May (According to my iPhone)

This spring FLASHED before my eyes. March and April were dreary months for me personally, but things perked up in May. Then before I knew it, May was gone. Another month in the history books. That makes me weepy if I think too hard about it. 

FHE Hack: Take your kids to ice cream at McDonald's. (Or "Old McDonalds" as Micah calls it--I can't bring myself to correct him. It's just too endearing.)

I bought two adirondack chairs at Lowe's. Here is Natey lounging in one, eating his morning oatmeal (messy morning oatmeal, I might add) at 6:30 AM in the backyard. Best purchase in a while--except that the kids constantly fought over who got to sit in them. So Allan bought me four more for Mother's Day.

After slimy oatmeal, it's perfectly natural to then go snail hunting.

Micah and I spent a lot of time in the doctor's office. He has an ear infection that won't go away. Waiting room selfie courtesy of a really bored Micah (our pediatrician doesn't have the best waiting room management skills).

Baseball season! Allan took Jack to another Dodger's game with friends. This will most certainly become an annual tradition.

"Here comes Trouble," is an oft-uttered phrase in our house. AC cannot be trusted. Potted plants, toilets, electric cables, Legos, dishwashers, etc. She's obviously very proud of this, and the fact I'm often half smiling as I give a firm-ish "no" probably reinforces her naughtiness.

Astrid and I had a harrowing Costco experience the day before Mother's Day. Here she is observing just how long the checkout line is.

We were sick in May too. So from the beginning of February through May someone, usually multiple someones, always had something. This was AC and Micah's combined regimen for a few days. I had to write everything down and post it on the fridge because it got very complicated.

Jack had a zoo animal report. This portion of his presentation made me giggle. I didn't realize that my son is Napoleon Dynamite.

Here we are enjoying my birthday dinner of spaghetti and meatballs. Eaten outside. It was tricky, but worth it.

Micah and Nathan broke out into a light saber battle with their ice cream pops.

Owl presentation. Dressed as an owl, naturally.

Astrid came to support Jack during his presentation. So did Nathan's shoe (the rest of him was there too).

Jack planted a cabbage starter in March for extra credit. Then we forgot about it. Then the snails ate it. But it still got really big, and he still got extra credit (though he didn't tell his teacher he did absolutely nothing to keep it alive).

Another zoo trip. This time with Katie's boys. Note the stair steps. And Micah's short shorts. He grew out of them last year but WILL NOT let me pass them down to Nathan. To make matters worse, there are two pairs. So he looks like John Stockton at least two days a week. (Note that he has Allan's legs....)

During "Giants of the Deep" week at preschool (Micah is always extremely careful to refer to the week's theme by its formal name, instead of "ocean week" or "sharks and whales") Micah made this intimidating shark headpiece. I think he looks like a scary pope.

This charming picture was taken at the beginning of what would wind up being the most disastrous restaurant visit ever in the history of our family. There are so many cringe-worthy moments to recount, but these two highlights say it all: Jack plowing into a lady and spilling her Coke all down her front and me stepping in the product of AC's overflowing diaper on the way to helping out the poor Coke-soaked lady. Hopefully the poor patrons of In-n-Out were blinded by their cuteness and not their rambunctiousness..........No?

Another trip to see the horses. This time without pants. Though I didn't realize it until he hopped out of the stroller (stains courtesy of a berry delicious bowl of oatmeal).