Hoppy Easter

This is surely a stupid, stupid, stupid thing to say on the eve of my first (half) day of parenting 4 kids by myself with NO SCHOOL (thanks for the bonus day of spring break, jerkface public schools), but you guys, I am feeling SO competent!

This weekend (well, starting Friday) we took all 4 kids to the doctor (strep tests for the whole fam!), took everyone to the zoo and to visit the Easter bunny, hosted a mixed faith family Ester/Passover celebration for 18, and cooked a sweet little Easter dinner for our own slightly larger than average family (well, the sweet potatoes and world's cutest tiny ham are in the oven right now). In addition, we cleaned the house before and after our party, and we do/fold/put away 6 freaking loads of laundry A DAY because somehow, the addition of a 6-pound person means TWICE THE FREAKING LAUNDRY.

I do not yet love this stroller (SO HARD TO TURN) and neither do the kids since it was totally empty at the zoo while Cooper walked and Dorothy rode in the Ergo because she hates her carseat with a fiery passion.

Jack does this every time

Harry is always so bummed that he's not eight feet tall.  Erm.

Flamingos.

Cooper wants to BE Jack

See the picture of the tiger eating the tapir?  This sign is in front of the tapir's cage directly across from the tiger.  Poor hungry tiger.

After their Easter Bunny picture, the boys ate mall cookies.

Some seriously intense egg dyeing.

Jon came from Jersey for Easter weekend and to meet his new niece!

Harry had to soak that egg for QUITE AWHILE to get it that toxic shade of magenta.

Ben and Jon took the bog kids downtown during Cooper's nap-- it was finally warm enough for ice cream. 

We crammed as many tables as we could into the room and decorated with paper goods and ordered all the food.  But still! Feeling competent!

So many Easter baskets

Chaos!

Jack in a duck suit he wore as a toddler.

Srsly.

Dorothy in her silly bunny outfit

Muddy, muddy egg hunt

Adventures in baby wearing.

Lamb cake

Poor Dorothy-- she didn't like the noise yesterday and kept trying to eat herself to sleep.  Because we had a bunch of people over, I didn't just sit on the couch with my shirt open so she could have a boob pillow like always.  Instead, I fed her and then tried to let others hold her.  But then she'd cry and we'd do it all again.  Finally, when the house was quiet at 7, she passed out eating and stayed asleep until midnight,

Easter morning!  Rainy, so the bunny had to hide stuff inside

Baskets were a success.  Eggs with cash and subsequent Toys R Us trip were a success.

Razor scooters-- a big hit

Fannie May suckers always successful

This just in:  Cooper loves Matchbox cars

Dorothy got a basket of bows, headbands, hats, flowers, and clothes-- love it!

Jack took a picture of her modeling my fave

Happy Easter!

Ben teaches until 1 tomorrow-- wish me luck! Thank goodness he doesn't work on Tuesdays.

On the 12th day of Dorothy my true love gave to me a ginormous stroller

Cooper is doing better than we thought he would adjusting to the baby.  He is really sad when I am not the person who gets him up from nap, and he always seems to need attention precisely when Dorothy does.  But, oh you guys, he loves the baby.  He is always plucking his pacifier out of his face to kiss her, and he loves to hold her.  Tonight at dinner, he tried to give her his frozen kefir pop, waving it and screaming "Dot!  Dot!  Dot!"

He also uses her gear whenever she's not.  This picture cracks me up-- he is part baby and part big boy with Harry's iPod.

Love the neon-- on trend for spring-- and her fabulous hat.

I am so, so screwed when Ben goes back to work on Monday, especially because the kids are still on spring break.  I spent the whole morning with all 4 while Ben cleaned out the garage to make room for our super ginormous double stroller.  4 kids is a shitload of kids.  We stopped playing with tents and tubes to go upstairs for a snack-- all 3 boys side-by-side on the bench at the table-- and Harry said "This is just like playgroup!"  BECAUSE THAT'S HOW MANY DAMN KIDS WE HAVE.

Multitasking WIN! Cooper loves taking a bath with Jack!

 

We are trying to get Cooper to not use his paci during the day.  This makes him sad.

Tummy time! And she hung out in her crib while I put away some laundry.

How in the world did I have 4 red haired, blue eyed babies? (sure, Coop has gray eyes now, and H is a brunette, and J is blond, but still!)

Um, this stroller is ginormous!  Also, it's a BOB Ironman, which is going to make walking through the frozen tundra simple, but the front wheel doesn't swivel, so it corners like a mack truck.

Cooper is so big!  He feels like a dough ball, and he's so heavy compared to Dorothy.  We can't tell if he's grown, or if we've just changed our expectations.  In any case, his feet are the cutest.

At 8:5, it's almost my bedtime.  Tomorrow, we're thinking about a trip to the zoo and maybe even to see the creepy Easter Bunny.  Wish us luck!

Pictures from the weekend

I know I already posted pics of Dorothy's room, but it's a little cuter now that we have more stuff-- it was a little plain at first.

The boys and her grandparents got her pink stuffed animals i the hospital, and they added a little pop to her changing area.  So did the pink changing pad cover-- she pooped all over the beige one.

Her cute little name filled in this wall, and I put a pink ballet dress on her Build-a-Bear elephant, natch.

Somebody just figured out how to take a panoramic picture om her iPhone...

Sweet little PBK ballet positions canvases

Close up of her letters-- I am not very crafty, but I like how these came out

I like that her tiny fern will grow with her. Also, when her umbilical cord stump fell off, I buried it in the plant dirt.  Fertilizer?

Obsessed with these dolls.  I want more-- that's how cute they are.

Serious in her tunic and leggings

We took a snowy walk to the park

After she pooped through her tunic and leggings

Wardrobe malfunction

Sweet little owl hat

We were inspired by our early morning Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert viewing to decorate her turban.

So sleepy.

Big fan of Elmo.