April Showers

April is off and running. Sandwiched between two work trips for me, a babyshower I was throwing, and work again being crazy for both the Howe parents somehow I completely missed the fact that April had even begun!
Matt has had lots of daddy-daughter time and I have decided he takes the girls to much nicer restaurants when I am not with them! We've done some gardening to get the spring feeling, enjoyed a few rainboot days and Madeline has spent the last few days talking nonstop about her upcoming birthday. We've also had lots of time to take after dinner walks, dance in the living room, and just be a family. It has been really lovely!

Princess Dancing - Madeline got this dress from Aunt Wendy for her bday and wears it daily now!

Our bed broke and Jameson really enjoyed the couple of weeks with the mattress on the floor! (he is super mad now that he can't get on the bed again)

Vet time

Ella is testing me with her willfullness. This was the beginning of a 30 some minute day before she was willing to come inside after school.

Finally inside the gate

Making sure I am clear about her feelings

When mom is up late making cookies

And then Ella decides she wants to help after 9 pm

Yum!

When Ella refuses to sleep at night, but wants to sit naked on the potty in the living room (is there a theme here?)

Dad took the kids to the NAT while I was at Melanie's baby shower 

Baby shower!

Melanie and Baby Lorelei

Lunch at the Prado with dad!

How Eleanor plays hide and seek

Plumeria spring feeding (immediately followed by Lani eating all of the soil and getting sick)

Strawberries that grow, but we never eat due to some critter getting them just as they ripen

The dogs have enjoyed Matt working at home a bit

Love being neighbors with Wren!

When mommy is working on Saturday . . . 

It's Spring!

It is officially spring in 2016! With the time change giving us lots of light after work/school and a week of perfect not-hot but not-cold weather, we are reveling in the season. Even more exciting, we have a new car to drive around while we enjoy all of the fun that comes with spring and summer!

Cookie time at the Sullivan house

Ella had to go pick up the new car with us - Sick day #2 this school year

New car!!!

Matt is very happy with his Spring grass

I read to a Kindergarten class at Franklin Elementary for Dr Seuss' Birthday. The school tour was great, I was impressed with how many volunteers came out to read including employees of the YMCA and local police officers, and the kids were freaking adorable. I can't wait to go read in Madeline's kinder class next year!

Crystal and Principal Don

Matt and I have been working like crazy the last few weeks. He is battling a system upgrade that means relearning how to deal with work that is supposed to be basic functions, while training people and helping less-efficient workers figure out what they are doing during the upgrade. I have been at schools non-stop talking about science to teachers, principals, and even curriculum writers. Last week I got to have dinner with one of the writers of the Framework for K-12 Science Education, Joe Krajcik, which made all of my hours feel worthwhile. You know you're a science nerd when people bring their science notebooks out at the dinner table to discuss phenomena!

Science at dinner!

 After a few weeks of quiet weekends, we ramped it up last week with a visit to Seaport Village and an afternoon at the Gross house. Naomi and Brennan went with us to Seaport Village on the trolley. The kids had a blast with the carousel, pizza, and ice cream/cupcakes. We ran in the grass, looked at the boats, and generally just enjoyed San Diego. Madeline is already asking for her next trolley trip to be booked. Steph and Jason had a party to celebrate the time change. We enjoyed smoke pork, hours of backyard running, and lots of good beer. The kids are so relaxed together normally, that it was definitely interesting to see how their behaviors changed when "other kids" are added to the mix. The noise level was definitely higher than even our group usually gets to!

We tried moving the snacks to a cabinet that the kids could reach themselves, thanks to Eleanor's inability to control herself this only lasted a week!

New way to keep busy at a meal - eating parm straight out of the packet

Trolley with Brennan

Ella trying to get at the cat - luckily she didn't fit through the cat door

Nap time for the dolls

What the kids do when the pizza is gone!

Lunch with dad = muffins and mint chip gelato

The lovely restaurant I had book club in this month. I can't wait to bring the girls here!

Ella and Madeline really enjoyed looking at furniture this weekend

February is Always Awesome

While we've had some lovely El Nino rains resulting in flooding all over San Diego, a sinkhole on the 8 freeway, and lots of days for the girls to wear rainboots - February has had a couple of gorgeous weeks of spring weather! I love having 80 degree days!
The girls enjoyed superbowl at the Kelly house this year. It was amazing because we (the grown ups) were all able to sit and watch the game for once. The kids loved having dinner together and played until well past everyone's bedtimes.

I hope they know that this is what Naomi and I want to see in their future!

Matt spent the second week of February in Kansas City for work. The girls and I made it through a fairly stressful week with a couple of early mornings and a crazy grant budget issue that I still haven't solved two weeks later. The two highlights of the week were the hour I spent working in the backyard and soaking up the sun along with the amazing Thursday evening the girls and I had while we waited for Matt's flight to come in. We went straight from school to get Madeline's hair cut which involved a lengthy wait and both girls being very patient. Afterwards, we had dinner at The Corvette Diner. The girls sat down for dinner at 7pm which is way later than we ever go out with them. They were so entertained watching the waitstaff dance, generally just people gazing, and eating french fries.

Of course, President's Day weekend began the first day Matt was home from Kansas City. He had to go to the office to do all of the normal work he wasn't able to do while traveling. He did meet us for lunch after the kids and I visited Sea World for our first 2016 trip. The girls spent a ton of time touching the urchin and fish. Ella was very specific that we had to start with the penguins and we spent a relaxing 20 minutes lying with the turtles.

Saturday brought Eleanor attending gymnastics and Madeline going to dance. Our neighbors are also in Ella's gymventures class which definitely adds to the fun! Matt went golfing with Mike Shea (in town from back East) and the girls created a very clear schedule for their afternoon with me (earned by cleaning the playroom). We went to the Corner Bakery (Madi's favorite still) for lunch, visited the park, took a walk around the neighborhood, and painted nails.

On Sunday we had lunch and spent the afternoon with the extended Howe family. Both of Matt's aunt/uncle pairs were in town and all of the cousins. It was great to catch up with everyone. Ella was in a great mood and actually wanted to hug people. The only hard part of the afternoon was when my girls terrorized poor Yoda the cat under the guise of wanting to pet him. On Monday, Mom escaped to brunch and do some work for the morning. In the afternoon, we went to the Higgins yard to see all of the Sheas. Baby EJ is so big now and the girls played really well with him and of course with Danica, Brynn, and Michael.

Grandma T took the girls overnight this weekend when Matt went to LA for a basketball game. I have never been alone in the house overnight and I have to say, it as awesome! In the 24 hours I was alone, I did 9 loads of laundry, the house was totally clean, the dogs got tons of snuggles, and I managed to get a ton of my work done that has been put all due to multiple issues over the last week (including the night spent in the ER and day on the couch after Eleanor scratched my cornea). I even got to meet Auntie Renee for lunch in Carlsbad at a place that isn't Ruby's. I am reminded that if I didn't have kids, a 24 hour day would be plenty to get everything done in my life. Instead I am very thankful to my mom for giving me the chance to catch up on things (especially since the kids destroyed her house for the second time recently). Ella was especially excited to visit Grandma since lately when we pull up to the house after school she yells at me "I don't wanna go home, I wanna go Grandma T's house!"

Walking with Grandma T

Ella's poo stance

The girls sleeping at Grandma T's with Bella

Ella wearing a jumper that was mine and handmade by Abu

Dinner at the Brick with Grandma T and Abu

Ice cream after dinner (yep, this one was awake until 10)

Madi is now in love with cones and rainbow sherbert

New clothes!

Cupcakes for breakfast - supposedly to celebrate Bella's birthday