Where did you go April and Part of May?

I just realized it has been well over a MONTH since I last posted. My delinquency in posting is a pretty pathetic state of affairs, even for me but I have just felt so tired and run down that by the end of the day, I just crash. I have missed so many unforgettable moments. Whitaker keeps talking more and more and says the funniest things. And Mae is such a joy and charming little lady that I can't get enough of her.  There have been some highs and some lows but to give you a snapshot of the BIG things that we have had going on here they are:

1. Grandma C. came to visit. We had such a wonderful time and the kids enjoyed every moment of her being here. We went to see the Cherry Blossoms and the kids each got to spend some one on one QT with her. We are so lucky to have her.

2. We celebrated Easter.

3. We went to Oak Island for Spring Break with my dad. Per usual the beach never disappoints and we spent a glorious week being totally unplugged and enjoying the amazing weather North Carolina gave us.

4. Our basement flooded. This is the low, low point. The day it flooded Pearson and I barreled water for 6+ hours. My body has never been so sore and I think I am still feeling the effects of it all. In fact we are still dealing with it and the basement in our rental house is pretty much unusable. The carpet is torn up and it is one big stress and headache for us right now. For the last TWO weeks we have had contractors, insurance folks, and city people come in and inspect the place. The basement is still in a sad state of affairs and work hasn't even begun. Pearson and I are weighing our options and deciding if staying is better then the headache of moving.

5. We threw Julie a baby shower.

6. It was Mother's Day.

In between all of these we had so many other thing happening. Mae started soccer, Heather and I ran a 10 miler, Whit quit napping (for the most part), Pearson has been out of town a couple of times, Whit has refused to ever ride in grocery store cart again, and Spring FINALLY came to DC. Despite the massive hiccup of our basement flooding, which is a looming dark shadow on everything, I am trying to be as present as possible and soak up my little love bugs as much as possible. Here is a massive photo dump from the last month. (Again, I can't believe it has been a month). Here is hoping it isn't ANOTHER month since I update again.

GRANDMA C. VISITS PHOTOS: 

EASTER PHOTOS: 

BEACH PHOTOS: 

RANDOM PHONE CAMERA PHOTOS: 

We got our chairs reupholstered and they are beautiful. 

Friday Happy Hour with friends. 

Waiting for their dad outside the metro. 

Water in our basement. 

Eating fried chicken with no shirt on. Does it get any better?

Catching Up

I have had the best of intentions of writing for the last 2+ weeks but I haven't just seemed to get around to it so here is a little bit of catching up.

Well the last time I posted I wrote about the need for a relaxing weekend. Well thankfully that happened but not like I had hoped. On Saturday early morning I woke up feeling sick. I was finally able to get up at 9 am and rally for the rest of the day. Sunday I felt sluggish but Pearson stayed out way too late at a concert so I was the lead on parenting for the day. Then on Sunday night I felt so sick that I called it a night at 8 am but was so sick all night that I couldn't sleep and I couldn't even get out of bed ALL day Monday. Pearson had to take off of work because I was in that bad of shape. The rest of the week was me mustering up enough energy to make it through the day and hoping that I felt better by the time Pearson and I left for a weekend away sans kids to NYC on Friday. Thankfully I was feeling better and ready for some alone time with my main man. Too bad, Pearson seemed to have fallen a little ill himself.

The weekend was good, albeit, our flight was delayed 4 hours, the weather was terrible (it rained ALL day on Saturday), and Pearson felt crummy the whole time. But it was great to get away and it wouldn't have been possible without my awesome parents and younger sister and husband who watched Mae and Whitaker for us.

Waiting in Newark for the train into the city. 

A run around Central Park on Saturday morning. 

After the run I stopped by a church on the Upper  West Side that had this huge art installation. 

Lunch with our friends the Deans who used to live in Seattle and now live in NYC. 

After lunch we decided to go for a walk around the West Village and go to a bar. 

Just the two of us out for dinner.

Standing on our hosts' (Pearson's mom's best friend) balcony before leaving.  They have an incredible pent house balcony. 

Taking the train out of Madison Square Garden. This brought back so many memories of the year that I worked here for the Republican Convention in 2004. 

Waiting to board, where we were originally told there weren't enough seats for us. Thankfully there was and I sat in First Class not he way home. 

After a week of being sick and then being gone for an entire weekend, all I could do was play catchup. Also not to mention that we got another snow storm on Monday. Thankfully even though it accumulated in the grass it didn't stick to the roads and there was still school. I was also getting ready to go out of town again on Thursday for a weekend away with my two roommates/best friends from college.

I just tried to soak in as much time with these little ones.

Then on Thursday night I left for a flight to Fayeteville, NC for my girls weekend. We decided to make the destination Beth's house since her husband is deployed to Afghanistan AGAIN. I am always amazed how effortlessly she handles these deployments with her three boys. She is the most amazing mom I know and strive to be like her. Anywho, we decided to make it easiest for her and hopefully help her out. Our other roommate, Chrissie, also brought her two boys. It was so nice to be able to spend the weekend with both of them. Even though it has been almost 15 years since we graduated from college it seems like yesterday we were just hanging out in our college dorms. It was wonderful to spend such quality time with their kids (without my kids) and really get to know their personalities.  It doesn't seem that I took any photos of the three of us together but here are a few pics of the kids. 

This is Pete. He is 3 and Beth's youngest. He wants to do everything by himself but he is hysterically funny and has an energy about him that is contagious. And that energy is endless. 

This is Henry. Beth's second. He is 6. I didn't get to know Henry as much as the other boys as he seemed to be the most elusive and skeptical of me. He seemed so confident in himself and what he wanted. And as a middle child I totally get it. 

This is Randall. Chrissie's oldest son who is seven. He is a spitting image of his dad in mannerism and his looks - it is shocking. 

Chrissie with her youngest, Ryder, who is 3.  By this photo you can see what a sweet, happy, and easy going boy he is. 

James, Beth's oldest, who is 9. He is such a kind, sweet, and mature boy. He is going to be a great man one day I can already tell.
 

I came home on Sunday around 4 to my beautiful children who I missed dearly and were excited to see me but according to Pearson it was good they spent a weekend with him. It was also a beautiful evening and we dined al fresco.

Well there you have it. It has been a very fun last few weeks. Also some other things to note. We bought new outdoor furniture. I already love the couches and even though the weather has been having fits of starts with Spring here (they have already seen a snow storm), I can foresee us spending many hours outside.