Spring is here (I hope!)

I don't care if it's because of the silly time change, but when the first sound you hear from your children doesn't come until the clock says 8:20 am.. it's gonna be a great day.

We did our usual morning thing.. start the laundry, make breakfast, clean up the kitchen, get dressed.. and it was time to head out the door for play-group. We met at the church & because it was so beautiful outside, we let the kids run around after they decorated cupcakes, under the pavilion, for St. Patrick's Day. Charlie ran around with his little pals; Cole, Will, Nate, & Jacob as they all waved big sticks & dug holes in the sandy volley ball court. Charlie came running up to me with a huge dirt ring around his mouth and I knew it must be spring. Jack tried his best to keep up with the boys but seemed to always be about 30 feet behind. He would chase them for awhile, then come back and try playing with the babies left hanging out on their mom's lap but they weren't nearly as entertaining. He still had a good time though-- cupcakes were involved.

Right after playgroup they came home to take a walk with daddy & have lunch while I ran in for a 'quick' eye doctor appointment (just a check up on new contacts.. but I was gone for an hour and a half-- but on the upside, finished my slacker-wife book while I waited.) Greg had put Jack down for his nap while I was gone, so I didn't think he'd sleep all that long.. he ended up taking a 3 hour nap though!

Just a note on naps. After a week of Charlie struggling to fall asleep before 9:30 or 10, we decided it was finally time to get rid of his afternoon nap (which I was pretty much forcing him to take anyway & he would end up sleeping away the afternoon from 2 - 5pm). He has done amazingly well without them! He doesn't even get cranky. He spends that time in the afternoon doing quiet things like playing with play dough or painting or looking at books. I thought I was going to dread not having my alone time, but he's so pleasant & quiet that I can still have a little time to myself (today I read the paper). I think he's so well behaved because he knows if he acts up I won't hesitate to throw caution to the wind and put him down for a nap anyway.

We've also just recently killed Jack's morning nap. All this time he's been taking a 1 1/2- 2 hour morning nap at around 9am & then an afternoon nap at 2pm (during charlie's afternoon nap but never lasting as long). I can't believe how nice it is! I can go out in the mornings and get errands done, bring the boys home for lunch, then Jack goes down for his nap immediately after lunch, and by the time he wakes us, there's still plenty of the the afternoon left to get out again before dinner time. This is going to be perfect for swimming this summer. We can swim in the morning, eat lunch, & swim again after nap time.

This afternoon after Jack's mega-nap, we headed out for a walk with our wagon.. we took out the recycling, got the mail, & then went to the play ground and played for an hour and a half.. there were tons of neighbors out with their little kids and we had a blast! Jack had a blast playing like the big kids and got his own ring of dirt around his mouth. After a quick dinner, we went to Scuba Ted's to visit Greg who went in for a couple of hours to cover for someone else-- and to get popcorn. Scuba Ted has a popcorn machine & a beautiful salt water fish tank, and this is why they love going to Scuba Ted's (plus he lets them try on the masks and fins).

Greg pointed out a lion fish to Jack & he promptly ROARED like a lion. He was so proud of himself. It was like he was thinking "I just made a joke!"

Then I said to Charlie, "Look at his face, Charlie. He looks sad." And Charlie said, "Why is he so sad? Does he miss his family?"

Oh my gosh, that was the saddest thing I ever heard my little 3 1/2 year old say.

But then I found the little puffer fish hiding behind a rock. And he looked happy. That made me feel better.