Saturday, March 31, 2012

What a Difference a Week Makes...

Well, it's more like two weeks, but seriously! Two weeks ago, it was sunny and nearly 80 degrees. This morning, I woke up and could practically hear the sleigh bells ringing, haha! Seeing the new swing set with a dusting of snow on the roof when it's almost APRIL is just weird! But I guess that is life here!

It stopped at around ten o'clock, and it never really accumulated. The rest of the day was pretty nice, actually! I left the house early this morning to meet up with my friend for some shopping and lunch. We got a lot of things purchased for our girls' respective birthday parties (both coming up shortly), and I was able to take care of the kids' Easter baskets. My being gone also gave Gus time to take care of MY birthday stuff. Oh no, he's not a procrastinator, not at all! He certainly wouldn't be grocery shopping at 8:47pm so he could make me breakfast tomorrow. Nope, doesn't sound like the Gus I know. :P SIGH!

Anyway... I spent the rest of the afternoon sorting through all the stuff I bought and attempting to rest while Gus worked on building the hearth for our pellet stove, which is being installed on Monday (YAY!). I came down with a nasty bug on Thursday evening, and it has wiped me out. I hate being sick! Especially when Gus is gone on a business trip and I'm a solo parent (he got back late last night). It also looks like Maya might be coming down with it, too, since she was a major crankypants all afternoon (very unlike her). Poor thing. I just hope Nikos and Gus aren't next in line!

On that note... I am tired! Time to rest. But here's an entertaining little boy I know trying out a fake mustache (random party favor I picked up for the boys, haha!):

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Rain, Rain, Go Away...

Well, the good news is that it was quite a bit warmer today! The bad news is that it was rainy. And the worse news is that this is typical March weather, which is such a shame after last week's glorious reminder of San Diego weather, haha! Oh well. If getting a lot of rain means that we get lush greenery all summer long, then that is a price I am willing to pay.

Anyhow... I invited my friend Ashley and her kiddos over today. She's my "internet friend" whose mom was actually our realtor! She and I have become friends, and our kiddos get along really well. It's a shame they don't live closer! Still, they drove down to play with us today, and everyone had fun. Her daughter is almost exactly the same age as Nikos, her son is six months younger than Maya, and then she has this adorable baby boy who is ten months old. I could just eat him up!

At any rate, they played hard, and both kids were wiped out after they left. Perfect for a rainy Wednesday, when they might have otherwise developed cabin fever! And of course, I took pictures. Because that is what I do!





On a side note... I finally introduced myself to my new mom friend at the library yesterday! Such a huge relief to be communicating on a first-name basis now, haha! But it was funny... It turns out that she was a teacher, too, until she had her first baby. High school math. And her husband does photography on the side, like me! So we had lots to talk about. I'm just so glad I can pay attention now and not wonder what her name is, or how to bring it up without being totally awkward!
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OH!!! And I nearly forgot!! I finally heard from Nikos' t-ball coach this morning. His first practice is on April 9. Less than two weeks away! And his first game will be on the 21st. SO exciting!! I hope he loves it!

Monday, March 26, 2012

Brr

I have to say, last week's weather really spoiled us! It was consistently in the sixties and seventies, and was so, so lovely! Today, the temperature hovered right around 40 degrees. And actually, the thermometer says that it is currently 26 degrees in our back yard. BRR!! It's a wee bit chilly!

Still, it was sunny and beautiful-looking today, and the kids were bound and determined to play outside. Nikos found our bucket of sidewalk chalk the other day, and had expressed his desire to play hopscotch on our portch. He is so funny! But he's been really into it ever since we played it at the children's science museum. So, we played hopscotch. He fished a coin out his piggy bank to use as a marker, and I drew out a twenty-square course (his request... it also had to go around the corner to make it more challenging). He insisted on writing the numbers himself, which was fun to watch... I've never really seen him write many numbers before, and he asked for help on a few, but he did pretty well overall! He never ceases to amaze me!

Maya, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with hopscotch. She just wanted to draw with the chalk, so that's what she did. I seized the opportunity to grab the tape measure and take various measurements of our porch. It needs new screens, a door, and new window sills. So I measured everything out. And it looks like we should be able to redo it all (and fairly easily) for about $200-- not bad! We'll just need to get a little bistro set for out there, and we will have a fun, screened-in porch to enjoy this summer. It will be awesome!

Today, though, it got very chilly, very quickly. So we ended up back inside after about half an hour. Maya, however, still wanted to draw. I walked into the kitchen to find her sitting at the counter, drawing in my little notebook (where I had written all the porch measurements). She was working on this little monster, which I thought was very good! I can actually recognize it! Go, Maya!!

The rest of the day was consumed with a bunch of boring phone calls, getting various things organized and straightened out. I also ordered an additional handset for our phone, which excites me far more than it should, haha! But the good news is that I got a lot of things done, freeing me to leave the house and do other things tomorrow. Like grocery shopping. And story time at the library. And a doctor's appointment. Exciting times!

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Eggs

Sure, Easter is still two weeks away. And Greek Easter is three weeks away. But after a horrid shopping trip this morning that left me wanting to strangle Nikos, I felt like we needed to do something fun to, well, move past the unpleasantness. So we decorated Easter eggs! Really, he was just a typical, stubborn four-year-old. And I wasn't in a great mood to begin with. I love that kid, but it was not a shopping trip I want to relive at the moment!

Actually, though, we did have a great start to our day! Before our big shopping trip, we stopped at the farm stand to get some honey and milk. The cows were lounging under some trees nearby, much to the delight of both kids. The llama was out grazing, and the chickens were their usual, hilarious selves. The kids loved it! I think they would live at the farm, if they could, haha!

Anyhow... The Easter eggs were fun! Nikos had chosen the "Mini Monsters" kit at the store, and they make me giggle. And he and Maya were so sweet together for the rest of the afternoon. So, we're good now. And have entertaining Easter eggs, to boot!

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Green

I know this is going to sound silly. I KNOW that Massachusetts in the summertime is just about the greenest, most lush place I have ever been. We were here last summer, and that was really when I fell in love. Especially when we saw the back yard of this house, which caught both Gus and I off guard. We had looked at other houses on Main Street, but most had very small, not-very-private yards... this one made us go, "Whoa!" So, so pretty!

That being said... We moved here in December, when everything was dead! And while I knew, in my head, that everything would turn green again, it was hard to imagine the process of that actually happening. And yet, here we are! A few days into springtime, after a week of record temperatures. And, magically, everything is coming back to life! It's so CRAZY! I swear that I could sit out in the yard for a few hours and literally see things change, if I paid enough attention. For one, there's the grass. It's been brown, and frequently buried under snow. But now it's mostly green, and getting greener by the day! Our massive weeping willow tree has gone from being skeletal, to being covered in buds, to starting to leaf out in just the past few days. It has a greenish tinge to it that I am actually starting to notice as we come into town. This tree is absolutely spectacular... I cannot WAIT until it fills in completely!

We also have plants springing to life in the seemingly-empty flower beds in our front yard! Day lilies, I think, though time will tell. And I know that some of our seemingly dead plants out there are beautiful purple hostas, which will come back to life soon enough. I was also studying the berry bushes in our back yard. The entire back perimeter of our property (which is large!) is rimmed with these prickly canes. I noticed today that they were starting to leaf out, which inspired me to take a closer look. And I realized that there are two different types of plants, with very different canes. I know they must be berry bushes, but I wasn't sure what kind. And I was very optimistic, hoping that they would be edible!


Well... I posted these pics on the discussion board for my online mommy group. And the overwhelming opinion is that the first one is, in fact, a raspberry plant! YES!!!!!! The second one is a bit more challenging, and people seem to be torn between thinking it's a blackberry bush or a black raspberry bush. Either way, it seems like we will have a lot of edible berries this summer! Of course, they could all be wrong, and only time will tell. But I am excited to think about FREE raspberries, haha! Maya will be in heaven!!

Oh, and one girl on the board reminded me to check the yard for bears before going out. Yikes! But totally true. Especially if our yard is loaded with berries year after year. This could be the local bear hangout. SCARY!!!! Ack!

Anyway, it's been very exciting to see everything come back to life seemingly overnight. The birds have been chirping like crazy, too, and I am feeling inspired to get a bird feeder to lure them closer to the house. The varieties here are so much more colorful than what we were used to seeing in San Diego! Oh, and then there are the mosquitos... With all the lakes and ponds around here, it makes sense that they are around. And they come out in FORCE the second the sun starts to set! My friend Caryn was saying that most people invest in something called a Mosquito Magnet, to make their yards livable in the evening. It's a heavy-duty bug zapper. I think we will be looking into that!

But yes. It makes me very happy to see everything turning green again, and reminds me of the beautiful months we have ahead of us. I have always loved spring, but it seems to be more dramatic here! It is fantastic!

Oh, and the kids... I can't post without sharing at least a few photos of my favorite little people! While I was wandering around the yard, they played on the swing set (of course). At one point, I dragged some fallen branches off to the edge of our property, just to get them out of the way. And in the process, I uncovered a football that was in perfect condition! Needless to say, they had to play with it, haha!


And Nikos pretended he was in jail. This made me laugh!

And that was our day! Well, there were a lot of boring errands in there, too, but that was the important stuff. :)

Friday, March 23, 2012

Friends

As is quickly becoming our Friday routine, we hung out with my friend Caryn and her kiddos today. The weather was gorgeous, so the mommies spent most of the time sitting at the patio table on the deck while the kids ran around, played on the swing set, and blasted each other with squirt guns. It was so relaxing, and so nice (as always!) to sit and hang out with another adult. We talked about birthday party plans for our girls (whose parties will be two weeks apart), and decided that we are going to hit up the party supply stores together next Saturday. Without kids! It should be a very fun way to kick off my own birthday weekend! :)

Anyway, here are a few photos from our playdate. The one of the two girls is one of my most favorite recent photos. Love it!!


So we got home right around 3:00, after a brief stop at the Dunkin' Donuts drive-thru for an iced latte (yum!!) and some Munchkins (donut holes) for my munchkins. Maya promptly fell asleep on the couch, haha!

But then she woke up and both kids wanted to go outside... again... despite spending almost every waking hour outside all this week! But whatever... I aim to please! So we played until dinner time. Here's hoping they sleep in tomorrow!

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Model Student


I just wanted to take a minute to brag on our boy. He is far from a perfect angel, especially in the comfort of his own home, but he is a pretty awesome kid nonetheless! Every month, his preschool sends home what they call a "Happy Gram." Essentially, it's a note about how he's doing in school, what he's working on, etc. Everything has been 100% positive, which is pretty much to be expected in preschool! This month, though, the teachers invited parent questions, and these questions were used as the basis for the Happy Grams. My question was about bossiness. Like I said, our boy is not perfect (gasp!). He can be very demanding and iron-willed when he feels passionately about something. I just wanted to make sure that he was keeping this behavior in check when we was at school. And he is!! He told me himself, "I'm always good when I'm at school!" haha! Anyway, I just wanted to share a snippet from today's Happy Gram. I love reading nice things about my kiddo, and I know that there are some people who read this blog who will like to hear them, too!

"Nikos is doing a fantastic job in school. He understands the routine and thrives in its consistency. Nikos has a wide circle of friends with whom he loves to play and interact. Nikos has terrific verbal communication skills and when combined with his charismatic personality, it's no wonder that he is a classroom favorite!

Nikos plays cooperatively with his friends. He often invites them to join in his play and his friends return the favor in kind. Nikos is able to handle minor classroom conflicts independently, and is kind and caring with his friends. We have not seen any evidence of "Mr. My Way or the Highway". Nikos is a great sharer and can patiently wait for a turn."


It goes on and on, but the meaning is all the same: he's doing great! We couldn't be happier or prouder of our little booger. Sure, he has his moments, but he is such a great kid. And a great big brother, too. Refer to Exhibit A:

He did this without being prompted at ALL. I turned around, and he was there pushing Maya on the swing. And she was BEAMING. Yup. We're pretty lucky. Two awesome kids. YAY!

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Almost There!

The swing set is almost done!!!! Really, all that we have left to do is install a few handles and do a few "decorative trim" type things (that are totally optional, anyway). All things that we could easily get done in 30 minutes or less, so I should be just fine handling it on my own. Once I go to the store and pick up a few more screws. Hallelujah!

Without further ado... here it is!


I have nothing else to report, except that the kids are IN LOVE with this thing. Good thing, considering it took us the better part of two days to build it! :)

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Check!

Eighty degrees! YES! What an awesome first day of Spring, yippee!!

And what a productive day, too! I had a "To Do" list that was a mile long today, with some very major items on there, and I managed to take care of almost everything. I am exhausted from it all, but am feeling rather accomplished!

My day, in a nutshell: Got Nikos to preschool (dressed in shorts and a t-shirt... no mittens! so weird!). Promptly drove to our insurance agent's office to take care of getting Gus' motorcycle properly registered. Went straight from there to the town clerk's office to get the permit paperwork for our pellet stove (woohoo!). Also discussed property boundaries, and figured out who I need to talk to about determining who a piece of land belongs to (because there's an abandoned car that looks like it's on our property, but isn't... and we want it gone!). Sadly, that office didn't open until later. Maya and I then went to story time at the library, where they read books about Spring, made construction-paper flowers, and ate flower-shaped cookies. I also talked to my potential new friend, but more on that later (haha!). From there, we went straight to get Nikos from preschool. Came home, ate lunch, and I spent the next two hours making some very important phone calls. Got lots of things straightened out. Finally, we played outside. ahhhh...

So nice! But after a while, I felt the urge to be productive (I need to knock it off, seriously!). I went in the garage and sorted all the remaining swing set pieces into piles, and labeled them so that our construction will go a lot faster tomorrow. And eventually, when it started to get late, we came inside and I cleaned the house. Story of my life! It was a good day, though!
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Back to my new mommy friend. Meeting new friends at my age feels like dating, I swear! I don't have the advantage of making new friends through my job anymore... it's just me, putting myself out there! I've had the amazing fortune to "know" a few local people through my online mommy group, but I feel a strong urge to branch out and make more friends. There's this one mom who was at story time last week and this week, and we always seem to end up talking together. She has two older boys (a kindergartener and a first-grader) and a little girl who is just five days younger than Maya. She is really nice! She's lived in this town for pretty much her whole life. Her mom is a kindergarten teacher. I know lots of things about her... And yet... I have no idea what her name is!!!!! ACK! We've never actually introduced ourselves, though we know the kids' names. I was determined to introduce myself today, but it just didn't happen. And now we will be in that awkward place, where we are sort-of friends who don't know each others' names. DOH!! I told her that the nearby farm stand had a story time, though, and she had no idea... so I'm thinking I need to ask her if she wants to meet there and check it out at some point. A date! haha!!

I am going to make friends, or die trying! :)

Monday, March 19, 2012

Maiden Voyage!

So the swing set is clearly not finished (refer to the photos, haha), but I did just enough to make it safe for the kiddos to play on today. I finished securing the swing beam first, making it so that they could enjoy the glider and the two swings. Meanwhile, I attached the slide and got that all set to go. And that was it! We still have a ton of work to do, but Gus has arranged to take Wednesday off from work so that we can finish it together.

We didn't even get out in the yard until just after two o'clock, thanks to a very long morning of running errands. But when we did get out, the temperature was UNREAL! Refer to Exhibit A: the thermometer in our dining room. And please note that the outside temperature probe is located in the shade under our deck. It was just shy of EIGHTY degrees in the sun. I was sweating in my jeans, flip-flops, and a t-shirt. It felt like San Diego, haha!

Anyway, the kids went berserk. I had to drag them in at 4:30, when the sun started to dip a little lower in the sky and it suddenly hit me that I needed to, like, clean the house and make dinner. But not before I took a billion photos of them enjoying their new toy. They love it so much!! I can only imagine how they will flip out once they see the finished product. Hopefully on Wednesday!




And that was our day. It was great, and I am tired. Tomorrow will be another busy day, with a long list of errands, preschool for Nikos, and story hour at the library for Maya. Fun times ahead!

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Swing Set: Day 1

Gus refused to pay for someone to install our new swing set. And despite our initial disagreement on this subject, I have to admit... we had fun today! We are good at working on projects together. We're still not finished, and have quite a bit left to do (refer to the catalog photo in my previous post, ha!). But the "bones" are all there, and the worst part is over: getting everything level and square. After tomorrow, the kids should be able to play on the swings and the glider, and possibly the slide (it's not bolted down yet).

Anyway... Gus and I are both reasonably handy, and perfectly capable of completing a project of this magnitude. At the same time: Oh my gosh!! It was so overwhelming to see a billion pieces of nearly-identical-but-just-slightly-different pieces of wood, all labeled with very user-unfriendly numbers, such as "1875-11" or "1729-06". And the hardware! Oh, the hardware! Bolts and screws in every size imaginable! Such a pain to dig through them all in search of the "2-inch deck screws" and only finding a baggie of "1.5-inch deck screws" or the "3-inch deck screws" or the "1.5-inch lag screws". Sigh. We're doing just fine, though. We will get there!

I am pleased to report, too, that the temperature was a spectacular 70 degrees today, and the kids enjoyed being outside with us for most of the day! They played up on the deck with cloud dough (making a HUGE mess, by the way), and spent a lot of time basically climbing on us while we worked. They had a lovely picnic lunch, too, just feet away from where we were working. Here are a few pics from the afternoon!


And finally, one last photo from when we finally stopped... We worked all the way up until dinner, and then Gus called to order a pizza from the place across the street (literally... he and Nikos walked over to get it). By the time we stopped, we were being eaten alive by mosquitos... yuck! But it makes sense. There is SO MUCH water around here, and the warm temps must have really excited them! Anyway, note to self: buy mosquito repellant.

And that was our day, in entirety. I'm tired! Goodnight!

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Big Day!!!

Sure, today was St. Patrick's Day. We celebrated by wearing green (well, except for Gus) and eating miscellaneous green food. I am embarrassed to admit that I purchased a box of Lucky Charms (for the first time EVER! I hate sugary cereals!) and allowed my kids to eat it for breakfast with green milk. They loved the special treat, though, so I didn't feel quite so bad giving them total junk. Still... never again!

As soon as Gus was up (he sleeps in on Saturdays), we headed out for what would end up becoming a Super Shopping Day! First stop was the swing set store. We had just planned to price things out and let the kids play on the demo sets. I knew that this particular brand was an excellent one, after talking to friends. And my local friend has one of these play sets in her yard that the kids have thoroughly tested-- it is sturdy and very high-quality! Anyway, they were having a great sale, and we ended up walking away with this one. So, SO exciting!!!!

And yes, we actually have it now. In boxes. In the garage. We negotiated an even better price by offering to pick it up and assemble it ourselves. So, after lunch, we moved the carseats into the truck and drove back to get it. Tomorrow's agenda: putting it together! It's supposed to be 70 degrees and sunny, though, so it should be a lovely day for swing set assembly. And the kids cannot WAIT to play on it! Especially the glider! Nikos quickly figured out how to work the one at the lot, and Maya was ecstatic to go along for the ride. Best part? No pushing from us! Here's hoping they can ride the glider at our house by dinnertime tomorrow! :)


After lunch, before we actually picked up the (huge!) swing set boxes, we decided to check out a local "alternative fuel" store. I won't lie... the heating costs since we've moved here have been, by far, the biggest suprise for us. We've been okay, but it's still very expensive. Oil, in general, is expensive! And most houses here are heated by oil. And our house is on the large side, so it uses more than most. Anyway... we have known since day one that we wanted to look into getting a pellet stove. After the initial purchase and installation costs, pellet stoves generally cost 50-65% less to heat a home than oil per year. HUGE savings! And, when we walked into the store, we found just what we needed... and it was on sale for nearly 25% off. Oh, how I love our pellet stove!!!!! Well, it isn't installed yet (that will happen within the next three weeks or so), but still! It's the top model of the top brand... it stays relatively cool to the touch, so we won't have to worry about the kids touching it. It heats quietly and efficiently. And it's pretty!!! I just need to make a hearth pad for it sometime this week (to protect the wood floor). Oh, pellet stove! I love you so!!

And, what's even more awesome, is that the store had a little play area for the kids. They were like, "See you later, we're busy!" It was so great to talk with the sales guy and get all our questions answered without constantly worrying about the kids. Yay!

Anyway... That was our day! Two huge purchases. Oh, and we wrapped it up by having green pancakes for dinner, since Gus won't eat corned beef (and I've never tried it). sigh! Tomorrow is swing set assembly day. Wish us luck! :)
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Oh, and I nearly forgot! Our salesperson also lives in our town. We inevitably got to talking about being from California (which is a great conversation-starter around here, haha!), and it just came up. He lives a few minutes from us. But he pointed to the kids and told us that we picked the best place to live. He said it's such a great town, but especially for families. We hear that EVERYWHERE we go. And you know what? We FEEL that, everywhere we go. It was hard to buy a house from 3,000 miles away, but it's always nice to hear that we made a smart choice in where we live. Great schools, and lots of family-friendly activities. If we could just move our families here, it would seriously be perfect!! :)

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Another Beautiful Day!

Ahhh... a girl could get used to this weather! I don't want to assume that we are done with cold weather for the year, since we most likely are not, but it has certainly felt like spring this week. And look at the 10-day forecast (especially Monday! YES!!!):

It's kind of funny, actually. I know that by San Diego standards, these temperatures aren't that warm. But it's all relative! When you have had weeks of temps in the twenties and thirties, the fifties feel great. Sixty is very comfortable. And seventy is divine!

We were close to 60 today, so the kids and I decided to have a picnic lunch out in the sunshine. It was so nice! There was just the slightest breeze, and it felt amazing to just lay on the picnic blanket and soak up some vitamin D! The kids ran around, chasing the bubbles I blew and playing other games. I really just wanted to lie down in the sun and take a nap, but these two kids kept foiling my plans! *sigh* Good thing they're so cute!


Eventually, we made it up onto the deck, where Nikos was eager to play with the cloud dough again. As I was setting it up, Maya decided to pee her pants. The only reason I mention this is because she did it two more times after that! ugh. This girl goes for weeks without any potty training issues, but randomly has days like this. It's like she just gets so engrossed in whatever she's doing that she can't be troubled to take a potty break. I won't lie, it is endlessly frustrating! Especially when I am right there with her, and she just goes without saying a word! Ack!

However... Maya is just about the sweetest little girl on the entire planet, and my frustration always dissipates quickly. Just one (typical) example from today: I was sweeping the cloud dough crumbs off the deck and, long story short, ended up with a yucky pinch/cut on that piece of skin between my index finger and thumb. It was bloody and it hurt a lot. I ran into the bathroom, rinsed it, and was pressing toilet paper against it to staunch the bleeding. Meanwhile, Maya ran in, asked me if I needed a band-aid, and proceeded to get one for me out of the drawer. She selected it very carefully, and did her best to unwrap it for me. As I was sitting and putting it on my wound, my sweet girl walked around behind me and was rubbing my back, saying, "It's okay! You're all better!" and smothering me with kisses. And you know what? It DID make me feel better! She is so sweet and caring, and just radiates love. Definitely makes up for peeing on the floor, haha! :)

Monday, March 12, 2012

Beautiful, Wonderful, Glorious Day!

It was just shy of seventy degrees here today. Seventy!!! While that's a pretty typical day in San Diego, this was the warmest it's been in the 3.5 months we have lived here. And I have to say... having been through all these cold, bundled-up days, seventy felt SO HEAVENLY! The sun was shining, there was just the slightest breeze, and it was so, so nice. So... we opened up the windows for the first time, aired out the house, and spent hours upon hours enjoying our warm, sunny yard!

We started by having lunch al fresco...

Then we did some art. I set up the easel, but ran into the issue of needing something for the other kid to do while one was painting. Remembering something I'd seen online, I whipped up a batch of cloud dough (4 cups flour + 1/2 cup baby oil). It behaves similarly to wet sand, but is very soft and lightweight. Not to mention it smells nice and makes your skin soft. It was a lot of fun! Definitely a winner! So they took turns playing with the dough and painting for quite a while, while I lounged on the deck. Ahhh...





Eventually, Nikos wanted to go down to the grass and run around. So that's what they did! I actually sat on the grass and just basked in the warm sun. The ran, played tag, pretended to be airplanes, threw pinecones down into the ditch, and played Red Light, Green Light. For hours!



We came inside for a bit so that I could actually wash dishes and whatnot (boo!), but we went right back out as soon as I was done... (this time armed with my sunglasses and an iced coffee... ahhh!)



And that was most of our day! It was just perfect! And weird, if you will remember this photo from exactly one week ago!! Gus rode his motorcycle to work, along with the rest of the state (seriously, there were a LOT of motorcyclists out today!). We had tacos for dinner. It felt like spring, and it was such a boost after getting through a few months of somewhat dreary weather. Plus, it reminded me that my birthday is almost here! I love Spring! YAY!

One last thing... both kids wanted to try on Gus' motorcycle helmet tonight. haha!

And on that note... good night!