Intrepid Murmurings

Fun in the sun!  Yay spring!

Elsie in white, Delia in blue.  Emma in tie dye!   

Aiko Dog Hutchinson
2001-2010

What a good dog!  We will miss you!

Today, we tried something new. After our success on the light rail a few weeks ago, I thought we'd try riding the bus downtown (sans double stroller).  Its a really short walk from our house to the bus stop, and Lonnie would meet us when we got off the bus.  We'd have lunch with Daddy, check out his office, then catch the return bus to go back home for naps.

In case you think this all sounds fun and lovely, think again. I DO NOT recommend doing this, with 3 kids under four (two not quite two). What was I thinking?

Actually, the ride to our destination was pretty manageable, and after that first trip I was all excited about doing it again. On that ride, I kept Elsie in the Beco on my back the whole time, Emma and Delia sat (or stood in front of me), and the novelty of the bus and excitement of the trip (plus loads of snacks) kept them happy and entertained. Everything was under control, happy, angelic kids, etc.

Lunch was great too. They didn't eat much Pakistani food but hey, I did (yum), and we all had fun. The visit to Lonnie's office was nice too. Finally saw the office he's been in for the last year or so!  Emma enjoyed the view from the windows and Elsie and Delia enjoyed the yoga balls. 

And then.  I put Delia on my back this time (we've been taking turns with who goes in the carrier and that usually works okay), and we walked back down a few blocks to catch the bus. Just missed it, so we had a good 15-20 minute wait until the next one. We walked down a few more blocks, to a stop a little further down the line, to fill up some time. No bus.  Kids getting restless! Rain starting!  No bus!   Finally it came, we said goodbye to Lonnie, got on and grabbed seats right in front.  

Enter atrociousness. The bus was really jerky (I think it was a sub driver that didn't quite know the route) and I couldn't see out as well because we were seated right behind the driver. I had been wearing Delia for awhile at that point, and was hot and tired of her kicking me, and not able to lean back with her in the carrier. I had to cling to things and brace myself and Elsie every time the bus braked, stopped, or turned, and almost immediately felt really nauseous from the motion.

Things really only got worse. I took Delia out of the carrier to see if that would help me feel better (she was starting to fuss, anyway). It did not. I tried to look out the window, breath deeply, but Delia was getting crazy and refusing to sit in the seat (or on me) and Elsie kept sliding off the seat when it jerked around. She was also looking a little sick.... Emma was talking a mile a minute, as usual, loudly. Right now she is in a phase where she wants me to acknowledge Every! Single! Thing! and it is soooooo annoying! I eventually told her I was sick and couldn't talk anymore. We broke out the Krispie treat we'd grabbed from Lonnie's office, and it was all I could do to not lose my lunch as I simultaneously fed them sticky snacks, while trying to keep us all in our seats (which I was not successful at, I eventually let Delia sit on the floor for a bit).

Ordinarily, I think I might have been able to pull out some kind of parenting tricks out of the old hat but when feeling so sick I just couldn't.   I eventually ended up just restraining Delia in my arms as she flopped around and cried and hollered (Elsie was doing some of this too, but not as bad).  I was totally That Mom on the bus with the all the crazy kids. OMG. 40 minutes later, we stepped off the bus and I have never been so thankful to be outside, in fresh air, and HOME. 

I am still recovering now, hours later.  No more bus trips in our near future, at least not further than the library (about a 5 minute ride from our house).  Its quite unfortunate that we are totally out of wine right now because I really needed it today!  

The other day, Delia discovered my flour tub, used to store half open bags of different flours in the pantry.   She found it perfectly sized, and exclaimed, "bathtub!"  That second photo was totally a lucky shot, caught mid tip.  (Note: no babies were hurt in the making of this blog post...)  

Today, I took Elsie and Delia to one of those bargain grocery outlet stores that has tons of random stuff (especially canned foods) for CHEAP.  I mostly shop at a few stores close to me that have the double (or triple/quad!) carts, so that all the girls can stay in the cart.  But I like a good bargain and you cannot go wrong stocking up the pantry at this outlet store, which sadly, only has one-seaters.  What to do?  I could use the double stroller, but that means pushing a cart and stroller,  a feat I'd rather not attempt.  And the stroller basket is just not adequate for a pile of cans and frozen goods. 

Easy solution!  I strapped Delia on my back in the Beco, and Elsie went in the cart.  Easy peasy.  We got our shopping done with tons of great deals and had time to go home and unload them all before picking up Emma from school.  

Recently, there has been tons in the news about baby slings, and the dangers some of them present.  I have seen lots of folks posting about the warnings, which is good, but it also seems many people are lumping ALL slings and carriers together, thinking that all are dangerous.  This is not true!  There are so many wonderful, comfortable and safe carriers for newborns all the way up to toddlers, and it worries me that a few bad ones might turn off many new parents to the concept of babywearing all together.  

The recent warnings have been about a specific kind of sling, bag slings, that are pretty awful on all accounts, but sadly fairly popular and easy to find in all the big baby gear stores.   They are huge and deep (which I think make some folks feel safer about the baby not "falling out") and cover the baby way too much, so that they can get stuck in a bad position for breathing (chin to chest) or smother in the excess fabric.  The parent often can't see the baby in there, and it can flop around because its not tight against the adult wearers body.  Not good!  I am so glad these carriers are finally being called out as unsafe -- I know people in the babywearing community have been concerned about it for years.   

But!  There are so many great other types of baby slings and carriers!  That are shallower, that hold the baby upright,  body to body, close to the parent, who can see, feel, and monitor the baby continuously.   Babywearing in good supportive carriers have been shown to HELP regulate breathing, help decrease crying, promote breastfeeding and boost milk supply, raise IQ, among other great benefits.  In toddlers it helps calm or prevent tantrums and is a great way to curb other frustrating but common and age appropriate behaviors.  And with multiples or more than one child, it can allow you to go places and do things you otherwise just couldn't do.     

Here are a few good links that respond to the current concerns and show the do's and don't of babywearing safety. This is an awesome sling safety overview by Jan of Sleeping Baby productions (one of my favorites) on the hazards of bag slings, with photos of the various "bad" brands.  The babywearer.com is a HUGE resource of babywearing info, and they have some useful links listed right on the main page, including this great how-to on proper sling and carrier positioning with helpful photographs.  I also found this response article cowritten by many of the major (safe) sling brands really helpful and reassuring, as well.   

We used a slew of different carriers with Emma, and each had its pros and cons.  I wore her a ton and I know it helped us tremendously with our breastfeeding challenges, fussiness and crying, and sleep.  It enabled me to get out easily, without a stroller.  It allowed for great bonding between Emma and me and her dad.  

With Elsie and Delia, carriers were critical early on to breastfeeding again.  Because of my low milk supply, very frequent nursings were critical to our success.  I was able to nurse a baby in a sling while shopping, at the park, or out on a walk without anyone even noticing.  Once when they were 10 days old I took both girls solo to REI, and was able to tandem nurse without most people noticing that, either, since both girls were hidden under the fabric of the sling (a few moms around me did, and were very supportive, which was nice!).  

In the first 6 months or so, I wore one or both babies frequently when walking Emma to daycare, or soothing them both to sleep.   How else could I soothe them both other than nursing?  Slings and carriers saved the day.   Nowadays, I don't wear them all that often -- but at times when they are driving me nuts, are sad, clingy or sick, or we are just needing to go somewhere not conducive to multiple toddlers, I am so thankful to have my carriers on hand.   

Here are some pictures I pulled out of our annals from the past 4 years.  It was fun to look back!  Man time flies.  

 
Breastfeeding in the sling was extremely helpful for me both around the house and out and about. 

Emma asleep in the sling at a Mariners baseball game.

  
A quiet moment with mama (Emma) 

 
Emma conked out after an evening walk -- so helpful for sleep resistors!

  
Out for a walk at 1.5 weeks old.  Newborn in the stretchy wrap on my chest (under coat), another in the twin stroller with big sis! 

 
Daddy working his magic (I am thinking baby on the left is admittedly a little more "chin to chest" than is best, after seeing the current safety recommendations!) 

  
Elsie or Delia out for some fresh air with Daddy

 
This is the only pic I have of me wearing both twins, which I did a lot for awhile when they were small.  DIY K'tan carrier (thanks Heidi!) on front, Beco Butterfly on back. 

Easy to have fun with your other kids at the park even when one needs a nap...

Check out my babywearing gallery for a bunch of other photos!   

I have a bumper sticker on my car with this saying.  I take it to mean staying in touch with the all the enthusiasm, excitement, passion, creativity and general optimism that you had in your more youthful carefree days.  When I was in high school and college, I had so many dreams and ideas!  So many things I wanted to do and try!  So much hope that there were solutions to things, answers to be found.  I believed in grassroots efforts, strength in numbers, that the world was heading in the right direction, that the good and hopeful would eventually prevail.   That I could do (almost) anything, if I really wanted to.  Ha ha ha!  

No, seriously, I still mostly believe in all that, but things do take on a different perspective as you get older. And busier, and responsible for pretty much everything to multiple other small human beings. I just do not have the time to think about, read or keep up with, or DO stuff relating to so many of these things that matter in the world, or even just things that I just like or care about.  

But, they are still a part of me.  And some days, I try hard to remember them, to remember how I felt and what I dreamed and did back then.  Some of these things I am actually doing, in some small way, or have done and will probably do again.  Some are still destinct possibilities for the future.  Some are definitely no longer in the running (ha ha!), but I still like to remember the me that once dreamed those dreams.  Anyway.  Here's my list, in (very) rough chronological order.  I'm sure there are tons I'm forgetting, but ah well.  Old me forgets stuff, too.  

• a muppet creator
• or a writer/stagehand for the Jim Henson Co & Sesame Street
• a kickass skateboarder (or snowboarder)
• a volkswagen van owner
• on tour with the Dead
• a web designer
• a biologist 
• a farmer
• a drummer
• a travel writer
• a nature writer 
• or a poet
• owner of a coffeeshop/bookstore/art gallery
• an artist 
• a potter
• a radio DJ
• a world traveler
• a New Yorker 
• owner of a studio space for kids creations & art
• an environmental educator
• a literacy/reading teacher
• an art teacher
• a children's librarian
• a houseboat owner
• a kids coffeehouse/playspace owner
• a lactation consultant
• a babywearing consultant
• a mom & baby store owner
• an etsy shop owner
• a freelance writer

Hmmm, I sense a couple of themes here.  What do you think I'll end up with? At some point, my excuses for not attempting some of these things will no longer be valid (or rather, they will all be in school).  Anyone gotta VW?  Let's hit the road. 

Emma's been at it again! These were from last weekend -- an awesome, sunny day spent outside. They are from underneath our play structure.  

Who chew on crayons, mouthsful of bright blue, nibbling down our already meager supply and spitting out wet shards all over themselves and the kitchen floor.  

Who push chairs around the kitchen, climb up and the drop the cereal tub, spilling a thousand grains of crispy brown rice in all directions.

Who cause their sister to scream "Mama, Elsie is in the fireplace!" and "Mama, Delia is crawling on the (kitchen) table!" 

Who dump tiny, juicy, sticky bits of pomelo onto the (newly swept and mopped) floor, and who throw thawed frozen blueberries across the counter (aiming for the sink, but missing). 

Who spill milk and juice on their placesmats on purpose, and are copied 30 seconds later by their twin.

Who stuff 3 tiny (chokable) cars into their mouths, and walk around like that.  

Who spread 4 loads of laundry all over the floor, covered in dog hair.   

Who, upon hearing Mama say something about not screaming, in unison start screaming the loudest, highest screech you can imagine,  stopping only to breathe and then continue on.  

Who bite each other, tackle each other, pin each other to the ground, and steal toys from each other.

Who wake up too soon, ending this post sooner than it would have been, otherwise!  

And who are still pretty damn cute and hilarious, most of the time, even when pulling these crazy-making shenanigans.   

Gotta go.  

When I was trying to think up some new and interesting activity bags recently, I remembered a couple posts I had seen about shower curtain playmats.  They are so cool!  I first heard about them through Jen (I think?), who had linked over to Filth Wizardry's excellent how-to post about this.  I still have yet to actually do it for my girls, since the activity bags were for other people this time, but I am definitely still planning to! 

Part of the intrigue of course is the HUGE size, but for the sake of activity bags I cut them down to about 2' by 2'.   Not quite the same, but still fun and a lot more portable.  I bought an "eco-friendly" PVC-free shower curtain (at Fred Meyers, for PNW-ers) because I'm nervous about the offgassy regular ones. It was  a couple bucks more but still really cheap!  Then you take some permanent markers and have at it!  

Here is my first playmat.  I copied the idea from Filth Wizardry for the road-making tool -- taping two markers to a larger marker (for the larger ones I think she used a juice bottle).  I taped the edges when I was drawing to keep it from moving around.  It was a little nerve-wracking just jumping in freehand, especially since I was giving these away and not just keeping it for myself!  Sorry the images are not great -- I don't know how to take good pics of this kind of thing!

Playmat number two was a bit more detailed:  

Once you are done (or while you are working, ha ha) the kids can color the playmat with crayons or permanent markers.  We'll be sticking the the crayons here, unless the babies are in bed!  In the activity bags I added a couple matchbox type cars (though what I really wanted were some even smaller ones), some free people that I got from a toystore giveaway thing, and some little plastic animals.  

My kids were really interested in it and Emma helped a lot with ideas for the second one, but we have no action shots yet, since these were both packed up for other people. I'll post pictures of ours when we finally do it here, which will be soon because Emma keeps asking about it!    

So I am having this issue where my laptop no longer "wakes up" when plugged in after running out of battery. It used to always to that, bringing up everything I had going before it turned off, but now I have to restart it, losing all the open widows, emails and awesome but unsaved blog postings progress. Drat! My husband had a bit of sympathy for me last night, but mostly had the very good point that I do get multiple warnings, over the period of a half hour or so, that this is imminent. So now I am working on both saving my work AND getting my behind off the couch to plug in before all life is extinguished. You'd think I could manage that, no?

So today, and perhaps in the next hour, I hope to get up my post on activity bag playmats that was unfortunately lost due to my laziness last night! But, I also have to get three girls (and myself) dressed, hair and teeth brushed, shoes and coats on, and snacks for later packed. I am excited because later this morning, after we drop Emma at preschool, Elsie and Delia have their first gymnastics class! The are so physical and enthusiastic and brave when it comes to stuff like this (unlike their super cautious big sis at this age), and from what I have seen when they go to the open gym, I think they will have a blast. Its a parent and toddler class, so the trick is how to manage two of them with just me --sometimes at classes like this they do a lot of one on one things where you just have leave one twin sitting there alone while all the other kids and parents are doing something fun. Sad! But, so far this gym has been great, and I know the class is small and the instructors very willing to help, so I'm pretty sure that won't happen.

I'll let you know how it goes! Stay tuned for that playmat post, coming soon!

Oh, activity bags, how I love thee, let me count the ways....

I first discovered the concept of activity bags around the time my twins were born.  We had JUST moved, I was hugely pregnant, on bed-rest for awhile, then tending to two newborns who were nursing around the clock and mostly only sleeping in arms.  I also was trying not to rock my two-year-old's world any more than possible (fat chance!).  

The main concept is that you assemble or make a self-contained activity that fits into a small bag.  When you need a quick (or long) activity to occupy your bored or busy kid, you bust it out!  Some are great for on-the-go, airplane or car rides, at the doctor's office, etc, while others are a bit more messy and best for home.   

So when I happened upon a toddler activity bag exchange with 12 other moms, I jumped at it!  We agreed to some guidelines (one activity had to fit into a gallon ziplock, 12 activities had to fit into a flat rate priority mailing box, we couldn't spend any more than $20 for all the bags combined, etc) and then got to work.  I chose something easy that I knew I could do sitting down -- homemade mini-books and stickers.  Once they were assembled, I sent them off, and in a few weeks I got a box with 12 different activity bags landed on my doorstep.  Jackpot!  

I kept them in a tub by my chair in the living room, and would pull one out whenever Emma needed a new activity.  I made sure to not keep them out all the time, so they stayed "fresh".  It worked so well, I eneded up using the concept with various other of our toys and activities -- I think this probably was what spawned my toy rotation plan a bit later.  

Anyway, recently I offered to make some activity bags for my twins club auction, and also for a friend's toddler.  Many of them are just so easy to assemble!  Others take a bit more work, but if you are doing it in bulk it feels pretty productive.   This time I did 7 bags:  colored pasta beading, colored pasta sorting, mini-books and stickers, lid sorting, playdough, cut and glue collage bag, and mini-playmats with cars and things.  

Here are some details about each bag: 

Pasta sort and necklaces: check out my guest post on The Foster Family blog for this one!  

Playdough:   Emma and I just whipped up 4 batches of Grandma Cynthia's awesome playdough recipe! I divided each batch in half for two sperate bags, separated the colors in small bags within the larger ones.

World's Best Playdough Recipe

1 cup flour, 1/2 cup salt, 2 teaspoons cream of tartar

Combine in saucepan. Gradually stir in gradually 1 cup water mixed with 2 tablespoons oil and 1teaspoon food coloring. Cook over medium heat until a ball forms. Knead until smooth. Add glitter during kneading, if desired.

Need playdough toys? Try butter knives, chopsticks or straws, dowels for rolling, plastic (or other non-sharp) cookie cutters, muffin tins, measuring cups, potato mashers, garlic press, meat tenderizer/mallet, plastic people or animals, plastic easter eggs...

Mini-books and stickers:  this one is pretty self explanatory.  Kids love little books their size to write and draw in, adding a big assortment of stickers makes it even more fun.  I use plain white paper for the inside of the books, colored construction paper for the outside, staple and cut them in 4-5 different orientations and sizes.  Adding in some short little library pencils (or colored pencils) is great, too.  

Lid Sorting -- Collect those lids!  I collect the plastic and metal lids from tubs, bottles and jars, wash them in the dishwasher and put them in the bag.   Here are some things to do with them:

• Just let them play! Lids can be cookies, pies,
  cakes, plates, or....?
• With younger kids, let them explore while you
  narrate or talk with them about what they are doing, seeing &
  feeling (using words to describe color, size, texture, materials,
  etc)
• Use different sheets of colored paper, bowls or tubs
  to sort the lids. Sort by color, size, words or no words, etc.
• Stack or nest lids by size from big to small
• See if you can find any matches! Collect more lids
  and play a matching game where one person chooses a lid and the other
  finds the match.

Collage Bags -- Another easy one.  I get a few magazines out and cut out tons of images from them -- pictures of food, kids, dogs and animals, toys, anything that catches yours or your kids eye.  In the bag, I add a gluestick, different colors & types of paper or cardboard to glue onto, and whatever else I can find (pompoms, cut ribbons, confetti, etc)

Mini-playmat and toys:  This one is awesome!  So awesome, in fact, I am going to give it its own post tomorrow.  Stay tuned! 

A few other ideas of things I've made, received or seen elsewhere:  mini feltboard and shapes or face parts, cars and fabric & velcro tracks, muffin tin crayons, collections of small things to sort, sandpaper boards & yarn art, dry bean sensory play, I-spy bags, laminated play mail, homemeade picture puzzles, "stained glass" (tissue paper) art, magnet collection, mini "memory" game, clothes pin color matching, lacing cards, beanbag toss....

The list really does go on and on!  There is so much out there, if you just google this type of thing.  And once you are thinking about it, more keep coming to mind!  I'll definitely post more ideas, as we try them.  If you've done this or decide to try some yourself, please come back and let me know what you did and how they worked!  

Hey, I am a guest blogger today over at The Foster Family blog -- go check it out!  Thanks Jennifer!!!  Its a how-to post on pasta dyeing for sorting and beading.  Stay tuned for a post about a bunch of other ideas for Toddler Activity Bags -- I'll try to have it up this morning!  

Today....it snowed!  Pretty much the first time all winter, and just a day or two after we had awesome sunny weather in the 60's.  Emma has been WAITING and WAITING and WAITING for snow (last year we had tons but she hated it then) so she was pretty excited when I pointed out the window.  

It was right during lunch, so instead of heading up to bed we all geared ourselves up (boots, hats, mittens, NOT the short summery skirt Emma was wearing up until then) and went for a walk.  They loved it!  Nothing stuck since the ground was so warm, and it turned to a sprinkle and then disappeared by midway through our little journey down the street and back.  But, with rubber boots on, and puddles and streams of water aplenty on the side of the road, the girls were in heaven.   

Elsie got SOAKED, her pants were literally wet up to her crotch, but they all had a blast.  They actually stayed together pretty well, and I felt fine with the little ones not holding my hand because disappeared street is pretty tame and they stuck to the edges so much thanks to the puddles.  Ha ha!  Emma tends to lead, followed closely by Delia, so if they get too far ahead while Elsie dawdles and lingers I just call for them to stop and they do!  And wait for us to catch up.  Shocking.  

Sadly, no photos of my little puddle jumpers today since my camera battery died.  Ah well.  Now its in the memory books, at least! 

This week, at the constant (but gentle) prodding of my instructor from the parenting class I have been taking, we had our first "family meeting". Apparently having these meetings is one of the single best predictors of happier families (or success with positive discipline? I am forgetting the specific factoid), and one of the main lasting things she hoped we took away from the class.  Her personal account of how family meetings helped her family was REALLY persuasive, so we are giving it a go.  

At the start, she suggests only having everyone give each other compliments, then plan something fun to do together during the coming week. Eventually (once the kids buy into the family meeting concept and associate it as a fun/positive thing), you can start addressing other issues that come up (problems put on an agenda) during the week as well.  Sibling issues, behavior stuff, all that can be addressed, making sure everyone is heard and part of the solution.  As kids get older you can also address meal plans, chores, scheduling for the week, etc. But with kids as little as ours, its mostly about compliments and family time planning right now, ha ha!  And eating delicious treats such as brownies. 

This week, we all easily agreed on our outing -- riding the light rail train!  All three girls were excited and so was I!  The light rail is new here in Seattle, and has a stop not too far from us (10 min or so).  I found a really great guide online over at Delicious Baby (here's part one, and part two) that listed stuff to do with kids at each of the stops, so we chose something and off we went!  

We parked at the Tukwila Station (closest to us and with a big free parking lot) and got off at the Othello Station.  We walked a block or so over to Othello Park, enjoyed snacks and the playground (including a Very Big Slide that I unfortunately didn't get pictures of) and then went back to the station and hopped aboard the next train back.  The girls LOVED it!  All three were all smiles, and Delia couldn't sit still until she got her very own seat on the train.  She fell asleep on the way home in our car, but when she woke up she immediately said "train track!".

Here are some pictures of our outing (no pics of me, but I promise I was there too!).  Even the escalators were a hit!  Now that I've been able to scope it out, I intend to take the girls myself midweek a lot more.  I want to check out the other stations, and maybe go all the way downtown!  

Heading up the escalator to Tukwila Station

Running across the field at Othello Park

Delia on the slide!  

Three kids in a tree!  Emma was the least impressed with this photo op.  Elsie looks a little confused about the whole ordeal.  Delia was totally happy just hung out until we got her down. 

When Delia gets us all sick in another week or so, this will be why. 

Heading home.   

Oh man, these girls are wearing me out.  Its 2:15 and I am getting my first break in hours, and really shouldn't be sitting down because the house is a PIT!

Last night, Elsie and Delia traded off waking up and hollering for me every HOUR from 10:30-3:30.   I ignored them at their usual wakeup time (5:55 on the dot) and they actually went back to sleep, but Emma was ready to get up about 30 minutes later...

This AM Delia pulled my OJ glass off the windowsill (my bad, I shouldn't have left it there, though she does know better at this point) and it shattered into a billion shards of tiny glass mixed with juice all over the living room floor.  Missed the rug, at least, but it was a really unpleasant clean up. 

And obviously ineffective, because I found Elsie's foot bleeding later, and found a tiny shard of glass lodged in her footie pajamas.  She was fine, and none was left in her foot, thank goodness.  I think she picked it up in the kitchen, however, where I rinsed and shook out a rag, so now I have to vacuum the entire downstairs again, WHICH I JUST DID YESTERDAY!!!  OMG.  

I ignored all this and continued with my AM plans today to get gas and go through the car wash at Costco.  Turns out my card was expired, so I had to lug all 3 of them in to renew our membership (I wasn't planning on shopping today--that takes a LOT of planning and snacks with all three of them with me).  Once we were in, I did buy them an ice cream bar that we all enjoyed! 

Which was good, because by the time we got out to the car again, the car wash line was INSANE and there was no chance we could wait that long.  Sad, since the car wash was the main attractions for going all the way over there (Emma was really looking forward to it, as was I!).

So then we went and dropped off some garage sale stuff at a friends and then went to the park, late, but it was already promised and I couldn't back down on another activity.  It was a new park, big, fun and EMPTY!  We had a great time, lots of energy expended by all.  Yay.  

But then, we got home late and hungry, tantrums by 2/3 (thanks to Delia for sparing me, she just waited patiently in her high chair for food), way too much dawdling at lunchtime, yada yada yada.  At least the babies are asleep now, though Emma is clunking around up there and I doubt she will sleep at all.  Even though she does okay at quiet time most days, I really miss her old, reliable naps!  

Okay, rest time is officially over (for me).   Vacuuming to prevent more blood loss first, clearing an expanse of nasty dishes,  second. Mopping, if I have any energy left at all (highly unlikely), last.

Happy weekend!  Hooray!