spring update

"A jelly bean is a jelly bean. Things are what they are . . . ."
--Maddie June age 4

I thought I would take a minute to fill in the blanks not covered by all our pictures :-) We are gearing up for spring and summer around here. Looking forward to jumping some hurdles (like potty-training a couple of boys and getting them into big-boy beds!) and crossing some milestones (like Jack and Ruby learning to walk!). Yes. It will be a busy time coming up! Especially because we are no longer attending "Diane school" as of mid-March:-( Making an effort to get a little more in the black, I will be keeping all 4 kiddos with me every day this spring and summer! When Ruby was born, I started taking the boys and Mads to our beloved daycare lady, Diane, 2 days a week (made possible by generous contributions from Grandma Coffee and Papa Don). It really was wonderful for them (not to mention wonderful for mommy!). They did "crafts" and socialized with the other kids. It was important for all of us to have a little time apart and I am forever grateful to everyone who made it possible. I have to say, the past few weeks with the kids have been fantastic, though! I was a little fearful I wouldn't be such a great mom with less down-time. But things are working out just fine. I have been taking a yoga class (taught by my friend Sandy and attended also by good friends Dyana, Betsy and Shawn) a couple of days a week. Huge! I am a much nicer person including this much-needed "me" time in my schedule. And once a month we have the girls' night out. Tonight Jason and I have actually gotten the lovely Hannah to come babysit for a few hours to go out! Hurray! Everyone is looking forward to it :-)

Come summer I am hoping we can scrounge up the resources for a membership at the Hillside pool. Maddie has her heart set on a birthday party there! She draws pictures and makes "invitations" almost on a daily basis :-) She is a little fish, just like her daddy. And so is Jack! I think the buoyancy is really fun for a guy who normally contents himself with getting around so much more slowly than his siblings. In the pool with a life-vest and a noodle (and a grown-up!) he kicks and moves around as well as (if not better than) Dylan! So proud! So brave :-) Though we may be actually LESS mobile this summer (with 2 kids not walking yet, my back can only take so many trips to the park) our outdoor time at home will hopefully be much improved by the addition of a new swing-set to our backyard! Jason has it about 1/3 assembled so far. Would you believe we bought the thing at Lowe's 2 years ago?

Other news is that miss Madrigal June will be attending Chappellow Arts and Literacy Magnet School this fall! Hooray! All our good pals send their kiddos there and it seems to be such a good match for our little artiste/drama queen. The boys will be attending preschool together in the fall, as well! Probably at Cameron (right accross the street) 4 days a week for 3 hours a day. This is big news, considering the fact that at first it appeared Jack would HAVE to attend District 6 preschool in order to continue to receive his federally funded therapy but Dylan would be UNABLE TO QUALIFY for District 6 preschool because he was not disadvantaged enough. They bent the rules for us just a bit, I think. Thank goodness!

Well, that's about the size of it for now! More birthday pics on the horizon . . . .