Now We Are Three

After having a present "rehearsal" at Christmas, Max was very much into the spirit of things when his birthday rolled around. I don’t think he entirely understands the whole concept, but he was very interested in the idea of a day that revolved around "more presents," "more Papa," and a "chocolate Elmo cake." When he woke up, I sang him "Happy Birthday," got him dressed, and took him downstairs to make him his favorite breakfast (pancakes!). After a morning of play time (and some extra video time at the birthday boy's request), we struggled to get Max and Molly down for a nap before the party guests arrived.

For lack of a better theme (and because we knew Max would approve), we decided to have an Elmo birthday shindig. In honor of the occasion, I downloaded an Elmo "album" from iTunes, so the birthday boy could enjoy "more Elmo song" (Max likes his "moosic," as he calls it). Max had an Elmo-themed outfit (courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa), Elmo party hats, Elmo plates, and the all-important chocolate Elmo cake. He was very excited about his party, since it involved seeing "Papa," "more Papa," aunts, uncles, and friends. He also had spotted the stack of presents in the library and wanted to "open presents more."

Max loved all the company and the attention. He spent half the party chatting up his guests and the other half running around with his little friend, shrieking in delight while pushing the corn popper toy. I didn't expect him to wear his Elmo party hat (since he normally hates hates), but he surprised me by being totally enthused about the hat and putting it back on himself when it started to slide off. Max enjoyed the pizza we had for dinner and made short work of opening his presents. Mama and Daddy got him some books ("Hurry, Hurry" and "In the Night Kitchen"), his very own "guitaro" (toy guitar), and a Word Whammer. He also got a remote-controlled backhoe, his very own digital watch (so hopefully he'll stop trying to steal everyone else's watch), a set of Lincoln Logs, an alphabet foam puzzle mat, and some more great books. Between Christmas and his birthday, Max sure isn't hurting for presents this week!

After the present chaos was under control, it was time for cake. Max, with some prompting, requested a "chocolate Elmo cake," so that's what Mama made! He was very pleased and proud to sit up in his chair and be the center of attention while he blew out his candles and had everyone sing "Happy Birthday" to him. He really liked his cake -- when he first saw it he started squealing, "Look! It's Elmo! Wow!" He enjoyed eating it as well, although Molly really enjoyed her cake and ice cream (she ended up wearing rather a lot of it).

Needless to say, after such an exciting day, Max didn't have any problem falling asleep! I can't believe my little baby is already three. Wow, next year he'll be a actual preschooler -- imagine that!

The Story of a Boy

Once upon a time, there was a little boy who rushed to meet the world. The world, however, still held fast by cold and snow, wasn't quite ready for such a small, growing thing, so the boy was carefully closed away until the earth started thinking greener, warmer thoughts. The boy waited and listened and watched and endured, held fast to this world by the thoughts and prayers of all the people who loved him. But, although his body was small, his spirit was mighty and its impact was felt by everyone he met. He taught us patience. He taught us faith. He taught us compassion and impermanence. He reminded us which things in life to hold on to and cherish and which things to let go. But, most of all, he taught us to love.

Little by little, he grew bigger and stronger. One day, while spring was roaring a welcome, he was freed from his confinement and tumbled into the great, wide world. As the years passed, his body forgot those dark, early days, but his spirit remembered – and so he lived his life deliberately. He ran for the joy of running. He laughed to hear the sound of his voice. He climbed and jumped and tumbled to feel the strength of his healthy body. He met the world with interest and bright anticipation and approached every soul he met as a friend. He grew glorious and shining and perfect ... and now he is three. And we stand by and watch in wonder and are ever amazed.

Christmas Day

I'd forgotten how much fun Christmas can be with little kids -- everything is so new and exciting and magical for them. Molly is still pretty oblivious, but Max is just getting to the age where he can really participate and enjoy himself. Christmas morning started bright and early when Molly got up at 6:30 a.m. (which is actually not bad, for her) -- her cold has made it difficult for her to sleep and I was really happy that she didn't get up at 5! Molly, Dad, and I tiptoed downstairs (since Max was still sleeping) and let Molly check out the living room. There was a teddy bear sitting under the tree for Molly, and she ran right over to it, squatted down to look it in the eye, and started squealing, "Bear! Bear!"

While we made some (much needed) coffee, Molly spent the next few minutes lugging the teddy bear around and giving it hugs and kisses. After a few minutes, we realized that Molly was being awfully quiet, which always means that she's found her way into some sort of mischief. We looked across the family room and found Molly sitting on the hearth, with a gingerbread cookie in each hand, pleased as punch. We then realized that we had forgotten about the plate of half-eaten cookies that we left by the fireplace for Santa. So, Molly ended up eating cookies and milk for her first breakfast!

Max got up soon after and we let them "open" two more presents (since they weren't wrapped anyway) while we waited for Grandma and Grandpa and Big Brother and Big Sister to arrive. Santa brought Molly a Fischer Price popcorn popper and Max a play tunnel -- they had a riot playing while Mama finished up the cinnamon rolls and popped them into the oven. Once everyone arrived, there was much opening of presents, followed by a big breakfast. The big kids got a Playstation 3 for their main present. Max loved the electronic keyboard that Santa brought him and was thrilled with the "bicycable" from Grandma and Grandpa. Max also got his very own remote control dump truck, a little tool kit, some books, and some art supplies. He really enjoyed opening his presents and would exclaim, "Wow!" and get all excited when the wrapping paper came off. By the end of the day, he was evening asking for "more presents!"

The first present that Molly opened was the "That's Not My Puppy" Usborne book that Santa brought. Once she saw the new book, she didn't want to open any more presents -- she just carried it around and begged everyone to read it to her. She got a dolly from Grandma and Grandpa, which both Max and Molly like. It has eyes that open and close, and Max was astounded (and a little freaked out) when he picked up the "seeping" doll and "the baby wake up!" (as he put it). Molly also got a Fisher Price Chatter Telephone (the original version), some tub toys, a little toy car, and some Babylegs!

After breakfast, we cleaned up a bit, opened up and put together some toys, finished off the Christmas desserts, and tried (unsuccessfully) to get Max and Molly to nap. Then we went over to Grandma and Grandpa's for Christmas dinner and visited with aunts and uncles and cousins (oh my!). Molly was a little shy around all the people -- when she gets bashful, she gets really quiet, balls up her hands, and holds them up against her chest. Then, if possible, she usually beelines for Mama. Max, on the other hand, is Mr. Social. He's everybody's best friend and loves talking to people and being the center of attention. After a wonderful dinner, another round of presents, and too much dessert, we had some very tired kiddos and a couple of exhausted parents. Max and Molly went straight to bed, the big kids followed soon after, and Mama and Dad passed out on the couch before dragging themselves off to bed.

Although part of me is a little relieved that it's over, we had a very lovely Christmas. There always seem to be more things that I want to do than there is time to do them! I'm looking forward to enjoying the rest of my vacation and spending some time at home with my family (and just maybe playing a little Guitar Hero III on the new Playstation ... ;).

Merry Christmas!

We wish all of you a very merry Christmas and a wonderful new year!

Twas the Night Before Christmas ...

... and all through the house, not a creature was stirring -- well, except Mama and Daddy, who were baking Christmas goodies, cleaning the house, wrangling babies, wrapping presents, and making our annual Christmas Eve clam chowder!

I was hoping that this Christmas Eve, since I didn't have any crazy sewing projects to complete, that I'd have a nice, relaxing day, enjoying some low-key Christmas activities. Of course, that totally didn't happen -- in spite of (literally) weeks of preparation, my "to do" list was still pretty long by the time Christmas Eve day rolled around. Although it was a busy day, we managed to squeeze some fun in as well.

We managed to bake one pie, one cheesecake, and one layer cake, put together the dough for the Christmas morning cinnamon rolls, finish off another batch of fudge, finish cleaning and straightening up the house (including an impromptu living room furniture rearrangement), make Christmas Eve dinner, make gingerbread cookies with Max, wrap all the presents, and hang all the stockings by the chimney with care. Whew! And, this will be the first Christmas Eve in a long time that I'll make it into bed before the wee hours of the morning.

I'd been planning to make gingerbread cookies with Max since LAST winter, when became totally fascinated with a Babybug story, where a little boy and his mother make gingerbread cookies. Max and I made the dough a few days ago, but hadn't gotten around to making the cookies. So, although I wasn't planning to make them on Christmas Eve, that's exactly what we ended up doing! Max, of course, had a blast. He helped cut out the cookies and was in charge of the decoration. I had gotten currants to use for eyes and red hots for buttons. I dumped a pile of currants out on the counter and was totally impressed when Max I dumped out a bunch of currants to use as eyes. Max grabbed some and started putting them on the cookies -- I was impressed that he neatly and carefully put two "eyes" in the right spot on each cookie, without any instruction from me. The buttons were a little more hit and miss -- they ended up in all sorts of places!

When the cookies were finished, Max and Molly got in their new Christmas pjs and we settled down for the traditional reading of "Twas the Night Before Christmas," along with their new Christmas book ("A Wish to Be a Christmas Tree"). Unfortunately, once again, by bedtime everyone was in full melt down mode, so story time didn't go very smoothly. ;) Molly got packed off to bed in a hurry (since she was the main melter downer) and Max and I put together a plate of goodies for Santa. We left him some gingerbread cookies and some fudge, along with a carrot for the reindeer. Max was totally enthused about putting the goodies on the plate and totally confused that HE didn't get to eat them. He seemed to think that it was very strange to be leaving a plate of perfectly good cookies by the fireplace. Eventually we got the little ones tucked into bed, with visions of sugar plums and all that jazz, while Mama and Dad finished up the Christmas prep. Of course, the fact that "It's a Wonderful Life" (one of my favorite movies) was playing on the TV wasn't helping our productivity, since we kept sitting down to watch it.

But, we managed to get everything finished -- the stockings are waiting to be stuffed with treats in the morning, the presents are wrapped and sitting under the tree, and the cinnamon rolls are resting patiently in the fridge. And, just like when I was little, I can't wait for Christmas morning -- this time because I can't wait to see the kids' faces when they come down the stairs in the morning and see how "Santa" has transformed the living room.

Trimming the Tree

In spite of the fact that we bought the tree over a week ago and it has been sitting, naked, in our living room ever since, we only just got around to decorating it (an inconvenient snow storm wrecked our original tree decorating plans). Although poor Molly was sick and had to go to bed early, Max really enjoyed getting to stay up "late" and being allowed to help decorate the tree. The kids and I (minus sick Molly) made our yearly trek to the Hallmark store to pick out our new ornaments. Every year, each kid gets to pick out a new ornament to hang on the tree. They really enjoy having their own special ornaments. One day, when they're all grown up and off in their own homes, decorating their own Christmas trees, they'll have a little set of "starter" ornaments waiting for them.

There is usually much agonizing over which is the perfect ornament, but we were pretty efficient this year. I held on tight to Max for the entire outing, for fear that he'd do his "bull in a china shop" impression in the store (which is full of nothing but breakables). I was going to let Max pick his own ornament this year, but since he didn't seem to have much of a preference (he was too interested in looking at and naming everything he could see), I ended up picking for him -- he and Molly both got the appropriate "year" ornament in the series that I've been collecting for them.

When we got home, I put Molly to bed, put on our favorite Christmas CD, and we started opening up the Christmas boxes. It's always fun to unwrap all the ornaments and all the memories that go with them. I have a bunch of ornaments from when I was growing up and it's always fun to see them again. We have construction paper and clothespin ornaments that the big kids made when they were small. We have ornaments that were Dad's when he was little. And, of course, we have a bunch of the classic glass balls. Max oohed and aahed over all the ornaments, but he especially liked hanging the glass balls -- especially the red ones. By the time we finished, he had crammed a dozen or so ornaments into one little corner of the tree. It looked a little strange, but Max had a blast.

After we finished hanging the ornaments, put the star on the tree, and got out our stockings, we whipped up the traditional tree trimming hot chocolate. I make the cocoa from scratch, load it up with miniature marshmallows AND whipped cream, and add a candy cane as a stir stick. Max even got to have a little cup (with a miniature candy cane) -- it was the first time he'd had hot chocolate and he was so happy to be sitting there sipping hot chocolate with the rest of us. He kept calling it his "coffee," and after a few sips he declared, "Mmmm, this is good!" He was begging for "more cahfee" when he was finished, but got bundled off to bed for his troubles. ;) I did get the Christmas books down for him, so a reading of "The Snowman" and "Twas the Night Before Christmas" eased his disappointment.

Next year, Molly will be old enough to join in all the fun. Watch out!

Little Girl Sick

Molly just can't get a break! First she comes down with a mystery rash and now it appears that she's caught another bug. She's been coughing a little bit for a couple of days, but last night she was coughing, wheezing, breathing hard, and sporting a little fever. She was uncomfortable and miserable and kept waking up -- I don't think she slept more than an hour at a time. This morning she was even worse and definitely not her usual self -- when all my kids want to do is sit quietly on Mama's lap, I know they need to pay a visit to the doctor.

We managed to get an afternoon appointment with our pediatrician. Molly had a 100.5 degree fever, weighed in at a little under 26 pounds, and when they dragged out the pulse ox (which always brings back some great NICU memories :P), the best number they could get was a 94 (not terrible, but not great either). The doctor listened to her lungs and she was pretty wheezy, so we gave her a breathing treatment in the office to see how she responded. Her lungs cleared up after the treatment and she started to perk up a bit -- instead of just sitting quietly on my lap, she started chattering away and wanted to explore the exam room. So, the diagnosis was an upper respiratory infection, probably bronchiolitis, almost certainly caused by a viral infection (RSV or something similar). The doctor prescribed her some nebulizer time and a brief round of steroids.

The meds seem to be helping a lot and Molly was feeling much better tonight. She's horribly overtired and still seems to be having trouble sleeping, but she was playing and talking and getting into mischief. Hopefully she'll kick this virus soon and be well for Christmas. Now if we can only keep Max from catching it ...

Let It Snow!

I'm ashamed to say that Max (and, of course, Molly) has never been out to play in the snow. He was too small his first winter (after all, who would want to crawl through snow?) and last winter I think we got all the "good" snow on week days, when I had to work. So, when the first big snowstorm of the season happened to fall on a weekend, I couldn't wait to bundle up the small fry and take them out to play in the snow!

Unfortunately, my attempt to acquire boots before the storm was entirely unsuccessful. Apparently every other parent in the area had the same idea and Target was TOTALLY cleaned out of kids' boots. So, we had to improvise with regular shoes and several pairs of socks (both kid socks and Mama socks). I had hats and mittens for everyone and Molly fit into Max's old (unused) snowsuit. Max wore his regular coat and an old pair of snow pants that Max's aunt or uncle used to wear. So, except for the whole "lack of proper footgear" issue, we were ready for some fun in the snow.

Max was so excited and couldn't wait to get outside. He happily plunged through the drifts and started playing in the snow. Molly was a little more hesitant -- she wasn't quite sure what to make of the white stuff, especially because it came up past her knees. The fact that I had bundled her up like the little brother in A Christmas Story didn't help either. Like poor little Randy, when Molly fell down she couldn't get up by herself and had to yell, "Help, Mama, help!" until I came to her rescue. After a few minutes she did start to enjoy herself, especially when I gave her a horsey ride around the yard. But, after about 15 minutes of playing, Molly was ready to go back inside and hustled back inside to get warm with Dad.

Max, on the other hand, didn't want to come inside ("More So, more so!"). We tossed snow in the air, threw snowballs, and made snow angels. We ran around the yard and rolled in the snow and had an all-around good time. We went back in to get warmed up and have dinner, but Max was begging to go back outside and play. Hopefully the white stuff will stick around and we can play in it next weekend. I think there's a sled in the garage that Max and Molly would really enjoy!

Naughty or Nice?

Max and Molly went to visit Santa (and Mrs. Claus) today! This was Molly's first visit and Max's second -- we didn't go last year because Molly was so little and Max wasn't old enough to care. This year, however, Max is TOTALLY into the whole Santa/Christmas thing. When we were getting into the car, we told him we were going to see Santa and he talked about it the whole way there (a good 15 minute drive).

I'm happy to report that there was no crying! Molly wasn't sure what to make of the situation, but she sat on Mrs. Claus' lap and was content enough. Once Max spotted Santa, we had to physically restrain him so he didn't go running up there before it was his turn -- he was SO excited to see Santa. He happily sat on Santa's lap, talked nonstop, and was thrilled with the candy cane Santa gave him. The photographer had a hard time getting him to stop talking long enough to snap a picture. I remembered to bring my camera, but cleverly left the card at home, so this isn't my pic (they really aren't as traumatized as they look in the photo):


We stopped at a different place afterwards to get our Christmas tree -- Max saw the trees and the Christmas decorations and went running up to the building yelling, "Santa Claus! See Santa Claus more!" I have a feeling that he's going to be a lot of fun on Christmas morning. ;)

House of Crab

Molly's rash is still improving, so we decided to forego the trip to the doctor's office. So, we don't know exactly what she has, but I'm pretty sure it is viral. Dad is still feeling terrible and Mom isn't feeling well either. Although Max doesn't appear to have any obvious symptoms, he has been CRABBY the last couple of days. Add a cantankerous two (almost three!) year old to a sick toddler, mix in two grouchy, ailing parents, and you have the House of Crab!

Max had better watch it, because at the rate he's going this week, Santa is going to be leaving an awful lot of coal in his stocking. From the time I came home to work until dinner was on the table (a half hour, tops), Max did the following naughty things:

• Pulled a chair up to the kitchen counter (this never bodes well)


• Helped himself to some of his brother's gingerbread house ("MmMmmm, candy!")


• Turned the answering machine on and off several times


• Snagged a taco shell off the counter and took a bite before anyone could stop him


• Grabbed a pencil and tore through a stack of Post-its -- placing a perfect pencil squiggle on each Post-it before throwing it on the floor


• Discovered the container of Altoids on the counter and helped himself to several ("More candy!"). The upside to this infraction is that the "curiously strong" mints didn't seem to phase him and his breath is now delightfully minty fresh.


• Grabbed another taco shell and took a bite out of it


• Attempted to get the bananas and "open" them


• Opened the baby-locked cupboard (he's recently mastered the cupboard locks) in search of "oatmeal breakfast"


• Opened about a dozen YouTube windows on the computer

You can tell when he's getting tired and hungry, because he goes into "Wild Thing" mode -- he runs around and gets into trouble just for the sake of getting into trouble. Molly's "Wild Thing" mode involves screeching and writhing around on the floor. We were graced with both versions tonight - I'm not sure which is preferable. ;)

Rash Update

The good news is that Molly's rash was finally looking better this evening. If it continues to improve, then we'll probably skip the trip to the doctor's office tomorrow. The bad news is that Dad is sick, Mama isn't feeling too hot, and Max's cheeks were looking a little too pink (although that might just be our imagination). Unfortunately, today was supposed to be the day we took care of a lot of chores and errands -- as you might guess, that didn't quite happen. It was all we could manage to trade off naps and drag ourselves to the store to get milk.

The high point of the day was the pre-bed rumpus. I put on the "If I Had Words" song from Babe and watched Max and Molly do the Farmer Hoggett dance around the family room. I probably need to get that on video, for future teen embarrassment purposes. ;)

Who's on Fifth??

Hooray, it's mystery ailment time at the Buying Mockingbirds household! Molly has been a little under the weather this week -- nothing serious, but she's been extra fussy, hasn't been sleeping well, and has been coughing and snuffling a little at night. We didn't think anything of it and just assumed she had a touch of a cold. Molly was having tomato soup for dinner the night before last and I noticed that her face looked kind of red and rashy. She gets some minor face rashes here and there, but this was all over her cheeks and it hadn't been there earlier in the day. I was afraid she was having a reaction to the soup, in spite of the fact that she's been eating tomatoes (and tomato soup) for months now. After dinner, I stripped her down and discovered that she had a small, red rash all over her chest and back. She seemed fine otherwise, so we put her to bed and kept a close eye on her all night (which was easy, since she got up multiple times :P).

The next day the rash was worse and had spread to her arms, legs, and diaper area. Her cheeks are now bright red and look awful! She seems mostly fine otherwise -- no fever, no other major symptoms (aside from a bit of extra fussiness). We'll probably drag her in to see the pediatrician on Monday, but we think she has Fifth disease. If that is the case, the good news is that it is relatively harmless. The bad news is that she would have been contagious before the rash broke out, so Max will probably get it too. The rash can also last a week or two, which kind of puts a kink in the holiday photo ops. Bah!!

The Season of Giving

Everyone has heard the old saying, "It's better to give than to receive" -- I remember nodding my head up and down when I was younger and thinking, "Yeah, right!" It must be one of the signs that you've actually grown up (along with developing a love of large appliances and the ability to get excited about cleaning products) when that statement does become true.

I'm really looking forward to Christmas this year, not because of any gift that I might be getting, but because I can't wait to watch Max open his presents (Molly too, of course, but she's still too little to really "get it"). I did virtually all of my shopping online this year and the boxes have started arriving. As I open each one up and check the contents, it's all I can do to stop myself from dragging the toys upstairs and giving them to Max and Molly NOW. I can't wait to see the wonder and joy on their faces and it will be so fun to watch them enjoy their new toys. How many more days until Christmas???

Lost Moments

On my way to work, I pass by one of the bus stops for the local elementary school kids. Every day, a little boy and his mother are there waiting for the bus that will take him off to another day of kindergarten. This fact isn't blogworthy in and of itself, but I've driven by them once a day since school started in September and every single time I see them, the mother is talking on her cell phone. It blows my mind -- I can't imagine what conversation could be so important that it couldn't wait until the boy was safely on the bus and on his way to school. I don't understand why she wouldn't want to enjoy her time with her son, especially since he'll be off to school full time next year. I feel so sad for both of them and part of me wants to pull over and try to make her understand what precious time she's wasting and what opportunity is being squandered. Childhood is so fleeting and those lost moments can't ever be recovered. One day she'll turn around and her kindergartner will be a teenager, and he'll be the one glued to the cell phone while she kicks her heels on the curb and waits.

I understand that sometimes other things need to take priority, and rightfully so, but I think too many people forget to take time out to enjoy their children. I know I've said this before, but one good thing about our preemie experience is that I really do think I appreciate my kids more than I would have otherwise. I try to treasure each age and stage for what it is and not lose too many moments. So, tonight we blew soap bubbles in the house and danced and gave horsey rides and played silly games. And, when Max and Molly are teenagers, I hope that the relationship that we've fostered and nurtured today will hold us in good stead.

Justifiably Crabby

It appears that we've verfied the source of Max's recent crabbiness -- he is, in fact, cutting his two-year molars. He let me shine a flashlight into his mouth tonight and I could see four little white points poking through his upper left gum. I can't see any obvious sign of the other three molars, but I'm sure they're just under the surface, causing as much trouble as they can. See, sometimes my children's undesireable behavior really can be explained away by using the teething excuse! Of course, we can no longer use that justification for Miss Molly (who is sporting a full set -- for her age -- of chompers).

Which, as it turns out, is too bad, because Operation Sleep has had a bit of a setback. Molly has had a bad few nights and has been waking up a lot and NOT going back to sleep. And, since Molly's misery loves company, she makes sure to yell loud enough to wake everyone else up with her. I'm hoping it is just temporary and will pass, otherwise I'm going to have to come up with a Plan B. Anybody want to come on over to our house and build us a fifth bedroom? Please? Pretty please??

Hooked

Even though I no longer "have" to post every day, I can't quite seem to do without my daily blog fix. My day didn't go as well as I'd hoped (meaning I really didn't do anything productive), but I think Max had the perfect day for a two year old. In addition to watching "Peter Pan" and staying in his pjs until noon, Max was treated to a wild shopping cart ride through the pouring rain after he "scored" his much-loved "munny crackers" (Annie's Cheddar Bunnies) at the grocery store (our normal store stopped carrying them). Then, not only did he get to help Mama make pie, he got to help her eat it too. And, as the icing on the cake, Molly went into melt down mode and had to go to bed early, so Max got the whole bathtub and all the bath toys to himself. Hmmm, with the exception of the grocery store trip, that might almost describe my perfect day too ... ;)

Let the Holidays Begin!

For me, the first day of December really marks the beginning of the Christmas season. In spite of the fact that I did some Christmas shopping last week, I'm not usually ready to start thinking about Christmas until we start into December. It looks like December has finally arrived! It's nice and chilly out now, we have a dusting of snow on the ground, and I'm starting to feel a little bit of that holiday spirit. Enough so that Dad and I packed up the babies this morning and braved one of the most notoriously crowded and crazy superstores in town. Normally we'd never attempt this on a weekend, but we wanted to get Max a play tunnel for Christmas (or his birthday) and didn't want to wait too long. Plus, they were having a Santa Claus breakfast and we thought we'd let the kids see Santa IF it wasn't too crazy.

It was too crazy!! We managed to dash in and get the play tunnel we wanted and then had to weave through the entire store to find our way back to the checkout (one thing we hate about that particular store). Molly was tired and Max wanted to run around and check out everything, so it was a little challenging lugging/herding them both to the cash register. We did finally make it out, although we didn't really get to do any of the browsing that we hoped to do (except to eyeball a new couch briefly).

The rest of the day was blissfully uneventful -- we had naps and play time and Max "helped" me put together a pie crust. Once the babies were tucked in bed, Dad and I had our dinner and a movie "date" (you have to love Netflix and Chinese take out ;). Maybe tomorrow we'll get something productive done ... maybe.