Olivine wore another hand me down from her big brothers.

She’s our little monkey.

Henry helped vacuum the car (he loves to help).

We had lunch with Ji’chan.

Josie came over for dinner and a sleepover.

We don’t take advantage of this lovely park enough.

The trails are the perfect length for any age.

The turtles, geese, and ducks are friendly enough.

The leaves and light had someone looking all around.

We gathered sticks and crouched low to see lizards camouflage.

Paul was on a field trip with his preschool at Trader Joe’s so he is missing from our photo.

After this morning out and a family style lunch, our entire house rested for two hours.

We wandered the mall this afternoon (only because the Target we went to was attached).

We look lost in this photograph

and that is generally how I feel when I am at the mall with all the lights and music and even televisions.

It makes me wonder how I spent so much time enjoying malls as a twelve year old.

My boys were in amazement seeing as how this was their first encounter with the mall.

A carousel indoors??

We even introduced them to cheese on a stick..an awful yet tasty invention.

Where they won prize coupons by spinning the wheel.

Afterwards splurging on popcorn…which means we were feeling extra crazy on this Tuesday.

Which I realized was an oversized box of Cracker Jacks without the prize.

After dropping Paul off at preschool we headed straight to the eye doctor.

We didn’t have an appointment so we did end up waiting awhile.

The actual holding him down and watching the doctor use tweezers in his eyes was painful.

For Henry, the old lollipop reward worked like magic after the procedure, he forgot all about the ordeal.

The calm in the storm- just like Pilar said she would be- was Miss Olivine asleep and looking very peaceful. The crying of Henry had not phased her one bit.

We headed back home and were about five minutes from our house when he started yelling from the backseat.

As soon as we saw he had pulled the other tube out..we headed back to the hospital saying “Oh Henry!”

He just wanted another lollipop is what we realized.

This is what the eye doctor said and Joe keeps saying as a reminder to me. 

We woke up last night to Henry crying in his crib and my biggest fear since his surgery.

He pulled one of the tubes from his tear duct, so just like the doctor ordered:

We will go first thing in the morning back to the hospital.

Until then we have taped it down and are not going to the emergency room.

One more daily lesson in patience.

She has yet to be born, but my cousin David (okay-technically second cousin) and his wife Dana are anticipating their little girl in May. So rain or shine, we made it to their baby shower.

There was so much detail put into the decorations.

I knew it wouldn’t be all pink either.

I also knew the homemade cookies would be in abundance

and that there would be plenty of footballs (inari).

Which had Joe saying on the way home ” Next party we throw (we don’t throw parties) we are having a candy table like that!!” in a tone of combined envy and awe.

I will also brag about my win over BINGO because really I never win.

And these are the types of photos I end up with when the camera disappears.

These boys love their papa for reasons like this:

He can “blow their minds” like nobody’s business.

This morning was low key as I washed dishes and cleaned up, Olivine slept soundly in her baby sack (called the peanut shell).

We were anxiously awaiting the arrival of a good friend.

She maybe the youngest “doctor” we know- Miss Cindy

who is currently living in Kentucky

and a newlywed

and a new home owner

and we had lots of catching up to do.

I also must say that she has great taste (not just based on wedding pictures and new house pictures)

But because she gave Olivine her first book (which is always an excellent choice for children)

And also that it was a thoughtful choice with meaning.

Hence the title:

By the end of it all, this is how Olivine felt…exhausted from all the “girl talk.” 

She will learn to appreciate catching up with far away friends is a wonderful way to spend an afternoon.

Friends brought us olive bread, which with our little girl, takes on new meaning.

Feeding and bathing three kids while papa is at class is defintely a challenge.

But it helps that they are all smiles and all cute.

Plus. I love to watch baby kick around in the tub and become super mellow from the warm water.

As for the boys, I think the shirt just about covers it.

Lately we are ushering in a new tradition.

Not all meals, but as many as possible, will be eaten “family style.”

This comes after watching the boys at the child development center, talking about the benefits with my sister Rebecca, and internally wrestling with this idea of wanting to teach my children through giving them choice (just like I do in my classroom).

This is what lunch looked like today:

Before eating- the boys helped set out all the food, served themselves, and poured their own milk.

During the meal- they insisted on doing it themselves and serving the portions they thought edible (which turns out to be more then they would eat had I filled up their plate).

After the meal- no complaining, lots of the food was gone, and I really only had to prep the food into the containers and let go of the part that habitually serves them their food.

At the end of the meal Paul noticed that his watermelon seed looked like a bumblebee because it had stripes. Once again, I am stopped in my own business to see the world throught the eyes of a four year old, which can be creative and beautiful.