Also While We Were In North Carolina Last Month

We went to the butterfly garden at the Science Museum,

where the sweet North Carolina sun edited all our pictures for us

and the children man handled handfuls of beautiful butterflies in the controlled temperature and stunning lighting of their fabricated ecosystem.

A welcomed fresh-from-Rochester-winter treat!

We hit the lush green mother load.

 And in case you were wondering, I ate Calvin for dessert that night.

It's Tuesday and I Have To Be Somewhere at 10:30

My morning goes like this:

• 6:30am, I'm awake and nursing the baby who I thought I weaned a few months back while trying to keep my eyes closed tight and my head on my pillow 
• Scoot the baby onto the floor with toys
• Drag myself out of bed at the sound of a baby no longer satisfied with a pile of Star Wars guys- change his diaper because the whole upstairs reeks
• Dress the baby
• Give the baby a granola bar and set him on the bathroom floor and hop in the shower
• Turn off the shower in time to hear Simon screaming. They are both up. Lena did something to him
• Run past the bare window in the hallway and into my room with baby on my naked hip and start getting dressed
• Change the baby's clothes because he opened the shower curtain on me 10 times
• Change baby's diaper again- again?!
• Head down stairs and throw breakfast together 
• Peel Simon away from playing Star Wars Legos and remind him today is the day he gets his cast off. Then remember he isn't excited about that fact
• Finish cleaning breakfast disasters-there are more Raisin Bran flakes on the table than in the bowls and someone dumped their whole yogurt on the floor
• Order children to get dressed
• Force clothing onto two disobedient children that run away after each article of clothing is put on
• Get ready some more
• Hear Simon scream. Lena did something to him
• Peel Simon off Star Wars Legos and put Lena in a time out
• Change baby's diaper. Again. What is going on?!
• Look up where I'm going on GPS, grab my bag and keys and hustle everyone into the car
• Diffuse melt downs over footwear
• Go back in and grab Lena's things for school just in case we don't make it back for the bus
• Look at clock- 10:17, we're going to be right on time, imagine that!
• Finish makeup in the car
• Start the trek up to the doctor's office and realize there's no stroller
• Carry baby while holding the older's hands in the parking lot
• Diffuse fight over who holds who's hand
• Wait in line
• Break up a fight. Lena bothering Simon. Simon screaming.
• Children notice a fish tank, they take baby brother to see
• Smile at strangers admiring the baby's fiery red locks and cute old man walk
• Check in and sit down in a crowded waiting area that does not have a fish tank
• Chase baby because he ran to see the fish tank
• Chase baby to and from fish tank 15 more times and smile at strangers that are amused
• Decide that it's not amusing anymore and search in my bag for something for the baby to eat/play with
• Discover what seems to be a fermenting piece of fruit at the bottom of my bag and dry heave a little bit because it's now on my hand
• Make a mental note to clean out my bag more often
• Look up and discover baby has run off again. Leave fermentation for later and chase down baby
• Convince children to play with things instead of trying to share/fight over the same chair
• Wait
• Children are whining they are thirsty. Leave good/rare seats to find water.
• Deal with situations that occur when young children are given cups of water
• Stand
• Chase
• Wait
• Chase
• Note, that for once, I am on time and the doctor is running late
• Call Jeff to see if he can come pick up Lena because there's no way we'll make it back for her bus
• Watch baby roll on the floor kicking and screaming and then smile at amused(annoyed) strangers 
• Wait
• Chase
• "Simon Vaisey" FINALLY we're called
• Shuffle children, pick up fermenting fruit bag and head back to wait in a smaller room
• Wait
• Shuffle children to next room and hold baby while Simon sits nervously as his cast is sawed off his arm. Wish for a stroller.
"Glenn Beck" uses the quiet saw to pry off Simon's cast as he nervously looks on
• Shuffle children to waiting area for an X-ray.
• Wait while holding fidgety baby
• Shuffle children to X-ray room
you think the X-ray technician would appreciate this one?
• Hold baby while he screams and does that arching his back thing all mothers detest 
• Shuffle children to another waiting room this time with a movie and puzzles and more amused strangers
• Pull baby off of kid table
• Wait
• Pull baby off of kid table
• Jeff's here! Direct him to where we are
• Meet Jeff in the lobby, relief has never looked so good!

• Gladly drive Lena to school
• Peel off a crying Lena from my leg at school:( 
• Back to the doctor's office, they are finished!
• After much debate head to lunch with Jeff
• Sit and eat through one half hour of an under napped baby flailing about in a high chair while he throws every piece of food he is given onto the floor.
• Note that there are amused strangers wherever we go
• Go home, put baby in his crib, shut the door tight and put Simon in front of his beloved Star Wars Legos game.
• Stand in the kitchen shell shocked and afraid to sit down because the earth might explode

the saga continues...

Then the morning melted into the afternoon where the baby's nap was short, Simon peed his pants, Lena's bus seemed to arrive home extra early and every child within a 1 mile radius came over to play. 

But I'm not complaining. 

I'm going to New York City without all of them on Saturday for three days.


And If all you got from this post was noticing my newest pair of glasses and my upcoming trip to New York City, I'm totally with you. I just thought you should know what goes on between getting new glasses and trips to New York City. 


It's a delicate balance of self pity and rewards.
And as it just so happens, I am the queen of justification. The absolute queen.

And if you made it through this entire post you can come with me and I'll tell you all about it.

I Volunteered For All The Outdoor Field Trips - Returned Promises of Farm Images

The morning Lena's preschool went to Springdale Farm was hectic.

Getting all three children up, dressed, fed and out the door before 9 is a feat, for me.

Then it's off to a friend's with the boys, and the baby needs to be put down for a nap there too, otherwise he may very well scream the entire time.

I spend the morning rushing around like a mad person. I don't like feeling so out of control.

As much as I complained about how much involvement parents were required to do this year in her school, I was always glad once I did make the effort.

(Are parents supposed to like going into their children's school that much?)

Maybe the PTA isn't in my future.

But another trip to Springdale Farm probably is.

Ricky. What a pig!

What is it about farms?

Is it the air? It sure stinks more.

The spark in my children's eyes when they see open land perfect for running free and wild?

For some reason I romanticize farm life. I don't want to be told how much work it is because I want to just be in love with it from afar. I want to believe it's the answer to all my problems. Something magical about working hard and living by the land. The farm life, to me, is what is pure and good in the world.

It's my celebrity crush.

I know I'll never have it, but that won't stop me from putting up posters of it on my bedroom wall.

There's A Carol We Know And She Has Horses

Once upon a time Jeff worked for a firm here in Rochester. It was there he met Carol, a competent paralegal with a good sense of humor.

But best of all, Carol had horses.

Jeff has since parted ways with the firm, but very recently(this past weekend) we got together with some of the sweet gal pals he made there and it all took place at Carol and her husband, Frank's ranch.

Breathe it in.

Not pictured:

4 wheeler rides in the woods

including Jeff, Simon and me coming this close to getting stuck in a foot-deep mud pit.

Lena and her new buddies pooper scooping the dog doo out of Carol's backyard

We could have stayed all day and nearly did. And to top it all off, we've been invited to return in the spring for more pony rides. If we keep this up Lena might have to take her poop scooping skills door to door to feed her pony fund.

Canal Days 2008

Event: Canal Days

Place: Charming Village of Fairport, New York

Activities: Walking walking and more walking, buying fun stuff we don't need from various vendors in tents, dancing in the streets to the array of extremely loud bands playing on every corner. Consuming an obscene amount of traditional Canal Days treats: candied cashews and peanuts, gyros the size of your head, never ending bag-o-kettle corn, and a treat that really should never be eaten outside of events like these for SO many reasons: fried dough covered in a heaping mound of powdered sugar.

The days events also included ringing out our sweat drenched clothes at the very end of the day and jumping into Juje's pool.

Oh Canal Days, how I love thee. Shall we do it again, say next year, same time, same place? OK? Good. I'll bring me, you bring the food.

Seneca Park Zoo

To the zoo we went.

About a month ago Rochester tricked us into believing the weather was getting nice. We enjoyed the beautiful day of 80 degrees and strolled our geedoos (that's kids) around Seneca Park Zoo. We like to come out of our hole when the sun shows its face around these parts. We even bought ourselves a season pass. Here are some pics of our adventure.

btw, the weather is picking up again so don't feel too sorry for us.