A little bit cray cray

Holy cow, things have been busy here.

(Ha! I wrote that first line 3 days ago and it's been sitting there all lonesome ever since. Case in point.)

I don't even know where to start.

*Back on April 12th, Mom and Greg closed on their house (did I mention that it's ONE mile away? Amazing.).  Greg is still working back in Pittsburgh and trying to sell their house (original contract fell through), so he's gone during the week. Brian is playing a big role at the new house, fixing up as much as he can and helping my mom hire out the rest, spending many of his non-work hours over there getting things arranged. I spent some time over there painting this weekend - it was a nice change of pace. The end result will be awesome - having Oma and Opa close by (as well as the house will look great), but in the meantime it's a lot of work.

*Sometime during that week, I hurt my back and was in a lot of pain for several days. It was a combination of wearing the Baby Bjorn and helping Luke on the potty and I felt something pop. Things are much better now, but it made for a challenging week, and I'm still trying to fit in some appointments to see my dear friend Kate's family practice of chiropractors.

*Speaking of Luke on the potty, one day last week he decided he was done with the plastic potty (which he previously refused to use anything but) and wanted to use the big potty. He's been doing really well with it lately. It's been 5 months since we started...is it possible we're close to being done?

*There's lots of end-of-year stuff going on for school, Girl Scouts, and church (MOPS, AWANA). Can you believe that David's last day of preschool (ever!) is next Thursday?! Oh, man...letting that sink in. Katy's done a couple weeks after that.

*I took this picture of Anna when she turned 3 months, and now the poor baby is approaching 4 months before I get around to posting it. She is super sweet, lots of smiles, nice temperament. We think she rolled over yesterday, although none of us actually witnessed it, she was just suddenly on her tummy when we hadn't put her there. She's sleeping in the pack n' play (still in our room) because she outgrew the bassinet. (Aunt Mel is trying to decide if she might move out sometime soon, so we're holding off on moving Luke...it's easier this way). She's hit that stage where she wants to be rocked to sleep and put down in her crib. Both of which are difficult with 3 older kids. So I'm up and down the stairs a lot, fighting with her to nap/stay asleep/get up to pick someone up from school/go back to sleep/stay swaddled/try it without swaddling, etc etc. It's exhausting, but I know it's a stage.  Oh, and I think she has eczema, so I'm trying to increase her bath frequency to use the special cream to lock in the moisture.

*In lieu of soccer this spring (thank the good Lord we aren't doing soccer! that would have sent me over the edge), Katy and David are doing a once a week rock climbing class at the rec center. They both really like it - Katy passed levels one and two on the first try and has been working on level 3 for a couple of weeks. David is getting almost halfway up level one these days, which is progress for him, and he's proud of himself for this accomplishment. He's working hard.

*Last weekend, we took a break from the house stuff and took a girls' weekend to Pittsburgh. Katy, Anna, and I drove over (with Greg's daughter Mary) and we all stayed in a hotel, which is Katy's Disney world. The purpose of the trip was to attend a Victorian Tea where my mom received an award in recognition of all the volunteer work she has done for Sojourner House over the last 5 years. It was a great honor to be there for her, and to hear about all the great work that the organization does. I didn't fully understand until I saw it for myself. Oh, and you were supposed to wear "your favorite spring hat."

Katy won "best hat" for our table. She borrowed this from her friend Rachel.

Greg (Opa) and his daughter Mary

For obvious reasons, I had to borrow a hat from my mom.

So proud of Oma! She has given hours upon hours to the cause!

*Our Girl Scout troop bridged up from Daisies to Brownies. We had a beautiful night at the park for our ceremony and the girls were SO excited to receive their new sash and officially become brownies. 

One of the moms (more creative than I) made these brownies.

Skipping across the bridge as a brand new Brownie!

*Both kids have fieldtrips this week. I'm still working on my OT coursework. Brian's doing a half marathon this weekend and we have friends coming to visit. David's getting over strep throat and I think he has seasonal allergies. I could go on, but you get the idea. "Jerry, you are hanging on by a very thin thread. And I DIG that about you!"