Real pics in real time

I was doing a good job of posting ahead on this blog, but then I got lazy because I knew I had a stack of posts in the queue, and now?  I DON'T. So, for like the first time in 2018, here's what's happening in REAL TIME.

Harry and I have been going on weekly after-school adventures.  If it was up to me, we would totally sit around at a coffee shop and eat huge cookies and read our books for 90 minutes, but it's not.  So, we have been doing things.

Like mini-golf.  WHICH I WON BY A STROKE.  Bam!  Harry spent a lot of time in the water:

 WINNER!  NOT THE KID!

 Then we went to my favorite greasy bar to watch the Badger LOSE in the Big Ten tournament (Harry had a day off of school and all of the other kids HAD school. )

 I asked for JUST chicken and greens and for everything else on the side.  I was really surprised to see how much stuff came on the side.  I used the pico and the corn and added buffalo sauce to the blue cheese dressing and used maybe 1/4 of the cup.  I actually before that moment didn;t know a salad at that bar could even be healthy.

 We picked Dorothy up and headed to the zoo, where I met a new animal who lives with the lemurs and eats like me

 The seals were the happiest/liveliest looking animals we saw all day. All of the rest of them were just sort of pacing in front of the doors of their enclosures, either in a restless I-want-to-eat-you way (polar bear) or a I-have-gone-totally-insane-and-can't-help-myself/self-harming way (porcupine).  I think it was snack time.  The lion's area was caution-taped off, and the lions were in the tiger's area, and the tiger wasn't there.

 Besides the mud, the new badger exhibit is Dorothy's favorite part.

 When everyone else got home, Harry nonchalantly showed us that we could have been watching obscure sports games on our Apple TV for YEARS, and we all tuned into to Bradley in the Missouri Valley quarterfinal.

 The kids were totally into it, and Bradley won at the buzzer against Creighton.  Intense.  Also, Cooper ate a pint of ice cream.

 It was fifty and sunny, so Harry IMMEDIATE:Y opened the catcher's gear he got for Christmas and demanded that Jack throw balls to him.  I don;t know if Jack was planning on being a pitcher, but that's the way things are working out at home.

 The three little kids and I went to the library the day the March Mammoth exhibit opened (my favorite pun).  There are fun activities all month for us to enjoy, and we WILL because I am obsessed with the library, as you know.

 Picture requested by Dorothy:

 I know I am a broken record here, but we continue to adore family movie Friday.  Our most recent one was Coco, with tacos instead of pizza because pizza gets pricey, and I could make tacos for like $12 worth of extras at Aldi.

 Speaking of Aldi!  I also got Dorothy and Cooper this math puzzle, and it kept them busy and not fighting for like 15 minutes Saturday morning, which is a total win.

 The boys got a documentary on the ice age and Neanderthals (so fitting) and watched it while letting the dog drink from their cup.

 Cooper volunteered me to make Dr. Seuss treats for school, and I tried the one-fish, two-fish Jell-O cups I always see on the internet.  Which of course Cooper called Jell-O shots because we are a classy family.

 Saturday was actually a huge day for us because Harry had his last hockey game of the season!  His team lost, as has been their thing this year, but he got 2 goals and no penalties even though a kid punched him in the face.  Awesome.

 The boys went to the end-of-season hockey party, but Dorothy and I decided to have a girls night out.  (Ben took the kids to the school carnival while I made not-Jell-O-shots, so that's why Dorothy has a little face paint action.  Also, Ben won a hair cut basket at the silent auction, which is totally no surprise to me because people probably saw his name on the list and were like oh my gosh don;t bid on that because Ben needs it).

Anyway, we went to Panera, her favorite place, and enjoyed our usual giant cinnamon roll while we waited for our real food.  I get so nostalgic for these cinnamon rolls because I ate them the entire time I was pregnant with all of the kids and also the whole time I write my dissertation-- those two things mostly overlapped.

 Then we spent like 2 hours at target trying on all of the things and getting ready for spring break.  Instead of just buying as much crap as I can cram in my cart, I decided to do this thing where I look at what we already have and then shop for specific thins to fill in the holes.  I KNOW RIGHT.

 Now everyone has flip flops; all the kids have sandals.  Everyone has hats and sunglasses.  The kids have swimsuits and rash guards that fit.  You get the idea.  M goal is to actually pack our suitcases because it is THUNDER SNOWING here, so we are not going to need our shorts and sundresses for the next oiuple of weeks and see if anyone needs anything else before we go.  Kids!  They outgrow their clothes so abruptly.  Also, I need new Birks.  Or do I?  And how do you define need, really?

Ben and I tried to cram in all of the Oscar movies before Sunday, and we did it!  Except for Phantom Thread which we wanted to see but just didn't/couldn't.  Here we are enjoying The Shape of Water.  Kidding-- we really did like it.  We just get up at the crack of dawn, so 8:00 comes early, you know?

 I also made my usual green eggs and ham candies for kindergarten (and fourth grade because why the heck not).

 Ben has been noticing that his hair is always in his eyes.  Some people would get a trim.  Others would order headbands in bulk from Amazon.

 Harry lost a GIANT baby tooth.  And you guys!  There are more to come.

 Couldn;t find angel food cake in the bakery, but strawberries were mega-cheap, so I made one from a box mix.  SO EASY and delicious!  But, if you don't have an angel-food-cake pan (I do not), then use 2 Bundt pans because the batter GROWS.  Like, a lot.

 Seriously, this calendar from  my brother and his boyfriend is AMAZING and I love it every month.

 On Sunday, it was sort of warm enough to GO TO THE PARK! SO WE DID!

 Dorothy is my only poser right now.

 But she does a really good job.

 I spent over an hour at Nordstrom Rack all by myself, and all I got were these awesome sunglasses.

 She hung like this for a surprisingly long time.

 Such a poser!

 I asked him to take a pic of me and Ben.  Instead, I got a dozen of these:

 Yay, spring!

 This was only $9 and had a unicorn on it, so of course I bought it because my only wine selection criteria are price and clever label.  But, surprise, it;s DELICIOUS!

 Beatrix watched the Oscars with us, but I think next year, Harry ad Jack are going to want in on the action.  Sigh.  This used to be my very favorite couch date night-- we'd have a fancy dinner and everything.  But since I started doing the 16/8 intermittent fast like everyday,I barely have time for wine after the kids go to bed, let alone dinner.

 This is the sight that greeted me when I left my office at 6:30 on Monday night.  It was a seriously harrowing drive home.

 I destroyed this super garlicky salmon salad and then realized I had to go to the dentist right after lunch.  Everybody likes that guy.  You know what other guy they like?  The one who flosses in front of the bathroom mirror in the ladies' room.  Yum!

 Just a couple of fun guys getting their weird rashes checked out (see what I did there?).  Diagnosis:  DRY SKIN, which hardly seems worth the pice of my morning writing time, huh?