Zoo...again.

We decided to get up early and out of the house this morning. There were a lot of exhibits we missed a few weeks ago, so we decided to hit the zoo again. It was rainy this morning, but forcasters said it would clear, and it did!! It was such a fun morning. Unfortunately I decided not to take my camera. "Really, how many more zoo pictures do we need this year?" OF COURSE, all the exhibits were super-cool this time. We decided to go to Amphibiville where there was a sloth hanging on a branch, just about 2 feet above my head. Even the zoo keeper said that he really NEVER does that. WAY COOL! There was actually no line for the Australian Outback exhibit, but the kangaroos were all sleeping. We decided to do the polar bear "Arctic Ring of Life" again. Last time we were there we only saw the seals. This time there were two polar bears swimming all over and around the viewing tunnel. One even sat right up on top of the tunnel for like 10 minutes. WHY DIDN'T I TAKE THE STUPID CAMERA?! The kids didn't want to leave at all. Finally, it was time to go and I sort of dreaded the train ride since it was a bit of a disaster last time. But we got right up to the platform, bought our tickets and only waited about 3 minutes for the train to come. There was no crowd at all. We got right on! I think I realized that last time there was only one train running. Today there were two. All in all, a fun day. Now 2 of 3 kids are napping! yay!

"Mom, is Tricia coming today?"

We've been so excited to have Tricia watching the kids while Mom's at work during the week. She's been with us for 3 weeks total now and the kids (and mom) couldn't be happier. Everyday Sofia asks me "Is Tricia coming today?". If it happens to be Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, I'm left with a very disappointed 4 year old. Here is why:

Tricia is just a lot of fun. I just took this picture because all the kids love to be glued to her. They get to do fun stuff too. Even Scarlett has figured out that if she makes a big enough mess while eating lunch or poops through her clothes, Tricia will give her a bath (baby party time!). The TV is rarely on when she's here. I usually come home to find beautiful drawings, kids playing outside, or chalk art on the driveway.

Tricia came to our house one day armed with pipe cleaners, popsicle sticks, google eyes, and puffy balls. Here is a butterfly.

Here is a choo-choo train.

Here is a caterpillar.

Earlier this week, the kids made masks with Tricia. This is a cat, but they also made a dog and a bunny rabbit that Tricia took home with her.

Sofia and Tricia have been working on this doll for a couple of weeks now. They have hand sewn the body and stuffed it and then hand sewn the dress. They are planning to still had hair and her face.

Scissors!!

A few months ago my friend Hilary was telling me (or rather raging on about) how her 2 year old got ahold of some scissors and cut her own and her sister's hair. I remember thinking, and maybe even saying "we don't even have scissors out for our kids to ever do that." WELL, last night I bought Sofia a pair of "safety scissors" to start practicing her cutting skills for preschool. She tried them out this morning and threw them aside. A couple of hours later, Grayson came upstairs and said "cut hair", but he had slices in his t-shirt. After mussing his hair a bit, lots of little blonde hairs fell to the floor too. Boy am I eating my words. Here's the little trouble maker about a minute after I found him. He even looks like he knows he did something wrong!

ahhh... I've got way too much sense I suppose

Take the Quiz here!

I got this from Stacie (Thanks!). Kind of fun, but predictable... or maybe I'M predictable.
Either way try it out and let me know who you are.

Garage Sales Rock!!

We've been thinking about getting Grayson a "big boy" bed for a little while. The toddler bed he's been sleeping in belongs to his cousins and little Thierry will need it soon, but not for a few more months. We've been keeping our eyes open for good deals with nothing in particular in mind. Well, today Sofia and I went garage sale-ing and found the BEST DEAL EVER! I wasn't even looking for a bed, but found this really cool loft bed. I was a little nervous since Grayson is only two, but the rail looked like it'd keep him in pretty well. It was only marked for $25!! I only had $22 in my wallet, but the seller said that was fine. Hooray!! This saves So much room in Grayson't little bedroom. The bedding I got was of course much more expensive than the bed itself. Grayson (and the girls too apparently) loves his new bed. What a steal!!

All 3 kids trying out the new digs. Don't worry, we were watching Scarlett carefully.

Grayson loving his new truck style bed.

Look where we can store the bookshelf, CD player and tiny table!!

I've started calling this "Grayson's office".

Where's the rest?

WARNING! SPOILER ALERT! DO NOT READ THIS POST IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED READING Breaking Dawn !


OK. So I just finished a couple of hours ago. For the most part I'm pretty satisfied, but shouldn't the Volturi have been decimated? I'm I alone in this thought? I was looking for a good ole fashioned vampire/werewolf fight like in book 3. I guess I'm a bit disappointed in that respect. I think they should have been overthrown. That much power is way too dangerous. Is this an open for another book? Was I the only one moved nearly to tears by Garrett's speech? I want to see more of what Renesmee can do in the future too. ok, ok. So maybe I'm just bitter that there's no more to read for now. I checked out a website for something to read next: whatshouldireadnext.com, but haven't found anything that sounds near as good. Withdrawals already? What is wrong with me?

Am I crazy for loving these books?

Ok. All I want to do this week is read this book!! Is that so hard? Apparently so. I borrowed it from a friend on Sunday and began reading it right away. I was so engrossed by Monday morning that I totally spaced Scarlett's 9 month well visit with her doctor. It has gotten so good, but I have been way too busy this week. It's like everything in the universe is keeping me from reading (ok, a little too dramatic). My patient load at work has been horrendous and the paperwork at night is overwhelming. My baby has an ear infection I think (hmmm... shouldn't have spaced on that dr. appt. Monday) and is in my arms constantly. My laundry is piling up. My checkbook isn't balanced and the bills aren't paid. I don't care. I just want to read. If I try to read with awake kids, I only get 5 minutes without interruption. THIS IS NOT THE KIND OF BOOK YOU CAN JUST PUT DOWN! UGH! I've been up past midnight for the last 3 nights. Only 300 ish pages left. No more typing.... must read...!!!

Scarlett is 9 months old already!

I can't believe our little baby is growing so fast. She turned 9 months old yesterday. She crawls (quickly I might add) all over the house, chews on everything, and just broke her two front through. She has had the sweetest disposition, but has lately started to show us her fiery red-headed side too. She does a lot of talking (yelling really) and we're pretty sure she'll start fighting Grayson soon since he likes to beat up on her. We knew the sweetness was too good to be true for long.

Detroit Zoo was a "zoo" today!

I took the kids to the zoo today and it was sooooo busy. Of course it was Friday and a beautiful 75 degrees outside. We had so much fun. We went with our friends: The Mayfields, Rhodenizers, and Allisons. Going as a large group makes for large amounts of fun, but also large amounts of chaos... e.g."Where's Grayson?" "Does anyone see Thomas?" "Get back in your stroller!" "Do Fin and Kivi have Zack with them?". These questions and statements were recited repeatedly throughout the day. We took the train at the end of the day, but our group got split up in all the chaos, so I didn't get pictures of that. Maybe next time.

Sleeping Polar Bear

hmmm.... what are these seals doing... anyone?

We got real close to the hippo, but he wasn't that interesting.

Grayson really dug being in the under-seat of Aiden's stroller. Aiden's sister, Madeline ended up in our stroller.

Sofia, Aili, and Elise were so happy to meet eachother at the zoo. They were so cute. They were all wearing braids too!

Grayson's favorite exhibit was the penguinarium.

Grayson and Aiden were so cute holding hands for a while.

Taking time to stop and smell the flowers.

Scarlett stayed in her stroller or course. Here she is with her "friend" Madeline.