I'm back! And I have photos to prove it!

I looked at the calendar and realized that tomorrow it will have been a full month since I last posted.

I can't let a whole month go by. That's ridic.

But I still don't have time to post! Too much going on at work since I took on as the lead for that client in Maine, and another of my bigger clients has a big event this month that needed lots of promotion and communications help. So much work!!

So instead of really posting, I'll just post photos. I promise to get back into the swing of things when things at work slow-up just a bit.

We went to Scarlet and Gray Day at the boys' school...

Matty came with us! Hiii, Matt-Pat!

... and Clair had her first taste of a Baltimore favorite: a lemon stick.

Cutest little peppermint stick EVER.

Now she's a true Bawlmer girl!

She loved it! But Dean loved it more. He loves all things minty -- peppermints, "candy cans," even toothpaste. Yes. My boy likes the taste of toothpaste.

We went to the creek at Herring Run Park and explored! We threw sticks in the creek and pretended to fish, saved a caterpillar from drowning, saw two baby deer peeking at us and learned what a "clearing" is.

I love living so close to a park with a creek -- even if it is polluted. Clair calls the woods behind us "the wild." As in, "Mommy, we can't go in there. It's the wild!"

We celebrated my Mommy's 60th birthday and our 7th wedding anniversary by having brunch and visiting wineries in the Shenandoah Valley! It was a perfect October Sunday afternoon - and one of the best memories I think we'll have of our shared milestones.

Happy anniversary to my very best friend! Ain't life grand?

 

 It's hard to see that picture of my handsome husband in that montage, so let me zoom in for ya:

Hello handsome!

He's so GQ! See why I've kept him around for 7 years?

We went to a pumpkin farm, went on a hayride and picked apples -- oh so many apples. I still have a bag of apples sitting in the dining room. My co-worker sent me a recipe for an apple crisp that requires two sticks of butter! Ding-ding-ding! Sounds like the right answer to all those apples to me!

Clair's first time apple-picking. She loved it!

Dean, of course, turned the picking into a competition. He might be the reason why I have 1 million apples in my house.

How cute is this happy face?

 

 And the boys had a day off from school, so Lester helped them carve a pumpkin!

Cary: "Dude, where is the CANDY?"

What else? Hmmmm.

Oh -- I went to my girlfriend Shreya's Girls' Dinner -- the one where her husband cooks a four-course meal for 45 women??

That's my gorgeous, brilliant, hilarious, stylish, generous-to-a-fault, kick-ass friend Shreya!

It was awesome. As usual.

I am so honored that I get a seat at this table every year!

 And I looked pretty damn good.

Not as good as my husband, who has lost 46 lbs!!! since May (damn him!) But pretty darn good, thanks to some Spanx and high boots.

And I had my second column run in the Sun, which prompted someone to comment:

I feel we have lived parallel lives! I could completely relate to and empathize with everything. I too am Type-A. I never planned on twins and that totally threw off my Excel spreadsheet of "baby finances." And I certainly didn't plan on numero 3. I have 4 year old twin girls and a 2 year old son. I felt so guilty the day I went to the hospital to give birth to him - I felt I was taking something away from the girls. But I learned I have so much love to give. The only thing I regret is constantly viewing the twins as "older," that I've forgotten to appreciate how young they still are. And as my son is now at the age his sisters were when he was born, I realize that they were still "babies" at that time and I took it for granted. Hang in there mama, you are not alone in this journey!

Positive comments on newspaper stories? This almost never happens!
This woman, whoever she is, seems like someone I'd be friends with -- kinda like many of the women I've met through this blog! See how writing brings people together?

Life is good!

P.S. I have other news to share, but I can't share it just yet. A few more weeks, tops! But I'm JUST BURSTING TO TELL IT!! Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

A little beach in the city

Yesterday after work, Lester took the kids to Herring Run Park. They played a little on the swings - which is Clair's favorite thing to do. And then they wandered back to the wooded part of the park, where there's a trail, lots of good climbing rocks and a sandy area along the stream.


They played in and along the sand, and came home with sand in their hair.

They tossed rocks into the stream and made ripples.

 
And they overturned logs and planks, in search of bugs and wriggly things.  Here, Lester told me later, Clair had just touched a slug, then licked her fingers and made a smacking sound. {Shudder!}

All of this awesomeness (and grossness) -- just three minutes from our house!

Baltimore City: My love/hate relationship with you is heavy on the love right now, just because of things like this.

Playing (in) the field

Yesterday, Michelle came to work sore and hobbling. She'd fallen down the stairs that morning and hurt her back. She was fine to work, but had a hard time lifting Clair or doing too much more than basic care.

So even though it was one of the first truly nice spring days we've had since forever, I knew she didn't take the kids outside to play. Which meant that I was determined to get them at least some outdoor time before bedtime.

So as SOON as I got home from work, I threw the first hat I could find on Clair's unmade head, put the boys' play shoes on and drove them to the field across the street from their school. I forgot to even change my shoes, I was in such a hurry.

My shoes ended up covered in mud. Cary's pants are dirt-stained and ruined. I forgot to bring tissues so I had to wipe Clair's constantly running nose with the hood of her fleece. (No judgment!)

But it was totally worth it.

We kicked, threw and bounced their balls all over the field. We could be as loud as we wanted! And we pretended to be baseball players, standing on the pitcher's mound, and running around the bases. (Well, Dean and I ran around the bases. Cary ran diagonally across the field and Clair stood at 1st base and screamed, "Mommy, come baaaaack!")

 Batterrrrrrrup!

The kids spied a huge tree stump and said, "Can we climb that?" This is how Cary's light khaki pants got covered in tree-trunk-ickiness.

We walked to the stream and tried to throw sticks into it, but I got nervous about them falling to their deaths (or at least falling and getting wet and gross) in the stream, so we headed back.

And we left our mark on the near-empty field, so the world would know we came and we conquered.

On the way home, Clair picked up a dandelion, sniffed it and said, "Mmmm. Mells like oatmeal!" And I cracked up!

When I told my Dad later, he said, "What kind of oatmeal do y'all buy?" LOL.

At home, Lester threw the Dirty Dudes and Dudette in the tub, while I got dinner ready. The kids were STARVING and ate their food without any cajoling.  (Tip for getting kids to eat dinner: Withhold food until the last minute! #winning!)

And right after dinner, we tossed them in their beds and they were out like lights!

Bedtime was a little late because we didn't get home from the field until 7 and then we had to get all three bathed and lotioned and pajamed.

But I don't care. It was a great time out exploring and climbing and just doing whatever they wanted to do.

Can't wait for more days like this, now that this neverending winter finally seems gone for good.

Yay for spring!

Weekend museums, hikes and chai tea

This weekend Lester took Clair to the Science Center and I took the boys to the Walters Art Museum for some art-making and museum-exploring.

The activity was called "A Horse of Course," and was really fun. There were scissors, markers, "model magic" and pretend hay involved. How could it not be?

"Drop-in Art Activities: A Horse of Course - Saddle up as we explore equestrian artwork throughout the month of August. Drop-in, make, and take a fantastic piece of art home." 

The theme was horses. The boys made horses out of clay and stables. I helped Cary with his, but he drew the eye and the nose himself. And he did the legs and ear.

Dean insisted on making his all by himself,  without help, as you can see.  (I did casually mention that horses have 4 legs and not 6, so he took two away.) The instructor lovingly called his creation "Horse-o-saurus."

The boys did so great at the museum -- even on our hour-long walk throughout the building, looking at all kinds of things that are not really for 3-year-olds. But they loved it, and didn't want to leave.

But food was calling all of us. So we stopped at Kumari, my favorite Indian/Nepalese spot for lunch buffet. It was a rainy day, so chai tea was in order. I even let the boys sip some. Afterward, Dean said, "Mommy, I don't want my water. I want adult tea."

I love that my kids eat Indian! What they didn't eat, I happily finished!

While we were gone, Lester -- who wasn't feeling so well -- stayed home and rested with Clair, who took an epic 3-and-a-half-hour nap.

But the next day, the boys had a playdate with Hugo! So Lester took her to the Science Center, on a Daddy-daughter date. Lester said she had a ball! And the three musketeers and I went on a "hike" along the Herring Run.

Dean, Cary, Hugo and I explored exposed roots, mud puddles, the rushing stream and hidden caves.

It was a great weekend -- the temperature was ridiculously perfect -- and I am starting to get sad that the summer is almost over.