Spring Done Sprung Already

A few noteworthy things this Spring.

While my siblings all met out at the beach house in North Carolina, I was here dealing with sick children.  Everytime someone got better, someone else would get the sniffles.  Kensington got a cold (I might add, she is much more tough and goes about her business when sick):

 Maybelle got a cold, and then was better for a few days, then got another cold that went to her lungs along with an earache.  She had to do the breathing treatments.  Poor baby, it was sad and it was probably the roughest few nights she's given me.  I wasn't up that much when she was a newborn, so I paid my dues this month instead.

But she sure is cute even taking a bath at midnight cuz that was the only thing I could think of to get her to stop crying:

 

We had our first round of pink eye.  It was super mild compared to how I envisioned pink eye to be (...haha, get it? vision?).  It was just a little tiny bit pink and swollen.  I guess I thought it would be all goopy and gross, but it wasn't.  Thank goodness for optometrist friends.

These crappy pair of shoes were some freebies that my china factory sent me a few years ago back with my very first order of 3000 rompers.  Amaryllis found them and literally wore them to pieces.  She thought they were rad because they were high tops like daddy.

Speaking of shoes, how about all these shoe wings? My friends tried to pressure me all spring into running the SoCal Ragnar but I just really hate running.  So I sponsored them instead ;)

 

Do you guys diet?  You do? Here's a picture for you then:

 

Amaryllis has been growing like a weed and all her jammies look like this now:

 

I shampooed my carpet:

Kensington is going through a pouty whiney phase. She was not obeying nanny melly or the YMCA sitters and the most traumatic consequence was...dumdumdum...she had to give me her birthday bubble tape gum.  No more gum until she is 5.  

Gasp! Brutal. 

Mean Mom!

Effective.  So far.

 We've been going to the beach more.  

All 5 of us and a surfboard, and a trunk full of strollers and beach gear, just chilling in the Cr-V.

Lots of park days.  Lots.

All these cuties have missing front teeth.  Also it was crazy hair day at school.

This random dad was sooo nice, he included Kensington, it was cute. 

 Over spring break, the girls did swim lessons.  Finally, this is the first year Kensington would stay in the water longer than 3 seconds and she really enjoyed it.  They have been earning a sticker chart so they can get a snorkel set.  

Sidenote: I learned my lesson with sticker chart redemption.  I used to let them pick out a toy from the store but Amaryllis just has SUCH a hard time and there were so many tears in the toy aisle about which toy to choose, that it was ridiculous.  Now I set the terms on which toy they can earn, or they can go on a date with me to the ice-cream shop.

 

 My mantra over spring break was 

"I'm not doing anything special for my kids" 

Sounds super mean, huh?  

Lately I feel like the last few special things we've done (Disney, American Girl store, toys, etc) they have not appreciated it and I find myself asking, why did I do this for these spoiled kids?  Here I am, rearranging and spending money and time and being nice, and they are just being pills.

This article was making the rounds on Facebook and it sums up perfectly how I have been feeling.

 

 

Anyways so over spring break they got swim lessons and maybe a playdate, and that was it.  Their special fun time was with babysitters (and to be honest, who am I kidding, they have just as much fun with the sitter than they would if I had gone to great lengths and hauled them to the zoo/farm/disney/jumphouse/beach/etc.).  So I went out with friends, went shopping, did fun things by myself. 

I realize this sounds super duper self centered and selfish.  But that wasn't my purpose.  I just don't want to fall into the trap of spoiling them beyond reason.  If I'm going to spend money and time on someone, I should spend it on someone who appreciates it (*me!!!!).  I paid my dues, right mom and dad?  Ahem. The summer we worked for 30 cents an hour hauling rocks, comes to mind.

* * * * * * 

Anyways. 

How cute are these necklaces from an Australian Etsy shop?