Basking

Spring is in a cuddly mood today and we've been basking in the sunshine all afternoon. I love the slower pace she seems to usher in after a long winter of hurrying to get out of the cold. We come home and linger on the porch, strip off shoes and socks, eat snacks in the yard and walk barefoot through the garden. At my women's retreat last month I made some comment about how I was guilty of always telling my kids to "put shoes on" and the leader gently said, "oh (tsk, tsk, tsk) you should be telling them to take their shoes off!".
She was right.

I think it's only fair to mention that these flowers are from some one else's garden.

So big changes around here.
Saoirse now sleeps in a "big girl bed".
By which I mean, we took off an entire section of her cage, errrr crib, and she is now free to come and go as she pleases. So far there's only been one loud thud in the middle of the night.

As usual, anything that brings her closer to big girl status (level playing field with the twins) is just fine by her.

Last night they raced around their room for nearly 45 minutes after lights out, despite all of my very patient and calm reminders to GET INTO BED RIGHT THIS SECOND AND BE QUIET (p.s. I still love you, sweet dreams.....) BUT DON'T MAKE ME COME BACK IN HERE AGAIN thank you very much.

Hopefully tonight will be hosted by three little sleepy angels.

I signed the twins up for K-4 this coming fall and handed in the very first (and second) application(s) of the open enrollment period. Odd since I am such a professional procrastinator.

Nuala is starting to get more interested in reading on her own.

*Mom, you're totally busted, I said no more photos.*

Saoirse has a new love in her life.
Might I introduce you to Princess Tag.
Yes, that's right, Tag.

Their new found friendship is sweet to watch, especially in the middle of the night when I sneak in for one last peek of my babies and see her and Royal Highness cuddled together even during dream time.

Have I ever mentioned how hungry I get during pregnancy?
It's impressive really, if you like that sort of thing.
Imagine my surprise (not really since I sort of told them they'd better bring me one) when Maija and Isaac gifted me with not one but two homemade tamales that they'd crafted together.

She was so proud of her work and she was well within her rights because let me tell you:
Them tamales were delicious! Thanks Missy.

Yes spring is here and we are basking.
Now, what's for dinner?

Mister Birthday

Mister had a birthday this weekend.

Which began with brunch at this cute little Irish pub.

Hey, no one ever said brunch was healthy.

I've also never enjoyed brunch to live harp music, but there is a first time for everything.

Harp music is quite lovely after all.

Not nearly as lovely as this Mister though. He's pretty much the main event.

After phoning it in with store bought cakes the last few rounds lately, I decided Mister needed something special.

Ruari and Sidhe helped inspire this toasted coconut and pecan creation.

And Mike and LaVrene swooped in to save the day when we realized someone forgot to buy candles.

All in all it was a wonderful day to celebrate such a wonderful Mister.

P.S. Blogger has a new layout and I have no idea what the heck I'm doing, I blame Blogger.
Also, Earth Day did not go unnoticed around here.

Instagram

Just really started fiddling around with Instagram recently, but I am in love with it so far.....
Definitely not a camera replacement, but perfect for those times when I simply can't lug the big monster around with me.

Easter

What a lovely day for an egg hunt.

This poor picture was horribly overexposed, but I just loved it too much to throw it away...

At any rate, we're on spring break now and taking advantage of the sunshine and the lazy mornings. That's all I got and really it's all I need for now.