Friday Morning

It's seven thirty.
Caroline is still snoozing and showing no signs of stirring anytime soon.
Sam woke us up by running into our room at five fifteen, turning on the light and yelling, "Hi Mama! Hi Dada!"
He was able to fall back asleep.
We were not.
So now Sam is listening to Gordon Lightfoot and reading Thomas the Tank Engine.
I'm happy to have some time to breathe.

Tuesday Night

Just listening to the Twinkie's game (oh how I miss my little Nicky Punto) and I think I've tied up as many loose ends as I can for now with things around the house. Trippy has been having the hiccups on and off, which has been keeping me thoroughly entertained.
When I think of all the things that need to get done in the next three months or so, my head starts to spin. I'm trying really hard to divide things into a Need To Do vs a Want To Do list. But the more I think, the more the lines between those lists start to blur. I think I qualified as being overwhelmed when I'm looking forward to having more time on my hands "after the baby comes." I've done this baby thing twice before and I know that's crazy talk!
It was nice to have a low key day off (also known as a day working my real job that I don't happen to get paid for). Caroline enjoyed going back to school. Sam seemed to enjoy his Mama Time. And I enjoyed having a relatively picked up house, catching up on the laundry and getting meals for the next few days set. I was also able to get in 12,100 steps! Hooray! =-)
Sam was enjoying helping me out in the kitchen tonight. I hope this trend continues.

The kids were putting on a singing and dancing show standing on our bed tonight after bathies. I find myself wondering how Trippy will fit into the bunch during these moments. I think if the kid can embrace chaos that he/she will fit right in. =-) I don't know about anyone else, but I'm still learning.

Adventures in Boston

Since it's spring break and the kids don't have school, my friend Brenda and I decided to go into Boston for an adventure and picnic lunch today.
The weather couldn't have been nicer and we had a wonderful time.
We took the T into town. This was especially big doings for Sam ("I ride on Thomas! I see the tracks and the station!!") who then preceded to offer his snacks to everyone standing around him on the train. Thankfully, people were amused. I think we could have just rode the train all day long and the kids would have been happy as punch!

After an hour on the train, we got into town we had our picnic lunch in the Public Garden. There were still lots of runners and tourists around from the Marathon (they were easily identified by their limps), so the city had a little slower feel about it than it normal, which was nice.
We then let the kids run around the Garden a bit - just to get the wiggles out. I don't know who was more tired afterward - us or them!









After we got the wiggles out, we walked up the Freedom Trail to the Old Granary Burial Ground, which was one of my favorite places to poke around when I lived in Boston. We tagged along on a tour and learned about the demise of James Otis (only slightly assisted by a lead plate holding his noggin together and a bolt of lightening). We saw the graves of Mother Goose and the victims of the Boston Massacre. We also hung out a bit with my buddy Sam Adams (who, by the way, our Samuel is not named after). Having the kids along did preclude a trip the brewery, so I had to get as much quality time as I could.
At that point we were all pretty toasty and decided it was time to head home. Since we were tourists for the day, we could be cheesy and take pictures of each other on the T.

What a great day.
Here's to adventures!

PS - Dear Red Sox:
Please stop sucking. Seriously guys, it's Texas. They're not that good.
Love,
Karen

Happenings...

Surprise, surprise. We've been busy lately.
It's funny that busy NOW doesn't mean what bused USED to me. Before the kids came around, we were only busy if we didn't have every night on the calendar filled with something to do. Now if we have one extra thing to do a week, it takes us a week to recover.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

Jim and I got to go to a Celtics game last week. I think the last basketball game I attended was at West Canada in the sixth grade - so it had been a while. We really did enjoy the game. The time by ourselves, the leather chairs, the two level bar, the all-you-can-eat dinner, the brick oven pizzeria, the carving station and the dessert buffet helped things along, too. Too bad the Celtics lost. I didn't get to see Kevin Garnett play, either. Ever since watching this (even three years later I can't watch it and not laugh hysterically) I've needed to see him play. Maybe next time.

We're also figuring out all the things that have to be done versus all the things we want to get done before Trippy decides to arrive. Four months seems like forever sometimes. But there are other times when I look at the To-Do list and wonder how we can possible get everything done.
Bathroom renovations and installation of the living room built-ins have first priority. When those get done I think everything else will fall into place. The only other things on the must-do list are to get our hands on a crib (gotta love those recalls) and finding a new car seat (for each of the kids - we need to somehow get three in the backseat). After these, we'll be set. At least I keep telling myself that. =-)
I hope to post some good pictures tomorrow.

Remember?

Remember when I mentioned the best cupcakes ever?
Well - Sam liked them, too.
Thanks Rollin and Judy!


Here's my cute boy in his RIT Hockey sweatshirt.

Pictures

We are recovering from Easter weekend. Having Nina & Pops out, seeing Uncle Matt coach, the Tolleson Draft, having the BEST CUPCAKES EVER, AND Easter was a lot of fun. Now I have to try to clean up the house and get things in line for the rest of the week. No small task, I assure you! =-)
But I figured since it's only 9:30 AM and I already have 5600 steps that I could give myself a five minute computer break. Oh - and I learned a new a valuable lesson today. Pedometers and washing machines don't mix. So my favorite pedometer is now taken apart in attempts to dry it out and resuscitate it. Sigh.
The good news is that Caroline is at school (and that we have had no more radius dislocations in the past few days) and Sam looks ridiculously cute in his RIT Hockey sweatshirt.
I have lots to say (since when is that new) but also lots to do. I think I must be getting older if the things to do trump the things to say...
But here are some pictures from the weekend (courtesy of Pops)...

Sneak Peak of Trippy

Except for the part where they make me drink 20 oz of water and then try to hold it for an hour while pressing an ultrasound transducer on my bladder (now THAT is cruel and unusual punishment), we had an excellent ultrasound of Trippy yesterday. All the parts are where they are supposed to be. He/she was rolling around and happily bopping themselves in the face with their hand. Looks like we're going to have another thumb sucker, folks.
As to Trippy's gender...Well...We figured it's only a big deal if we make it a big deal. And we really don't care what it is either way, as long as a healthy human being is born. So Trippy's true identity will remain under wraps until he or she is born. We're still measuring about a week ahead of schedule.
I will upload the pictures as soon as I figure out how. =-)

[Jim] And here it is...