Mid-Afternoon Thunderstorm

Very Busy

Life is very busy in our little neck of the woods.

We are debating signing on with a contractor for a second floor. Do it now and have it done by Christmas? Wait and see what Cathy's schedule (and subsequent paycheck) look likes when she is based in Chicago or JFK now that they have announced her base in Boston is closing? Will her job ever truly be stable? We have a contractor who we could work with, whose price can't be beat who is willing to tear off our (now leaking) roof as soon as permitting is complete. Such a hard decision to make. Do we really want a mortgage we'll still be paying when Logan is almost my age? After Cathy reaches the mandatory retirement age? If her industry doesn't totally collapse by then? Ugh.

Of course we are also busy with day to day stuff. Camp drop off and pick up takes a total of 3 hours daily. Bath/Bed time with 4 kids lasts from 5:30 until 9:30. I miss the fun stuff- reading books to the kids without interruption, working on projects while we talked, hanging out in the woods catching frogs and pretending I really was trying to catch a snake. The kids haven't been in our woods but two or three times this summer. The good news is that Avery likes her one week camp. Logan likes parts of his 3 week camp.

And the babies.

Don't leave them alone for a minute.

But they do enjoy each other for the most part.

Family Potraits

We went to have the kids photo taken as a group. We thought we would do it when the babies were 6 months old but it took us another 6 months to get it together. Anyway, I finally get 4 matching outfits. Beautiful cream colored sundresses for the girls and a cream shirt for Logan. The big kids had their hair cut professionally, as opposed to me hacking at them with the buzzer. On the day of the photos I make sure everyone is well slept, well fed, etc and we head over. I change them into their clothes and they look so sweet and clean. They were horseplaying a bit in the waiting area, which was fine since we were the only ones there. But once the photographer came out, it was all down hill.
This is the look Avery gets when she is feeling defensive.
Now she is starting to get scared and angry.
Well, this photo is rather obvious.

We ended up with a lovely photo of Logan and the babies. Avery wouldn't sit for a single photo. Someday we'll look at the photos and remember when Avery was a difficult (shy?) 5 year old. But for now I'm still a little ticked off at doing all that prep work just to have her ruin it. Look for your photo of the other 3 in the mail!

The First Year is the Hardest!

I've heard it about twins over and over. I think I've been in a funk since they turned one because it isn't ever easy. It is hard. And constant. Not always in a bad way, but constantly constant. There is never a second off.

Tonight when I was nursing Finley I heard Meryl in the kitchen. It sounded like she had the glass bread pan and some silverware. But she was playing with one thing for too long. I go to check on her, much to Finley's dismay, and this is what I found.

She had the measuring cup I had used as an ice cream bowl and was working on getting the last few drips. (Yes, I was eating ice cream out of a 2 cup measuring cup. Wanna make something of it??)
And she used the drawer as a stool. (Note that the drawer is empty, since what I put in there is always being found on the floor anyway.)
Finley didn't take long to start begging. Smart kid.

Happy 4th