sheep). Further, there were tiny baby bunnies. You couldn't hold them but you were able to see them and they were ridiculously the cutest thing I have seen. Along with all those additions, there were goats galore, pigs that were funny, cats that were friendly, peacocks that were beautiful, and horses that seemed huge next to my kids. 

We were there from the moment it opened at 10 am and stayed till it closed at 2 pm. Both kids were wiped when we got in the car (as was I) but it was worth every second of it. 

**I know there are a ton of pictures in this post but the pictures of the sheep were so cute I couldn't not post them.**

Mae, Whit, and Eloise taking off on the farm. 

Meeting the baby sheep. 

Checking out the baby chicks. 

How ridiculously beautiful is this building? Complete with real peacocks on the roof. 

Eloise checking it all out. 

Whitaker pretty excited about all the things to see on the farm. 

And peacocks just wander the grounds. 

Mae hanging with some of the goats. 

She loved when the goats nibbled on her skirt. 

Kelly and Eloise on the train. 

Whit waiting for the train to take off. 

Mae pretty excited to be riding the toy four wheeler. 

Whit couldn't figure it out at first (see later pictures of him driving around on them). 

Mae and her "date" Eloise. 

After this trip, I think that we might have to get a cat. Both my kids were totally smitten by them. 

Another train ride. 

Sarah and Molly on the train. 

Cooper. 

Mae on the pony. 

Whit making sure that everyone knows his turn is next. 

Of course, Whitaker found the only puddle to play in at the farm. 

And he was soaking wet. 

Going back to check out the baby sheep, they were joined by the baby calf. 

Saying goodbye to the rest of the lambs. 

Bouncy houses. 

Oh and naturally chickens roam at the farm. 

Going back AGAIN to see the baby sheet. 

Whitaker looking at the baby calf and saying "moo!"

Whit tried to give the sheep water. 

And he figured out how to work it!

Group shot. Exhausted but happy after a day at the farm. 

Kids and I. 

Kelly and Eloise. 

We couldn't leave without petting a giant bunny.