I Swore I Would Never....

Get a pet. At least not the big kind with fur that lives in your house. That's right, I said it. I'm not a cat person, and I'm not a dog person. I'm not even a gerbil person. It turns out that I DO prefer cats to rodents in my garage, however. So my kids get a kitten to love for 3 months until she is old enough to live out of the garage and roam our hill hunting for intruders. Fortunately, my highly allergic husband has been so busy lately, he's hardly suffered any effects from having a pet in the house. It's all coming together. (And I have to admit, she is really cute and she keeps the kids entertained.)

Look Familiar?

I apologize for the nudity in this post! I just had to include it because it is so reminiscent of Lizzy during one of her "episodes." Ever seen those clever dot paints that come in a bottle like a giant handheld marker? Charlotte really likes them. Notice the careful placement on her belly button and her hemangioma ("Belly Bump.") Yes, she did the naked part all by herself as well. Nice work.

Back to Blogging... and Back to School:)

And you thought I would never blog again. (So did I!)
I will have to play catch up for the past 9 months next time, for now I will focus on the past 2 weeks.

Lizzy had fun with her new set of crayons on her first day of kindergarten. (Unfortunately, that is not my cleavage in the background!)

McKenna has a banner year as well. She is embarking on middle school (yikes!) Sydney is in 4th grade this year and loving it.

I, however, am a little crazed driving to and from 3 different schools. Yes, that is 6 drop-offs and pick-ups. NOT including after school activities. Shoot me now.

2 Years and Counting

Poor Charlotte was born at one of the worst times of the year (maybe second only to Christmas birthdays.) Her birthday is always during the first week of school, which is C.R.A.Z.Y.

Luckily, it doesn't take much to please her at age

2. She celebrated first by having her favorite dinner (cheese tortellini and broccoli.) That was followed by presents (her favorite of which was a princess potty that plays music when she pees.) When she opened her gift she went right to it by stripping off her diaper and plopping down on the throne. She did have success the next morning, and has since lost interest.

Next was an ice cream cake form Cold Stone. (Never again... do you know how much they charge for those things???) The finale was a bubble bath, after which she ran downstairs naked and had another nice little visit with her new potty:) All in all, it was a good night for Charlotte. Next year we may have to step it up...

End of school Madness

Let's see, piano recitals, Danville Girls Choir recitals, Showbiz performances, classroom parties and graduations. It's all a little CRAZY. Here are some highlights:

DGC and Piano recitals

Preschool "Graduation"

And McKenna is "Promoted" to 6th grade (Middle School here we come!) We love Mrs V. and will miss her. Such a dedicated teacher. Mckenna learned so much in her classroom!

After the last day of school McKenna hosted her first boy/girl party (scary) by having an outdoor movie night.

And it's Gone Just Like That...

Lizzy's 5th year is over and done with. She wanted to celebrate with a tea party birthday in Grandma Karen's backyard complete with real china teacups (no brakes,) a bug hunt, and piñata. She loved it!

Camper of the Year Award... Right Here Baby!

We always kick off summer with our Memorial Day weekend camping trip to Big Sur with about 30 other families. Though I reeeeallly dislike camping, we can't ditch this tradition because our kids would disown us. So us non-campers make the best of it and our kids are in heaven for 3 days. Big Sur 2010 surprised us with amazing weather. (It's usually a little cold and foggy under the redwoods where we camp.) This year, I think I actually wore shorts. I like camping much better when I'm not cold:)

Back to the real story: Taylor was "sick" the day we were heading down to Big Sur, so I hauled all 4 kids down, set up camp and cooked dinner BY MYSELF thank you very much. It turns out Taylor actually was just slightly sick and had a bunch of work to catch up on, so he stayed back and worked and drove down the next day. Props to me.