Return to MN

We went back to Rochester for a very quick (less than 36 hr) trip to get Jack's 4 year, Elizabeth's 18 months and a family picture taken at the Plummer House. I wasn't anticipating the disaster that it would be. Within 2 minutes of being at the Plummer gardens, Jack had mud and grass stains on his white shirt that he was supposed to wear for our family picture. I figured that Elizabeth would be difficult during her pictures and would scream and refuse to smile and that Jack would be the ham for the camera. Boy, did I have that mixed up! Jack refused to even look at the camera most of the time and Elizabeth was the star of the show. I was so disappointed in Jack's behavior which was most likely due to lack of sleep (we arrived in Rochester around midnight Thursday night). I didn't even bother to have him change into his second outfit since I knew it was a waste of time. Jennifer is an excellent photographer so I'm hoping she captured at least one good picture of Jack. I tried to capture a few pictures myself at the end of the session but ended up grabbing Elizabeth out of the pond before she went in head first.

After lunch, the kids and Matt enjoyed a long nap while I visited my old lab. I always debate if I miss working and truly I do, at times, miss the mental stimulation of working in a research lab. After spending time in the lab Friday afternoon, I concluded that I do not miss the disfunctional environment I used to work in. Believe me, when I say disfunctional I am being way too nice!!! I miss most, but definitely not all, of the people I worked with and am not surprised that certain people have not and will not change! I don't miss being told how many hours to work and that what I'm doing is never enough. I don't miss being torn between staying late to get my work done or picking up my kids from daycare so they were not the last one's left at the end of the day. I'm glad that I get to spend the days with my kids without worrying about what else I should be doing. I'm glad that I can cuddle them in the morning for as long as we want without worrying about getting to work on time. I'm glad that I'm the one to wipe away their tears when they are hurt, tuck them into bed at naptime, and witness the countless ways they amaze me everyday. I will say that I was probably a better, more patient mom when I was working. I devoted all my attention to them when they were awake. Now, it's hard to get everything done in the day while giving them all my attention and I certainly do miss my "me" time during the day, including time to go to the bathroom in private and enjoy a cup of coffee with friends. But at this point in my life, I can now say that I'm happy to be where I am. Home with my babies.

It was too short of a trip to Rochester. I didn't get to see most of the people that I wanted to see since I was also fighting a migraine the entire trip. I didn't even get to drive past our old house. We had to get back Saturday early enough to pick Misha up from the kennel. So to my friends that I did see, it was fabulous! And to those that I missed, I'm truly sorry and hope you understand how hard it is to pack in that much into a 36 hr trip.

Water table

Whoever invented the water table is my hero! Today, I filled the water table with sand and Jack and Elizabeth played together for almost an hour without fighting. It was long (and quiet!) enough for me to sweep out the garage and enjoy being outside with them. Maybe tomorrow it will be long enough for me to clean my car! I truly think the water table is one of the best toys we own, providing endless hours of fun.

First Haircut

Yesterday I decided it was time to say goodbye to the long tail Elizabeth was born with and took her for her first haircut at Snips and Giggles, a local children's salon. She did remarkably well and even sat in the pink car by herself without crying. At the end of her appointment Miss Hailey even put purple sparkles and a braid in her hair. I think this is a salon she will enjoy when she gets older!








Jack also had fun getting his hair cut while sitting in the police car. He kept turning on the red light and joking that he was going to give daddy a ticket!

I just wanted a spoon....

After at least a week of listening to Elizabeth scream at supper time and reject every food item we tried to give her we finally figured out what she wanted....who would have thought that a little spoon could make the difference between a miserable family meal and an enjoyable one!

Baseball game

The Kansas City Royals farm team played a series of games in Appleton last week so Matt and Jack went to watch the prospects of their favorite baseball team. Judging from the pictures Matt took, I'm not sure how much baseball they watched, but I do know that Jack enjoyed his dinner of popcorn and ice cream and spending the evening with daddy.

The Destructor

Is this really the face of a little girl that loves to find trouble? We have nicknamed Elizabeth "the destructor" since she is famous for utterly destroying a room in a matter of minutes. This is the picture I snapped of Elizabeth this past weekend just as she finished destroying the pantry! I've now learned to keep the door shut!

Dells

We spent the first weekend of May at a water park in Wisconsin Dells. We met friends from our time at Mayo and had a ton of fun. Elizabeth loved everything about being in the water and was even brave enough to go down a slide by herself with a life jacket on, of course. Jack is warming up to the water and by the end of the weekend was going down the slides with no one catching him at the bottom. I didn't get very many pictures of our water fun since I also enjoyed being in the water instead of on the sidelines snapping pics.