The weekend in pictures...

This weekend, the whole family got dressed up to go to an 11 a.m. wedding.
(People with multiple children will know what kind of preparation that entails.)

But we did a terrible job taking into account the fact that Saturday was also the frikkin' Baltimore Marathon. So we were literally thwarted at every turn by roads closures and runners. Literally.

Thankfully, we were in two cars, so eventually, Lester just went on to the wedding himself and the rest of us turned around, went to the Red Canoe and had a muffin. All dressed up and slightly irritated, yes. But then... pumpkin muffins! Holla!

The boys looked sooo handsome in their button-up shirts and sweaters. Too bad they were covered in muffin 5 minutes later. Also, these heels were killing me! Ugh!

Lester said the wedding was really authentic and beautiful and it made him a little sentimental. This is the text message he sent from the reception:

Awwwww!

Later, Matty-Matt came to visit!

Of course, I had JUST put Clair and the boys down for a nap. So Clair missed her BFF. But at least that meant I got to have Matty all to myself!! He's AWESOME.

Matthew brought his Mom and Dad, too. And his big brother Russy, who absolutely loved, loved, loved Sara!

Russy and Sara ran and played non-stop. Do you hear me? Non-stop.

Russy played with the cat so much and so hard, as soon as he left, this happened:

Now I know what I have to do to get Sara to chill the eff out. Get a 5-year-old!

 A
nd still later, we all went to a playdate at Stacey's house. It was a ton of fun and noise and baked ziti and apple pie and ice cream. We loved every minute of it (except for the minutes when Cary was crying and Dean was screaming. But other than that...)

Kelly and Clair (who was starting to get sick, I think.) Also, Clair has no idea but she is sitting next to her future husband!

My friend Kelly came to the playdate with my sweetie-pie Naomi, and when it was time to leave, this happened. Unprompted. And repeatedly.

Check out Dean's form. Some things can't be taught, people.

We have always said that these two are betrothed. From the womb, we have said this. And Dean just keeps proving that we were right. Check out this photo from August, 2011. I think this might also have been unprompted. But even if it wasn't, you see who responded to a directive to "Give Naomi a kiss," and who just stared into space.

Why does Naomi always have the same face when Dean rolls up for a smooch?

Saturday night, Clair got sick. She had already been a bit snotty -- as are all the rest of us -- but overnight, she got so bad she couldn't sleep, and we had to suction her out at 4 a.m. FUN!

All day Sunday, she was miserable and barely napped. I felt sure she'd sleep at night, because she was so tired at dinner, she fell asleep in her highchair! (This would never have happened with C&D. They never slept anywhere but their beds. Ever.)

But she was so phleghmy and snuffly and coughing and hacking all night, she couldn't sleep. Even when I brought her in our bed, she was slightly happier because she got to lie on me and be comforted, but she literally kept us up just about the whole night. MORE FUN!

Lester stayed home with her today because I am super-swamped at work. I felt so bad leaving my poor sick baby. This is pretty much what she looked like when I left.

Finally, finally getting a little bit of rest, poor thing.

But later this morning, Lester sent this picture of her all cleaned and dressed and I feel much better that she feels much better! (Hooray for smartphones!)

Such a happy baby girl -- even when sick!

Now, let's see how tonight goes.  (Anyone want to invent some Baby Sudafed+Ambien? I'll be your first investor.)

Update on the crazy kitty

Sara has now been a part of our family for two weeks and four days.

In that time, we have learned that:

1. I am terribly allergic to her. :-(  She makes my eyes all itchy and watery and my nose stuffy and my throat tight. It's really, really frustrating, because it makes me not want her around me. But it is really hard to keep her away because...

2. She is the sweetest, most affectionate, most playful, most social kitty I have ever known. She loves being petted, rubbed, stroked and played with. She wants to be in whatever room we're all in. She follows us around like a puppy. She wants to sleep in my room, on the end of my bed, and cries if I shut her out.  She acts like she is on a perpetual catnip high: She jumps, rolls, pounces, darts, bats at our feet from under the bed, hides around corners and attacks our legs when we walk by. She is hilariously cute and funny, but also a little bit irritating (just being honest) because she is ALWAYS under foot. We don't get a break from her! I'm like, seriously, can you occasionally hide under the sofa like all the other cats in the world? Sheesh.

She is especially cute when she hides in shopping bags or barricades herself in packing boxes. This box has the kids' Halloween costumes, which makes Dean very agitated: "Mommy! Mommy! Sara is on my Halloween!!"

3. Cary loves her, and always wants to play with her. She completely CRACKS him up! Especially when she is darting around, jumping, rolling, pouncing, chasing her tail or batting, swiping and nipping at him. (He doesn't always love being nipped and scratched, but he's fairly good-natured about it.) Sara is like a celebrity to him. When he comes home, he first looks for her. And when she comes in a room, he lights up and coos, "Hiiiiiii, Sarrrrrra! Hiiiiiiii!" He totally harasses that poor kitty, who likes the attention 99-percent of the time, except when she's trying to catnap on our living room arm chair.

4. Dean is sorta interested in her, but still mostly freaked out by all her darting around, jumping, rolling, pouncing, chasing her tail and batting, swiping and nipping at him. He mostly enjoys correcting and disciplining Sara. "No Sara! No. Don't get me! Stop it!" He also wants to know where she is at all times, but I think it is just so that he can know not to be wherever she might be lying in wait to pounce.

5. Clair adores Sara, but we're afraid Sara might think Clair is another kitty friend, especially since she crawls around on all fours, just like she does. She is constantly pouncing on poor unsuspecting Clair, and nipping at her little chubby fists. Clair, to her credit, has not yet cried, but she does look very confused and slightly put-out at being "attacked" by her kitty-love-interest. And I am desperately trying to teach Sara -- with a spray bottle at the ready -- that you do NOT, under any circumstances, bite the baby! Even if she is deliciously cute.

Missing my baby daughter

Cary and Dean left this morning, and as usual, took their sweet time going down the front stairs, stopping to play with the toys on the porch, touch the pumpkin, meddle with the fall decorations, refuse to have their hands held, etc.

The good news is, all that dawdling gave Clair time to limp-crawl all the way over to the front door, where she got to laugh and shriek, as she watched her big brothers go.

When Sara joined her at the door, I had to break out the iPhone and snap a pic:

Everybody altogether now: Awwwwww!

I love this picture because I have lately been feeling quite sad about how little time I get to spend with my baby daughter. It's the same ole story of being a working Mom and too busy, blah blah blah, but it's made worse by the fact that I have TWO very demanding 2-year-olds who completely set the agenda for what little time I do have in the mornings and evenings. To be honest, most of the one-on-one time I get with Clair is when I'm feeding her at night, just before she drifts off to sleep. It's sweet time, for sure, but it sucks that it's so short.

So looking at this reminds me that -- although she will all-too-soon join the boys on the way out the door every morning -- for now, she is on the inside of this screen door.

And therefore, for a little while longer, she is still my baby. And I WILL find more time for her. I will.

Weekend recap (Father of the Year and new member of the family!)

Highlights from this past weekend (which was packed, as usual):

1. The boys went to the zoo, to music class and to their twin cousins' birthday party. Fun, fun, fun!
2. Lester got deemed "Father of the Year" at the zoo.
3. The Davis family adopted a cat.

Here's the breakdown:

I had to go to a work session from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. for the charter school of which I'm on the board.
Saturday was the same day as the member picnic at the Maryland Zoo. I was sad that the kids wouldn't get to go because there was no way Lester was going to take all three kids by himself to the zoo, right? WRONG. Lester gamely wore Clair in an Ergo and pushed the boys in the double stroller, braving the heat and the crowds to make sure the kids got to go to the zoo.

So while I was doing this:

Writing policy on a beautiful day while my children are at the zoo without me.

The kids were getting to do this:

Giraffes!

Elephants!

Junk food! (Sidenote: Why doesn't Cary know how to eat a hot dog yet?)

I was very impressed with my can-do husband, let me tell you. But not half as impressed, apparently, as ALL THE PEOPLE at the zoo. Lester said he was like a local celebrity, walking around the zoo with twin toddlers and an infant in a carrier. No less than TWO DOZEN people stopped him to marvel at and compliment him, and ooooh and ahhhh over the sight of a man with all of his children! What a concept!

Listen, I was proud of him, too. Taking three small children out by yourself is no small feat. I don't take that lightly. But I know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, if any woman in all of America took all three of her children out somewhere, she'd barely even register with most folks, save a couple people who might say, "Boy, you've sure got your hands full, don'tya?"

Lester thought the whole thing was incredibly funny. He said if ever he needs an ego-boost, he's going to take the kids to the zoo again. We both had a good laugh at that.

And in other news,  I went to the local shelter intending to select a cute, furry little kitten for us to adopt and instead developed the biggest soft spot for a 3-year-old, scruffy old cat who'd been dumped by her owners. Among her many flaws:

• She was pregnant when she came to the shelter, so they had to abort the pregnancy. She seemed a little sad to me.
• She had been recovering from surgery, so wasn't really eating much, making her quite thin. Little bony thing!
• She's sneezy (Poor thing caught a cold in the shelter).
• She's dishwater brown and scraggly. Basically, she looks like an alley cat.

I'm not one of those people who goes around rescuing strays off the street. But being introduced to this poor, sad kitty made me want to bring her home and love on her and fatten her up.

And so now we have a new member of the family, Sara.

Doesn't she look so sad??? 

Originally, we thought we'd try to let the boys name the cat we chose, but I decided not to rename her, since she'd been through enough change.

Since she's been home, she's mostly been hiding in the basement. Everyone at the shelter says we got the sweetest cat ever, and so far, she does seem quite sweet, if a bit shy. Cary is fascinated by her; Dean is a little afraid of her. Every time Sara ventures upstairs, she gets freaked out by the boys' 2-year-old noise level, and runs away. So I'd say we have a ways to go before we're all one big, happy family.

But I hope she likes it at our little house. Yes it's loud. Yes, it's chaotic. No, we have no idea what we're doing. But we are very good at loving, little Sara, so I think, soon enough, you'll feel right at home.