Birthday cake

I made a birthday cake to have on Aubrey's birthday, and she was in charge of decorating it with sprinkles. The cake was, of course, egg free so sweet Cade could have some (since he is allergic to eggs). It turned out delicious! We all sang to Aubrey and she loved being sang to - we also made sure she asked for a wish. I guess she didn't get the memo about keeping the wish to yourself. She said she wished for hugs. We made sure her wish came true! A sweetheart she is!

Out of the three kids, Cohen is by far the one with the biggest sweet tooth.  Give him something with sugar, no matter what it is, and he is guaranteed to chow it down.  Maybe because of this, he is also the biggest baby - I call him "chubbelicious"!

Cade, while he enjoys cake too, has a much more methodical approach to eating it.  He didn't get much dirtier than this when having his treat, which is probably why it wasn't as much fun to take pictures of him - he was pretty clean!.

Drinking and driving

I have absolutely become the forgetful mom. So, surprise, surprise, when Aubrey said she was thirsty after I picked her up from school, I had nothing to give her.
I decided we would drop by Sonic and get a special drink. Aubrey was very excited about getting a treat, and after being given several options, decided on a cherry limeade. Ah, a girl after my own heart! I ordered a diet cherry limeade, and the boys had their bottles with milk. Ah, what a refreshing drive home that was!

Nap time

Aubrey has gotten to where she doesn't take naps during the weekend anymore. She still naps during the week because we wake her up early, but on weekend days we let her sleep in, so she does ok without a nap. Usually I will get the twins down (and nap with them), while daddy and Aubrey watch cartoons and have quiet time. Today, however, this is what I found when me and the twins came downstairs after our siesta. Pretty cute, right?

Quiet down, cobwebs.

I try so hard to keep up with the housework, but I just fail miserably. We are very fortunate in that we are able to get a housekeeper every other week. All I need to do is the every day stuff: dishes, straightening, laundry, etc.. Still, I struggle so much to get these things done, and sometimes it makes me feel bad. But here's the thing: I am a working mom (which I wouldn't change!). That takes a lot of my time away. So when I'm not at work and I'm with my kids and they are awake, we play. Or we snuggle. Or we dance. So if you come over and my house is a mess, I'm sorry. Except that I'm not, because my time with my babies is far more important than a sparkly kitchen!
I love the poem below. What a great reminder of what is truly important!

Song For a Fith Child, by Ruth Hamilton. 1958

Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth
empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
hang out the washing and butter the bread,
sew on a button and make up a bed.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I’ve grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).
The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
and out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
but I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren’t her eyes the most wonderful hue?
(lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
for children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

The big tub

I always bathe all three kids in the big bath tub in our master bathroom. I guess I could do it in one of their bathrooms upstairs, but those tubs seem way too small for 3 kids.
These three siblings love bath time! The boys are big fans of the jets (mainly because they love the resulting bubbles). Auubrey loves the bubbles too, but is still scared of the noisy jets.
I have to keep a very close eye on the twins because they love to climb (Cade in particular), and that's not a good thing when wet surfaces are involved). It is totally worth it though - nothing is better than a baby/kid fresh out of the tub!

Hide and seek

One of Ms. A's favorite things to play is hide and seek. She asks to play on a daily basis (and gets her wish quite often). She doesn't discriminate: she loves hiding and seeking equally. A warning though: the girl counts fast when she is the seeker! It is always a scramble to hide around here! The twins love the game just as much, and being that they always hang around whoever is hiding, they are likely to give that person away!
Here is Aubrey, hiding under a bunch of pillows.

Sweet tooth

Of all three kids, Cohen is the pickiest by far. Which is kind of strange if you think about it, because he is also the most chubbylicious of the all. Well, I think we have found the culprit of his big round belly. See, the boy is only picky about his "salties". But give him something, ANYTHING with sugar, and he is in. He is particularly fond of chocolate, not that this picture makes that obvious or anything!