3 + 1 = More

I'm not sure how it is, but having Louie on spring break today while trying to get Benny to school and do the normal "while Benny's at school errands" was so much more difficult than when Louie is at school. Why is that? Should one more kid make all that much difference?

They were bonkers today, creating a confrontation with me over everything from breakfast to where their hand was on the grocery cart. Speaking of which, in the future: even if we are completely out of milk, eggs, fruit, out of anything that the kids will eat, I will not go to the grocery with all four of them ever again. I'm repeating myself, but that one extra kid made all the difference. We couldn't get in the door and they were fighting and hurting and causing a big ol' commotion. This isn't normally how we roll. They are normally helpful and relatively quiet through the store (we go extremely quickly, so it doesn't leave much time for mischief!), and today even though they each had a list of stuff they needed to look for, they were crazy. And that was just in the morning!

I don't know. I'm going to blame it on the major weather change. The warm weather has been replaced with rain and cold and mostly gray skies. That has to be it. Good news, though: the weekend is supposed to be really nice!

~BIG NEWS~

We found out on Easter that my niece Gracie is going to be a big sister!

It happened after the kids' egg hunt at my parents' house. Mom was holding Gracie and my brother Joe gave Gracie an egg to open. Inside was a note that read "I'm going to be a big sister!" I don't think it clicked right away for anyone. And then the screaming ensued.

What a great Easter surprise! Baby number 2 for their family will be arriving sometime late November--what a great Thanksgiving it will be!

Friday with Friends

(I forgot to include this from last week. With all these cute kids, I definitely wanted to post this.)

Great-Grandpa and his great-grandchildren

Kevin had Good Friday off and joined us at Dulle park for lunch with Grandpa M, Grandma R, Grandma Alice and the kids. They had a great time on the playset, but even more fun down by the creek.

Jay, Eva, Meredith, Charlie, Benny, Louie, Lexi, Gracie

I'm sure I've talked about it before, but growing up there were two families, each having four kids. Most, but not all the kids "matched up" age-wise, and we were pretty much always together. Vacations, camping trips, going to the pool, park--we even lived two doors down from each other. Those two families grew up and now the kids are having kids. This picture is the product of four of those families (above names color-coded by family).

I love it that we were all so close growing up, and now our kids will be!

Spring Fever

People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring. ~Rogers Hornsby

It's that time of year again and it is, for my family and many others, a holiday. It was lucky for us that I didn't have to call Lou off of school because he was on spring break, but it was my plan to. Daddy and pretty much everyone else we know had tickets for the game, but that was ok because we already had plans: to go down to the Findlay Market Opening Day Parade with our friends, Amanda, Owen and Eli.

We went a couple of years ago, on a day filled with constant sprinkles and big puddles; last year the weather was so bad, we instead had a "pep rally" at our house instead; but this year was the perfect start to the season, even if it did end up as a good old-fashioned butt-whoopin' for our beloved Redlegs.

Amanda got down to "our spot" early and it was a good thing she did because this year was much more crowded than before. We decided that it was on account of the great weather and possibly it was spring break for a lot of those kids.

Amanda and Meredith

The boys went to play baseball on the grassy area again and no one said anything!

The ball just "happened" to end up in the fountain. I envisioned a head-first dive into it, but Amanda was able to cut it off before anything like that happened. I imagine that if it were two dads instead of two moms the boys would still be playing in the water!

I think Meredith's refusal to look at the camera was because she was upset that she was the only one without Reds gear. My goal is to make a Rosie Red outfit for her before the season's up. (I could be called delusional.)

The boys were excited to see Johnny Bench--they practically have Game 6 of the 1975 World Series memorized, and one of their favorite homeruns is the one Bench hit at his last game as a Red.

Sponsor of the parade--it's been a Cincinnati tradition for 91 years!

Our little fans--see Charlie waving? Every time someone in the parade came by and waved, he thought that the person was waving directly to him and he waved back furiously. So cute!

Lots of people dressed up in costume for the parade, and this was one of my boys' favorite--Big Boy!

So many great marching bands came by us, getting everyone pumped up for the game.

Easter

A big part of getting ready for Easter is picking out special outfits to wear to church. Kind of like the beautiful crocuses, hyacinths and tulips popping up in our yard, Easter presents us with a time to spiffy ourselves up. I've mentioned how we had no problem figuring out what Miss Meredith was going to wear, but the boys were a different story.

Charlie has a really cute sweater vest that he could have worn, but most of the time the boys are all about "one for all and all for one" when it comes to dressing themselves. I looked at stores for ties and I was finding ones for $11. I decided to give it a go myself. A while back I found a pattern online for little boys ties and even though I am extremely new to the world of sewing I thought I could attempt it. And in typical Annie fashion, I waited until Good Friday to attempt it.

Believe it or not, I made three ties that could be worn. They weren't perfect by any means, but they worked! (I'm so excited, if you can't tell.) Here are some pictures from the day, that started with finding eggs and baskets at our house; mass with the family then brunch at my parents'; and ending the day at Aunt Robin's for dinner. It was a gorgeous day, making me a huge supporter of living in areas where there are seasons. I mean, do you think residents of San Diego would appreciate the weather we've been having if they didn't go through the winter we just had? Probably, but I tell myself otherwise.

Happy Easter to you!

Meredith's sun bonnet. Gracie got the same one in her Easter basket and the Easter Bunny(s) didn't even go shopping together!

Not a great shot of their ties or Mere's dress. We definitely weren't on the ball, as far as that goes. And yes, Louie's tie is a bit short, made to look even shorter by his shirttail hanging out!

Gracie's first Easter!

Charlie didn't get it that the eggs in the tree weren't just easy pickins.

The negligent mom not realizing that sun in April can still burn a fair-skinned baby's skin.

An egg rolled out into the middle of the pool cover.

Meredith and Charlie at Aunt Robin's

I think Mere and Charlie will be like my cousins Katie and Andy. They're also the two youngest in their family and such good friends.

A closeup of the ties: I should have made a point to make Lou's longer since he is obviously taller than the other two. Maybe I'll put together some more for upcoming events...

Two months to go!

How in the world did this past year fly by so quickly? In two months my baby girl is going to be one-year-old! I just love this baby, high-pitched screams and all!

First Practice

Last night was the first practice for Lou, Ben and Kevin. It was a beautiful evening to kick off the season, even if they did have to spend all their time in the grass because the nice weather was not enough to dry out the diamond. Here is a grouping of thoughts from the night:

• This is going to be a difficult couple of months for Charlie. When it was him and Ben it wasn't bad, but now that he is the only one left out he is suffering badly. When I wouldn't buy him his own pair of spikes he flipped out and decided that he'd wear Louie's from last season--a pair that is too big for both Ben and Charlie.
• I'm going to have to figure out how to get Ben to take a nap on days that they have practice and games. He had a slight meltdown at the beginning of practice and even though I'm sure it was due in part to his nervousness at starting something new, all those tears could have been avoided if he was well-rested. Now, to figure out how to get him to nap...
• There are a lot of kids who don't want to be there. Whether they thought they'd enjoy it, or will eventually enjoy it, or they're just there because their parents want them to enjoy it, there was quite a bit of complaining/not paying attention going on.
• I know I've mentioned this before, but it is so neat to see how seriously the boys take their baseball playing. They each have a bat bag with a bat and spikes and their glove inside. The each wore a hat (Lou, his Dodger hat from last season; Ben, a Reds hat). They carry their water bottle and then set it down next to the team's bench. Then they get down to business.
• Their team is called the Angels. They are so very excited about this because they have become fans of the movie, "Angels in the Outfield."

That's all I can think of, for now. I'm sure there will be plenty more "baseball" tagged posts to come!