There are two quotes that come up often in our household. The first is “put it on my tab”, a la Steve Carrell in the movie Dan in Real Life. As expected, this is used to acknowledge anything that is likely to have a cost in terms of time and/or money – the demands for both seem to be increasing steadily as our family has grown, and especially now that we are now planning to move. The second quote, “livin’ the dream”, is one that we attribute to Melissa’s friend Carrie who brought it up once in the context of an implausible-sounding yet common situation that parents get into when raising children. Everett has started using it as well. For example, last year he started showering by himself and when Chris asked once how he was doing he replied “I’m livin’ the dream baby!” For Mother’s Day this year Chris made a big batch of crepes the night before, and he gratefully accepted Melissa’s supervision and helpful comments while doing so. Also, Melissa got five minutes of uninterrupted bathroom time on Sunday. Livin’ the dream, baby!

Other highlights from Mother’s Day:

-We have a rule in our house that children are not allowed to be up before 7am, but no one really follows it, especially this time of year when the birds start singing at 4am and the sun is shining brightly by 6am. Everett woke up about 6:15am and stayed in his room as instructed, but was singing Away in a Manger loudly enough to keep us awake. Then the babies woke up and we were all out of bed before 7.

-Everett had a strawberry and Nutella crepe and we went to 8:30am church where Everett sang in the children’s choir.

-Sitting in church with the babies (or anywhere really) is getting more and more difficult because they are getting so strong and wiggly, and they never stop moving while they are awake. There was a time when Gwen wasn’t interested in moving much. That time is over. Both of them continuously twist their bodies and roll around while we are holding them. It’s exhausting. Chris took Teddy into the children’s room a couple times and he practiced standing.

-Following church, Everett went to Sunday school while Chris and Melissa had ham and Gruyère crepes along with mango mimosas.

-Around noon we went to Kettle Moraine State Park for a hike and picnic. As we were getting the babies in the stroller we ran into Vicki, Chris’ coworker and our family friend, who was there with her daughter. The hike went ok – the temperature was about 77 degrees and our entire family was almost incapacitated by the heat. During our picnic lunch Teddy crawled over to Melissa and seemed very interested in her orzo salad. Until today Teddy has refused to eat anything but pureed food (though not for lack of trying by us). Anyway, Melissa put a spoonful of orzo in his mouth. He ate it and wanted more!

-We got home and Skyped with Noni while the children performed a Brownian motion demonstration in the living room.

-All of the children took a bath. Gwen and Teddy are getting over a case of hand, foot and mouth virus. Their bodies have been covered in sores, particularly around their bottoms, so after bath they had some naked time to let their skin breathe.

-We had Goetta and pecan french toast for dinner.

-Kids went to bed early (7pm).

Happy Mother’s Day Melissa!