Cousin Tanner’s birthday party was on St. Patrick’s Day, so in the morning we had some eggs fortified with green food dye before we headed out the festivities. We were also forced to leave chocolate in a leprechaun trap, because the night prior all of the children were acting like it was Christmas Eve, and apparently their childhood dreams would have been shattered had we not complied. To whatever mother decided that St. Patrick’s had to be yet another holiday where I have to craft something and leave out candy, THANKS FOR NOTHING. I thought this was a slacker holiday were we just put our kids in green clothes and THE END. But apparently, according to my children and Pinterest, a gift-toting lepruachan is now equivalent to the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, and Santa Claus. Can we agree to a moratorium on mythical creatures who enter our homes at night? 
Tanner’s party was supposed to be a hiking party, but it got rained out . . . so Sarah created an outdoors party in the garage. The kids made trail mix and camp crafts. It was so cute. 
Headphones are a mother’s best friend, am I right? 
I’ve been trying to get back into running again. I finally fished my Nike+ tracker out of the closet and turned it on. My last tracked run was 13.1 miles – the half marathon I ran 2 days before flying down to Haiti . . . and then the earthquake. Kind of depressing that I’ve really done a serious run in two years. I attempted to run three miles last week. I was humbled. Ouch. 
Just keeping it real . . . there are some days when it’s all I can do to get Karis into a pair of pants when we go to pick up her brothers. She’s not a fan of getting dressed. 
Other days, she dressed herself. This is her ballerina cowboy look. 
Here she is in her favorite leotard. The kids were playing “bridge”. 
This happened. Did you see it? What did you think? 
I got to have lunch with two of my favorite blogging friends last week: Julie from Joy’s Hope and Wendy Hagen (author of Totally Desperate Mom). It was fun to talk shop with them and see them in person. Fun facts: Julie and I go way back, because our husbands went to high school together Her husband is the drummer for Supertones – one of my favorite bands to see in concert. And Wendy was a child star on Wonder Years, Growing Pains, and several other shows. 
I would really like to freeze India at this age. Five is just the best. 
This is an accidental photo I took while recording the girls singing “Maybe” from Annie. Album forthcoming. 
Let me share with you what a typical day looks like in our house. I work hard to get the kids engaged in quiet, educational activities. 
And then Mark comes home. 
My friend Heather sent this adorable dress to Karis. It’s Diane Von Furstenburg for GAP, and it’s so cute and cozy that I would buy one in every color if they hadn’t sold out in a couple days. Doesn’t she look adorable? All ready to go. 
Until I turned my back for one moment and she decided to smear Desitin all over her face, arms, and feet. That was lots of fun to get off. Also, are familiar with the scent of Desitin? It’s still lingering. 
Remember what I said about freezing India at age five? I don’t share those feelings about age two.
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