Loooooong Day

 I include this totally dorky and completely gratuitous bathroom selfie (shut up-- I get bored while the babies bathe) to tell you that I looked like a normal human being once. (And I am starting to dig my hair and sometimes even wear it down.)  This was Monday, actually.  After Dorothy slept from 7 pm Sunday night to 6:19 am Monday morning, and I got a good 10 hours myself.

Then on Monday night, she woke at 1:51 and stayed in my bed all night long and slept on my face like a damn cat.  Tuesday was rough, but I was still riding high on Sunday's full night's sleep (the first one in over a damn YEAR).

Then last night, she woke at 1:21 and repeated the whole face sleeping, head kicking deal except for an added twist, she was up for the day at 4:45.  WHYYYYYYYYYYYY?

So today, I looked like this, washed up and totally strung out:

 Good thing she is delicious.  (Also postpartum hair fall-out gave me freaking side burns.  WHYYYYY??)

 Jack kept Cooper busy and happy this morning.  Doing this, I discovered when I checked on them.  Erm. 

 I tried to get a good picture of everyone before the bigs went to school.  As you can see, it DID NOT HAPPEN.

Some quality MOTY action.

 Meanwhile Dorothy wrapped herself up in her iPod charger.

She can ride this car and steer.  V. dangerous.

 Modeling Ben's underwear.

 And 2 seconds later passed out on the floor.  Which wouldn't happen if she SLEPT at night.

Then we went to Little Gym-- Cooper's class so Dorothy hung out in the Ergo even though she would have rather played balls.  Cooper's speech therapist came by class to watch him interact with his peers (which he doesn't do, really), and we went home where I frantically cleaned 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms and dusted the upstairs and put my third and final load of laundry in the dryer and fed the babies lunch as fast as I could so when nap time came, I could partake.  I also made a batch of cookie dough and stuck it in the fridge for classic after school snack material.

We all 3 passed out, the babies at 11:30 and my by 12:45.  But the Fed Ex guy rang the doorbell and woke me up at 1:30.  I took it as a sign that I needed to finish making cookies.

At 2, Cooper woke up and snagged the mixing bowl off the counter so he could eat some dough.  He and I share a fierce love of cookie dough, eggs be damned.

 And I could not be mad at the Fed Ex guy because Dorothy slept until 3 anyway, meaning I had plenty of time to sweep up the kitchen and put away laundry, and he brought these: OUR DISNEY MAGICBANDS! 

 Math facts and Wii U after school until some neighbor kids whose mom just had baby #5 dropped by to play.  Then Harry was right back to the Wii U after dinner, stopping to do some multiplication tables to earn a few more minutes and playing until bath time while Ben and the other children destroyed the basement (I am assuming the children did much of the destruction).

Speaking of destruction: THEY TRASHED THE KITCHEN

I only just now got everything put away and wiped down.  And now? I am going to bed because my face-sleeping cat baby should be awake in about 4 hours.  MAYBE LESS.

Taking Stock

I saw this on The Day Book and thought I'd give it a whirl:

Making : SO MANY to-do lists before the semester ends and my online summer course begins
Cooking : More like baking.  I continue to be obsessed with chocolate chip and oatmeal choclate chip perfection, although a few batches of Pioneer Woman brown sugar oatmeal  help clear the palate.
Drinking : Bacardi and caffeine free diet coke with lime.  It is a testament to how much fun I had in college that I can only just now 15 years (14, really) later drink this drink again or even smell it.
Reading: All Joy and No Fun by Jennifer Senior.  I LOVE IT.
Wanting: To purge all of my clothes and replace every scrap with stuff from Anthropologie.  And I am doing it shirt by shirt, damn it.
Looking: Longingly at my countdown to Disney World phone app every morning
Playing: Itsy bitsy spider-- it cracks Dorothy up hard, which is of course completely charming.
Wasting: Tons of time trying to figure out how little I can pack and not have to do laundry on vacation.
Sewing: Tiny holes shut in just about every cotton t-shirt from Gap that I own.  Does this happen to you with Gap clothes too?  Do they randomly get these tiny holes that look like flecks but when you got to brush them off you notice that they are inexplicable holes? TOTALLY MADDENING.
Wishing: That Dorothy could stay a snugly baby just a little bit longer.
Enjoying: Dorothy's growing sense of humor.  She can tell you where her feet are, and feet are HILARIOUS.
Waiting: To hit the beach-- I am as bad as the kids with the vacation countdown.
Liking: Spotify- who knew?
Wondering: Why I never bought salted caramel Greek yogurt before this week.
Loving: In-home date nights with Ben.
Hoping: That Dorothy sleeps all night until 6:19 am like she did on Sunday night
Marveling: At how incredibly silky Cooper's fat cheeks are.  We played a game before bath last night where he was my pillow, and I forgot to be woken up by my pillow's alarm clock noises because I had my face smooshed against his and I couldn't believe how soft it was.
Needing: To drink MOAR water.  I have sausage fingers.
Smelling: Dorothy's sweet head every chance I get.  This morning it smells like Burt's Bee's shampoo, her own enchanting sleepy scent, and cream cheese.
Wearing: Gap pj bottoms, a lacey Old Navy tank top and an oversized Old Navy hoodie.  In other words, I look AMAZING.
Following: Radom artists on Spotify-- I love Vampire Weekend, BTW
Noticing: (Suddenly) that my random love of the herringbone side braid is not random at all because me and every damn undergrad are sporting them everyday with our Sperrys.  OOPS.
Knowing: That Ben and I have a pretty good thing going on right now even though there are a lot of balls in the air that all come crashing down when one of the kids is sick or someone takes on too many work projects.  Our kids are 1,2,6, and 7, and we are having FUN and have lives a little bit outside of math facts and diaper changes, KWIM?
Thinking: About how sweet Harrison is when I come home at the end of the day or wake up in the morning or pick him up at school-- basically anytime we have been apart for a few hours.  I hope he is always that happy to see me (but I know he won't be).
Feeling: Totally content.
Bookmarking: Size 12-18 month swim suits
Opening: every damn email coupon Gap sends me. Because swim suits.
Giggling: At Jack most of the time because living with a kindergartener is like living with a cartoon
Feeling: Okay, content, but also ready to eat pancakes the size of my face.

Randoms

• At first, I thought Dorothy was not going to go to sleep tonight, and I almost had a panic attack.
• But now, all is well, and I have enjoyed a DIY pedicure and a stiff drink and an hour of absolute quiet and the newest Ladies Home Journal because I am quite elderly, OBVI.
•  I did in fact go back to Anthropologie for the shirt I didn't get the other day and I am going to wear it on the plane with m favorite ripped up Gap jeans and my new exceedingly ugly Birkenstocks that I love.
• If you have any tips for chilling the fuck out on the plane/in the airport that do not involve chemicals (NURSING BABY), I would love to hear them.
• I am so sick of being constantly bitched at about the Wii U and when it can be played and for how long that I bought a shitload of math flash cards today and from now on, Harrison can get Wii U minutes by impressing me with multiplication and division knowledge.
• I was going to buy M&Ms to reward Jack for addition and subtraction, but then I realized that time spent with us doing flashcards would be reward enough because he is our most neglected child because he is far and away the best behaved.
• In kindergarten this morning, I had to make clay snails with the kids and it was really messy and they kept knocking over the drying snails and they drove me CRAZY.
• Tomorrow is Jack's 6-year well-check, and I am keeping him out of school all morning so we can go to our favorite (and by that I mean mine and Jack's favorite-- nobody else has the same fondness for the place) greasy spoon for breakfast.  We did the same thing last year with newborn Dorothy in tow, and I think it was the most one-on-one time I spent with Jack in a damn year and he still remembers what both of us ordered to eat and drink.
• I volunteer in his class every week-- it's not like he is growing up on his own in the backyard or anything.
• Harry and Jack have been watching Travel Channel specials on Disney World and are little walking encyclopedias of amusement park attraction knowledge.
• Cooper asked to wear his Darth Vader shirt to our Star Wars breakfast.
• Dorothy did not want to surrender the wooden sticks we were playing with at Little Gym this morning even when we sang the "time to put the sticks away" song, and I had to pry them from her clenched fingers.  She freaked out and started screaming even while we sang the "time to go and play today" song.  Then her teacher put on happy, fun, play-in-the-gym music, and she was compelled to dance because when Dorothy hears music, she cannot help but dance.  But she was still really pissed off about the sticks, so she was also crying.  COGNITIVE DISSONANCE, illustrated.

Lazy Sunday

Cooper woke up at 3:35 am and tiptoed to our bedroom where he stood at my side of the bed staring at me until I opened my eyes and almost shrieked with terror.  It is really creepy to be woken up by the weight of someone's eyes and the sound of raspy breathing even if that someone turns out to be adorable.

Ben took Cooper to sleep on the downstairs couch after he expressed disapproval at the suggestion that he go back to bed.

At 4:00, Dorothy woke up, and I brought her in bed where she DID NOT GO BACK TO SLEEP.  At 5, I put her back in her room, shut both our doors, and woke up at 8:00 feeling AWESOME.

Until I discovered that she never actually went back to sleep and Ben brought her downstairs at 5:45, meaning he was pretty much up with the kids from 3:35 on, and I slept upstairs like an oblivious asshole.  Oops.

At dinner tonight, we went to our favorite pizza place and sat downstairs by the grubby playroom.  COOPER WAS IN HEAVEN.  He ended up playing with a random 3-year-old (I am guessing the kid's age based on size) all through dinner, stopping only for a bread stick.  He ate his pizza in the car on the way to the grocery store.  And even though he has a speech delay, he did a great job interacting with and communicating with his playmate-- such a welcome thing to see as preschool looms on the horizon. 

 Babysitting!  They both thought this was hilarious.

 Dorothy is not even as tall as her stroller, but you guys!  She is getting SO BIG.  She is starting to nurse less frequently, and I bet it won't be long before we can get rid of the big old recliner in her bedroom.  BUT WHAT ABOUT THE NIGHT WAKINGS?  Maybe she is hanging onto them for nostalgia's sake.

 Found this picture in my photo stream just now.  She's so squishy.

Beautiful day

I found two 2-piece bathing suits today with flirty little ruched bottoms with tiny skirts (not like the sad saggy skirts I wore last year) and bra tops. One is Kenneth Cole and the other is a Target knock off, meaning I braved dressing rooms at 2 separate stores and came out victorious! I really want a high-waisted bikini from J Crew, too, but why test my luck?

I think I am done buying myself clothes after a trip to Anthropologie today (and a promise to swing back there on my way to campus Monday for a shirt I didn't buy but should have). Now I can turn my attention to Harrison and Dorothy, the only kids we ever have to buy stuff for. Shopping for them is always stress-free and involves no swearing at myself in dressing room mirrors. 

But the real reason today was so great was the perfect hour I spent at a park with Dorothy, Cooper, Harry, and some of  Harry's soccer friends while Ben coached Jack's team (the kids had back to back games, which was really convenient). There was one of those old metal merry go rounds, and I have never seen Cooper as happy as he was sitting in the middle surrounded by big kids with his bed head blowing in the centrifugal force. The swings made Dorothy scream with delight, and Harry and his friends made up an elaborate game about monsters and trains. It was the perfect hour. 

And then I got bathing suits! Crazy. 

Also, Dorothy had her first ice cream. LOVED IT. 

Vacation prep

For real what am I going to wear to Disney? I thought it would be so fun to shop for vacay clothes because I would be so thin by now. Hahahahahaha.

Instead, I am dressing the body I have. It will be wearing shorts and flowy tank tops or linen button downs, BTW. I would like to score at least one more sundress and have exhausted Old Navy and the mall. I plan to try the fancy mall this weekend. 

(I think I  going to buy a bikini or 2, too, because fuck it. I am not getting any younger over here.)

Dorothy loves to dress up in aprons. And she smiles on command for the camera. 

She really prefers a layered look. 

So, whenever I make cookies in a 385-degree oven, they turn out like this:

Those tasted great, BTW. 

The only way I can exercise with the babies in te double stroller is to promise them a park trip after. Today we classed it up by keeping them in their jammies. (I figured the slides would be wet). 

The whole fam damily got ugly but supremely comfy Disney shoes!

 Now all I have to finis finish obsessing about my clothes and turn my attention to buying tons of clothes for the kids. And a new car seat for Dorothy for the plane (and because she needs a new one anyway) and a coupe of car seat roller things for the airport. (Cooper and Dorothy both have their own seats and need car seats for the trip). And a couple of booster seats for H and J because it is cheaper to buy cheap ones than to rent them with the rental car. (We are spending time at the beach before driving from Tampa to Orlando) And a million other things. Vacation is so relaxing. 

Sunny day

 I forgot how amazing it is to actually go outside and play!  Without coats, even!

We had snack on the deck after the big boys came home from school-- peanut bunny sandwiches.

 THIS is an excellent cookie recipe:

Snappy dressers

I really admire Jack's commitment to his bunny ears

 

Every afternoon when I put away the boys' laundry, I lay out clothes for them to wear to school. Yesterday, I tossed an anchor print oxford and a pair of khakis on top of Harrison's dresser. He accessorized. 

Meanwhile, Jack could not put his shirt on right side out and neglected to untangle his socks and his skinny jeans. The odd couple for sure. 

Baby's first blanket

Amoxicillin has given Dorothy a diaper rash so horrific I have had to stop using her sleep sack because I need to be able to check her pants when she wakes up in the middle of the night (oh, yes.  that's still happening).  But the upshot is that she is now a big girl who uses a blanket.  Such a milestone!

ALL OF THE PICTURES

Here are 80 of my favorite pictures from this weekend. I KNOW, RIGHT? Pretty obnoxious. And most of them are in order, but the last 18 or so are from Ben's phone so they start all over again. I KNOW, RIGHT? Also obnoxious.

We began the festivities bright and early Friday morning with some good old fashioned egg dyeing.

I cheaped out and bought $.79 eggs from Target and $2 PAAS dye, so the kids couldn't actually EAT the eggs, and they were bummed.

She's not really egg dyeing material.

Ben got super into the shrink wrapping

I have to clean this window sill, BTW, like everyday.

Made a double batch of cookies before company showed up on Friday.  I LOVE BAKING COOKIES.

My parents came bearing birthday gifts

And Easter baskets

And the news that their hotel had a pool

Little bunny Dorothy rocking her first ear infection.

SO CUTE.

Cooper is going to be hell on wheels at our Disney World hotel pool

So are these guys, natch

She played on the driveway and got dirty little feet

We went out for delicious Italian food with my parents, and I had the most awesome pomegranate martini

So fun!

Saturday morning we woke up to a really chill Easter bunny breakfast at a coffee shop down the street

Dorothy liked to smile at the bunny, but she didn't really feel the need to get close to him.  The bunnies on her dress were plenty.

The face painter did seriously good work.  I really like the carrot finger.

Ha!

Even flappy little Cooper got painted.

jack and Cooper both bit the hell out of their fingers.

Everyone dressed fancy for a birthday lunch for Jack with my parents, brothers, Ben;s parents, and his sister's family.

Dorothy gave herself lots of applause probably because she looked so damn cute.

Cooper was seriously civilized.  IT WAS SO WEIRD.

Sweet baby Dorothy

She was also a little screamy-- the ear infection, you know?

The only picture I got of Ben because he was the one taking pictures because I was the one drinking champagne cocktails, my new favorite drink.

Wookie and milk.

Eating out with her is good for my diet because I have to hold her plates so she doesn't fling them, and I can't feed myself...

Jon and Caleb!  All the way from Jersey City!

Head of the table

She LOVED the huge windows.

Another well behaved preschooler

Working so hard to blow those candles out.

Champagne cocktails, FTW!

Playing

CAKE!

A lot of CAKE!

Clearly, Jack had a blast

Saturday night, my parents and my brothers and their significant others came over to enjoy craft beers, lots of meats and cheeses, and a backyard fire while assembling Easter baskets and gifts.  SO FUN!

Dorothy's playhouse was team work at its finest.

Ben tried to kill himself on the big boys' skate ramp

My brothers both questioned the playhouse directions that demanded they screw on the roof from INSIDE

I made super classy tags for all the outdoor gifts with folded construction paper and a sharpie.

Pretty fire.  Also all the light Ben offered the playhouse makers.

Ha!

Haha!

Made champagne cocktails at home with a bottle of Veuve and some Grand Marnier and orange slices.  SO GOOD.

Dorothy was the first one to find her basket Sunday morning

Jack was the last, but he was proud that it was hidden so trickily

Outdoor gifts and egg hunt!! (at like 6:30 am.  Blergh)

Coop is a big fan of his pedal-less bike

Dorothy was interested in/concerned about Harry's use of the ramp.

She LOVED the Fannie May chocolate bunnies and stole them from everyone's baskets

And eventually ruined her pretty dress

Pre-brunch-- I think everyone is looking at Cooper.