I don't have a square to spare

Summer is here. Yahoo! Dressing the girls for summer is much easier than tackling layers of clothing. Here's a recap of the last couple of weeks in our house:

We had an awesome Memorial Day weekend with no plans and tons of free-time to spend as a family at home. Just what the doctor ordered. Friday night I took the girls downtown to meet Pat after work for a quick dinner and then we headed over to the Children's Museum. Saturday we ordered up a Savoy and hung out with the Magnificent Mathews-3 before heading to the 'Dome on the lightrail. Jo was SO excited for her first train ride, the kids all did great at the Twins game, and we were very honored to be present for Will's first baseball experience!

After almost 6 years of being homeowners, we've decided to give yardwork a try. :) And by "we," I mean Pat. So he's been busy attempting to spend some time in the yard, which isn't easy with a 2-year-old and 10-month-old who demand a lot of time and attention. And not to mention that he's got obstacles-a-plenty to overcome as the yard is in pretty rough shape after Brewster has had his way with it and after a previous homeowner just didn't give a darn. I applaud his efforts thus far. We're not going to be gracing the cover of BHG or anything, yet, but it's progress, nonetheless!

Summer softball has started, and so Pat is spending Wednesday nights out of the house and at the softball fields. The girls and I hope to go take in a game sometime. But the effort involved with getting home from work and daycare and getting kids (any myself) fed and ready and out the door and to the game, then home again and to bed requires much more effort than I can exert by myself, unless the stars are perfectly aligned. I know I'm a wuss. I'm sure next summer will be much easier. At least, that's what I like to keep telling myself :)

Josephine's world is awfully fun right now. She's eager to get ready in the morning and help make her hair "pretty" and see what "pretty" shirt or dress I've picked out for her to wear. I'm just thankful that she's still allowing me to pick out her clothes! Then she gets dressed and shows off for Eve, and for the girls and Betty at daycare. She's still successfully using the potty most mornings and evenings at home, but hasn't actually produced any "output" at daycare yet. She tries, but nothing happens, so she must be asking to go too late. We're going to have to step it up a notch soon, she's so ready and we just haven't pushed it yet. She even empties out her potty and flushes all on her own. And - we even put some "big girl undies" on her last Saturday, with none-too-successful results. But she did feel what it was like to have wet underwear, and now talks about not having a "potty accident." So I think we're headed in the right direction. She's talking in full sentences now, and comes up with words that we didn't even know she had ever heard. Most of her sentences end in "Okay?" I didn't realize how much I say that until I noticed her using it all the time. Josie loves to color. Josie loves to run errands with Daddy. "And me, Daddy? And me?!" Josie loves to use her new lawnmower and do yardwork with us - she even helped me plant some flowers a couple of weekends ago. Josie loves her little sister - most of the time. She's always giving Eve big hugs, but sometimes they resemble head-locks and Mom or Dad has to intervene before little sister gets really angry. They're starting to play together more and more, it's so stinkin' fun to watch. Jo's imagination has really taken off - her animals have conversations with each other, she talks on the "phone" all day, and different places in our house are "the park" and "the store" and "work." She sings songs to herself and her babies, she can climb into the booster chair and her carseat on her own and is all about "me do it!" She's a shy little bugger, though, once she's around anyone who doesn't reside in her house. She was so excited for this past weekend and Eve's baptism and having a "party" at our house... then once people actually come over, she pretty much hides out until they leave, then she starts talking a blue-streak again. *sigh* I'm sure it will pass, and we'll be wondering where our shy little girl went... right, Kay?? :)


We actually heard of another little girl named "Genevieve" at the MCM the other night. I was kind of bummed - here I thought we were so original. Anyway - oh, Eve. Where to start?! She. Is. Everywhere. She crawls with this kind of stiff-left-leg maneuver - her left leg is mostly straight, I don't know - for propulsion, I guess, and it works, because she is quick! She's pulling herself up on furniture. And the dog. And our legs. I watched her move herself from standing at the coffee table to standing at the couch. She likes to be wherever her big sister is, and will pull herself up on Josie's chair at the table to see what she's doing. And Betty told me that when Josie is napping, Eve will seek her out, go into the room and sit by the pack-n-play where Josie is sleeping. If you haven't witnessed the power of Eve's lungs first-hand, then you're really missing something. She likes to put on a good show at church, as our families can attest to after her baptism yesterday. She's sleeping well - for the most part. And she's eating well - for the most part, although she does want to feed herself exclusively, which she's not *quite* ready for, although she would disagree. :) She is already 10 1/2 months old, and I can't even believe that my baby will be one in a little over a month. And to head off any silly questions... NO - we're not ready for the next one any time soon. :)

Okay. This got long. But that's what happens when I can't find time to blog anymore! My new assignment at work is busy. That's an understatement, but pretty much sums it up. I'm liking it, though... I find the chaos quite addicting. Kind of like how I like blizzards and the mayhem they cause... well, it's a constant blizzard around here. So we're treading water, trying to keep our heads above water, and whatever other water-related descriptions you can think of for being really busy. Hopefully I can post some pictures sometime. The girls have changed so much, even just in the last couple of weeks. I hope everyone is well, and enjoying the warm weather! More soon. Maybe. :)

Whoa.

Holy-long-time-no-post, Batman.

We're still here. Work, eat, sleep, finish an assignment, take a week off, go to the Children's Museum, have a girls' weekend, start a new assignment, start summer softball, celebrate Mother's Day, celebrate Grandma Janet's 88th birthday, crawl all over the house and get into everything, and play and play and play. And that's what we've been up to.

More later. :)