Late night at Toys R Us

While the cat's away the mice will play. David had a business dinner last night and at bedtime my mom and I decided on a whim to take the kids to Toys R Us. They each were allowed to select one toy of their choice. Will knew right away that he wanted the 'Cars' Lightening McQueen Semi. But we were there until closing as Evan, Lily & Holden perused all the isles. The whole time Will held on tightly to his toy not swayed by other trucks or toys.

In the end Evan and Holden also selected a 'Cars' semi. Lily passed up rows and rows of pink stuff, including a six pair set of princess shoes ultimately for a 'Dora the Explorer' vehicle set, including a much coveted helicopter.

Off to the Beach

David and I are headed off to Tulum, Mexico for a four night get away. Grammy, Papa, GiGi and Carmen will be in charge of our crew.

Meanwhile we will be sleeping in, reading, perhaps going to a yoga class or for a leisurely jog on the beach. I'd like to get a massage and find a good margarita.

Jack

What a cutie! Jack, our godson and the kids only cousin, is getting so big. He will be running around with our gang in no time. It will be fun for the kids to be so close in age. We are going to have some wild holidays.

Vacation

My mom, Carmen and I packed the kids up and took them to Sea World San Antonio today. One of my best friends and college roommate Marisa met us at the park with her mom and new baby Olivia.


This morning the Griswolds we arrive at Walley World Sea World and find the parking lots strangely silent and empty.

At first congratulating ourselves for arriving early, we soon encounter security guards who tell us, "Sorry Folks, parks closed for education day."

Incredulous and slightly bonkers , I roll down all the windows and tell the guard to look at the four sad little faces that we packed up and brought all the way from Austin. Without any promises they finally decided to let us enter and try our luck talking to the guards at the gate, so we drove up to the first row and parked.

We unloaded everyone for more effect and walked to the desolate entrance where a handful of security guards stood. (I wish that I had captured that on camera)

After some negotiations we were allowed in the park, no tickets required. There were no shows today or vendors but the park was practically empty and we had the dolphin encounter and coral reef almost to ourselves.

By lunch time we were getting hungry and they closed down the attractions for the school kids to have lunch so we headed across town to the San Antonio Zoo. The kids ended up enoying their vacation and we plan to return to visit Sea World again soon, on a day the park is actually open.

Happy Easter

Thank You Baby Jogger!

Our triple jogger replacement arrived. It is a beauty! I miss read their email, we weren't getting the newest model with the swivel wheels, but we did get a brand new triple jogger with a few upgrades from our 2006 model, it has a triple canopy for better shade in the heat of the summer, reclining seats, gripier hand holds, and best of all larger 20" rear wheels which will make it easier to push and a smoother ride for the kids. We will take a celebratory jog tonight.

The beauty, and the beast (our beloved old triple jogger with over 1200 miles logged). We will be boxing him up and shipping him back home to Baby Jogger.

Chicks and Bunnies

Loved to Pieces

Our well loved triplet baby jogger finally kicked it. We put so many miles on it that the steel frame cracked and one of the wheels fell right off.



We began running with our trio when they were barely two months old. To this day the kids love to 'go jogging' in the baby jogger. It is also perfect for corralling all our supplies and park toys.

When Holden was born we added a single baby jogger to our stroller fleet and we run as a family at least three times a week. We use the triple jogger just about everyday for trips to the park and other walks. This is possibly our most critical piece of baby equipment.

So we were relieved to discover that the Baby Jogger frames have a lifetime warranty. And when I called the company and talked to Angela we found that since our model has been retired they will be shipping us a brand new triple jogger. Woo-hoo! We are thrilled and can't wait for our new jogger to arrive so we can get back to jogging as a family.

The new triple baby jogger Summit 360 model has some great upgrades like swivel front wheels, a feature my friends with (double) BOB strollers rave about (BOB doesn't offer a triple jogger). You can even lock the wheels in place to provide more stability for longer jogs.

I'll update the blog once our new stroller arrives and we have a chance to try it out.

Reminiscing on early days of baby jogging. They were so tiny. From left to right, that's Will, Evan, and Lily in pink.

Spring Fling

a great basic?

I've been looking for a new pair of shoes for spring, an upgrade from my sandals and flip flops. J. Crew has some great options. I'm having a hard time deciding the color, it depends on the wardrobe, which I am missing.

After four babies in less than three years and gaining and losing 40 plus pounds, twice, I am left with a slim wardrobe in a multitude of sizes. I'm finally fitting into many of my pre-baby clothes, but they are starting to look dated. With the economy in the dumps the timing is not right to go out and splurge on a new wardrobe. Have you discovered any good finds for spring that won't break the bank?

new neutral?

or a bit of color?

Hmm, can I still chase four toddlers in heels?

Brothers & Sister

Lily's First Slumber Party

Jessica is babysitting Harper and Lucy this evening and she thought it would be fun to pick up Lily and let the girls have a sleep over. Lily was so excited, and barely gave us a peck on the cheek and a 'bye mommy, bye daddy, I'm going to Harper Lucy's house' before bounding out the door. She said, 'I have my Josie (her puppy) and my blankie mommy!' and climbed into the car seat waving bye.

It is 10pm and I haven't heard anything so assuming Jessica was able to get all the girls to sleep. We have our phone by the bed just in case she wants to come home in the night.

**Update**

Jenny and Jessica dropped Lily off about a half hour after I wrote this note. The girls had a great time together, laughing, playing and making cookies. By 10ish Lily was lying in bed quietly but still had not fallen asleep so they asked her if she would rather go home and sleep with Will & Evan or sleep there with Harper & Lucy. She said W&E so they brought her back, she felt fast asleep as soon as I placed her in bed.

Hanging with Dad