Sister Wife

Bess's baby shower was this past weekend, which is mind blowing in so many ways.  Where has the time gone?  I swear she's only been pregnant for two weeks.  But anyhow, the baby is coming sometime in April, which is like tomorrow, so yeah...time for a shower!

It was a lovely event, hosted by Bess's sisters, and a bunch of her family was in town.  But mostly it was noteworthy for the reunion between me and my sister wife, Sara!  And without kids in tow!  Unfortunately we didn't get anywhere near enough time together, but hopefully the return of spring will bring BBQs and days in the park and we'll get to see a lot more of each other soon.

Me and the always awesome Sara.

Aunt Bess, beautifully pulling off the present opening.

Piano!

Look what showed up at our house!  We are so grateful to Brian's Aunt Fran and Uncle Saul.  They are moving to Baltimore and have gifted us a ton of furniture, including some beautiful pieces for our patio and this piano.  All I can do is plunk out a melody with my right hand, but Brian took several years of lessons so hopefully it will get some use.  Right now the kids just ADORE making a racket together.  We'll see how they feel in a few years when I'm hassling them to practice.

Tea Party

Family Photo Wall Redux

So you may remember the family photo wall from the tiny apartment.  We took a whole bunch of inexpensive Ikea frames and stapled them together in threes, then tried our damnedest to hang them straight.  It was nearly impossible to get them perfectly lined up, but we embraced/ignored the imperfection.

In the new house our couch is against a window, so we needed to find a new place for the family photo wall.

 

Voila!  Welcome to our new staircase of glory.  We took the same frames and just stepped them up instead of arranging them in a rectangle.  I also added some de-saturated color prints to the black and whites.  I like how it give a subtle touch of color without becoming a cacophony.  Brian likes that the new arrangement is a little more forgiving of our imperfect hanging skills. 

Ellie's New Pet

Meet Ellie's latest obsession:

He's a leftover party favor from Gabe's birthday.  Ellie says he's her puppy, and that his name is Oinky.  None of this makes any sense.  All I know is that I scream every time I stumble across that thing lurking on the carpet.

Impulse Buys

These two are seriously too cool for school.

Balancing Act

Last weekend was the annual St. Patrick's Day parade.  We actually missed the parade since we were picking up some more furniture from Brian's family (we are almost running our of space to put things!), but we still stopped by for a few beers in the sunshine and a lovely dinner with some new friends.  Ellie wore the green scarf I knit when we first moved here, plus her frog boots of course.

Surrounded

Classic, right?

My mom was here last week, which means the kids pretty much lived on chocolate raisins.  Oh well...  The best part was the day she kept the kids in the basement playroom while Brian and I painted the dining room walls and got ready for the final stages of "Operation Dining Room."  The Bouchards are coming next weekend to work some serious magic, so I'll hold any photos until then.  So exciting!

Lollipop Guild

I made the mistake of setting out a jar of lollipops and then telling Ellie she couldn't have one until "later."  She watched those lollipops like a hawk for the next three hours.

Good Friends, Good Laughs

Just a Moment

Nothing to say, just a moment to remember.

Happy Birthday, Gabey Baby

Chillin' with a Cupcake, Part II

Because this is just how we roll...