Jack started camp today. Brian and I got him out the door together. Brian got him up and to the bathroom, I put sunscreen on his body and on his face and got his bathing suit on. He went downstairs and Brian got his shirt on him and fed him breakfast. Then Brian grabbed his backpack which I had gotten ready yesterday and took him to camp. He and Daddy talked about the special lunch he was going to have -- grilled cheese, pretzels, bottled water and and ice cream sandwich -- on their way. When they got there Jack refused to get out of the car. Someone was supposed to help him out but he didn't know her. A second girl came to help but he didn't know her either and got more upset and started crying. Then Miss Kelly came out and he went with her. We love Miss Kelly!

I picked Jack up earlier this afternoon and he was so happy. He said he loved camp. They didn't make him wear the arm bands in the pool that he hates and he was so excited about that. Then he, Tor and I went to the library and got some more "Charlie and Lola" books to read. I also picked up a book they were holding for me. Jack read a book there while Tor played with the alphabet blocks. Then we came home. On the way home I asked him what he had for lunch, he told me everything but the ice cream sandwich. So I asked him about it and of course Tor started saying he wanted one. Jack said, "See Mama, you told me not to tell Tor I had that so I didn't and you did and now he wants one." Smart kid.

We talked about camp some more after we got home and Jack said he didn't like camp anymore. When Daddy came up though to say hi to him he told Daddy all about camp and said he loved it. Yay. We'll see how camp goes tomorrow. Daddy will drop him off tomorrow, I'll do it on Wed and Thursday (with all the kids) and then Brian will do it again solo on Friday.

Right now Liv is in her swing, Tor is napping upstairs in my room and Jack and Keisha are riding bikes at the Dam park :). I wrote this and now I have to decide whether I should wake her up to nurse before Tor wakes up and wants my attention, whether I should do the dishes (again), or whether I should pay bills. I am thinking dishes.

Better go do something before they wake up!

First thing we did was take all the kids to the doctor. Jack had a fever the other night and has been complaining of joint pain and a headache ever since. Tor has a hacking cough and Liv has a cold. Turns out everyone is fine except Liv has the beginnings of an ear infection. They are hoping it resolves itself but if she develops a fever we have to take her back. So we went and got a working thermometer after we ate breakfast/lunch at City Limits. All four of the ones we had weren't working the other night.

Then we went to the Westchester (the mall). Hanna Andersson was having a huge sale, so I got a few dresses for Liv for next summer. They are adorable. I also got her some socks from Baby Gap. These socks seem to be the only ones that stay on her feet. They so cute, they are ankle socks with lace. They only had pink with lace. I wanted white too, but that is ok.

I of course got my green tea from Starbucks along with my .$54 refill. When I went back to get the refill, the lady said there was no refill price. She didn't believe me when I said I always got discounted refills on tea. She said it was only on coffee. I asked to talk to the manager twice and she refused to get him. Finally I stopped being nice and demanded to see the manager and guess what, you can get discounted refills on iced tea. No kidding. She didn't even say sorry or anything. Almost makes me never want to go back...ALMOST :).

I got my eyebrows waxed while I were at the mall too. Yay. They were out of control :). Then the way home we stopped by Stop 'n Shop and got a few staples that Peapod doesn't deliver. Jack, Liv and I stayed in the car while Daddy and Tor shopped. It was fun. We came home and watched the Yankees game and read some books and had an early dinner. Then I spent all evening packing away Liv's 0-3 month clothes and then sorting through all the hand me downs I got from my friends (I had already washed them) and adding them to the clothes I had bought and then filling her drawers with clothes. Liv is set with clothes. They are all so cute too. I love having a little girl. I always thought I wanted a tom-boy like I was when I was a kid, now I think I want a girly-girl. Kind of funny.

Well speaking of Liv, I better wake her up and nurse her before I go to bed. I am exhausted.

My grandparents had a house on Clearwater Beach, within walking distance of where we stayed this time. We spent all day every Sunday there for the first 13 years of my life. I also went over there during the week sometimes. Each visit almost always included playing and/or swimming at the beach. One of the things I liked to do besides catch sand fleas is to write in the sand. It's an art :). The best writing utensil is a broken sand dollar and the sand has to be hard but not wet. I wrote the kids names in the sand and then they wrote stuff too. I only got pics of their names though. Next time.

Here Tor is checking out his name and then "erasing" it.

Here is one of our sand fleas and then Jack showing it to Daddy. Daddy had never seen one before, imagine that? Our hotel is right behind them.

Here the boys are with their sand fleas

Brian doesn't look as happy as Jack and Tor. Have I mentioned before that Brian HATES the beach?

I think I got more pics of Tor because he was just filling his bucket with shells. Jack was getting sand fleas and was too busy to pose.

This was Monday morning before we flew home. That is Pier 60 behind him in the first shot.

I have been meaning to blog this for a long time, maybe a year. When Tor is full he says, "I am full of it." It cracks me and Brian up!

Jack hasn't had a fever in a little over four months. That is a record I think, poor guy. The record was snapped last night.

Brian put the kids to bed last night while I took care of some bills and Liv. He got up around 11:30 and we watched some TV and then I read a book while I fed Liv specifically so I wouldn't fall asleep. I had literally just fallen asleep when Jack woke up at 1:30 with a really high fever, really weak and complaining of joint pain, headache and difficulty breathing. Of course Liv woke up and needed more feeding.

Brian had an early morning meeting today so he wasn't happy AT ALL but he dealt with everything just great. He rocked Liv while I took care of Jack and tried to figure out if I had to take him to the ER because he was sicker than I have ever seen him. We have four digital thermometers and guess what, none of them worked. Jack had no patience for me trying to get his temp with them either. Brian got him medicine while I got in the bath with him and cuddled with him in there until he felt better.

Then I got him into bed and Tor woke up. Brian rocked Tor and that didn't help at all. He went back to bed, Jack fell asleep in about 45 minutes and Tor in about 3 hours. Tor wanted to cuddle and read books and then play and then cuddle and Liv needed to feed two more times during all that. It was awful. I finally just read my book while I was feeding Liv and ignored him (I told him I wasn't going to talk to him anymore that he needed to sleep) he was angry but he finally did.

So between the three kids I ended up getting about 2 hours of sleep -- sitting in the chair. Thank goodness it was a recliner. Tor woke up early today and refused to go back to sleep. He screamed so much he woke up Jack who actually needed to sleep in. Of course that woke up Liv too. Jack was miserable because he had another fever starting. I got him Motrin and he is feeling much better.

Brian came home from his meeting with breakfast sandwiches, Starbucks green iced tea, and chocolate munchkins. He also brought up my papers. Man I love him! He is such a good provider...hehehe. Now the boys are playing in tents in the family room, Liv is asleep, homemade chicken soup is simmering on the stove and I am drinking Tazo Awake tea to stay awake and just giving myself a caffeine headache. So I am very awake with a giant headache watching my kids. Oh well, I'll just take some motrin myself.

Tor is going right to bed after we eat soup and maybe I can take a nap with him. That was my original plan this morning but now I am hyped on caffeine and I don't know if I will be able to fall asleep. My guess is I won't but when he wakes up from his nap I'll be ready to pass out. Ah well, the joys of parenthood. I may be complaining but I wouldn't trade it for the world. I adore these kids...in sickness and in health :).

I ran some errands today with Liv and we had a nice lunch together. We picked up the cutest 4th of July dress for her and some 4th of July t-shirts for the boys from The Children's Place (all on sale) and wouldn't you know there was a Starbucks right next door :).

When we got home we loaded the boys up to go swimming in our neighborhood pool. It isn't the same one as at Jack's school, this one is a normal backyard pool. We had fun, even Liv went swimming and Brian joined us at the end of his day too. The boys really love swimming with Daddy.

The kids played by themselves outside when we got home while I got dinner ready. I checked on them every few minutes. It was a strange thing but the baby was inside in her swing and Daddy was busy. It worked out well. Peapod came tonight and brought us groceries, woo hoo.

We had a nice dinner followed by ice cream. A nice end to a nice day.

We have had a nice day so far today too. We all slept in until 8:30 :). Woo hoo. After everyone was up and dressed (quite a feat let me tell you) we got in the car and headed up to the diner we like in Mt. Kisco.

The boys did great. Jack finished all his pancakes, one scrambled egg and half a bacon strip. Tor had half his pancakes, a huge sausage and some toast. I just love how they have their own tastes. After that the boys dropped me and Liv off at Starbucks and they drove around the corner to the barbershop to get haircuts.

I drank my venti green iced tea in a nice soft chair while I nursed Liv and read my book. It was so very relaxing. I rocked her as I ordered and waited for my $.54 refill, what a bargain. Then I strapped her in her car seat and we met the boys in front of the barbershop. They had just finished getting their hair cut. Brian and Jack look great but I think Tor's is too short. He still looks great but I like it on the long side. Apparently Brian does not :). No big deal, hair grows back.

From there we went to the Toyota dealership and Brian test drove the Highlander Hybrid. He is trying to decide between that and the Lexus 400H (hybrid). They are about the same except the Highlander has a third row (but without latch) and the Lexus has pick-up service when the car needs routine maintenance. For a busy guy like Brian that is a huge consideration. They come and pick up the car and leave a loaner car for you and then bring it back when it is done...for no extra charge. Of course the Lexus is more expensive that the Toyota :).

Then we went to Cranberry Lake Preserve (just down the street) to make watercolor butterflies and hunt for butterflies. Liv nursed while the boys took net and looked for butterflies with two of their school friends and a lot of other kids. Then Liv and I joined them and the boys made the butterfly craft.

We got home and the kids a had lunch (Brian and I were still full) and now Tor is napping and Jack is hanging out with us.

It's a great day and it isn't over yet!

Here are Jack and Tor's butterflies...

Keisha was off yesterday and I had the kids all to myself. Brian usually helps me with their breakfasts, but he was in NYC all day, so I was truly on my own. I was up at 6 with Liv and the kids got up around 8. We all took a shower and had breakfast and I fed Liv a couple of more times and then we hopped in the car and headed over to CT to Stepping Stones.

We met up with Sara, Henry, Caroline, Aviva, Eason, Andi, Joanna and Graham. We had a great time. I put Liv in my sling and she slept most of the time.

When she woke up I nursed her again and then we headed over to The Brewhouse for a late lunch. The kids did great. The owner came over and showed us pics of his kids. His oldest is 4 and I have watched him grow up in pictures. Jack and Tor met him once and they had a great time playing. We had a nice lunch. Jack is such a great big brother. He helps me a lot with Tor and Liv. I am so lucky.

It is about a 35-40 minute drive home. Halfway home Liv started crying so I pulled over at a rest stop on the Merritt to nurse her. Tor was asleep in his car seat and I put a DVD on for Jack. I fell asleep for a few minutes nursing her while listening to "My friends Tigger and Pooh." I was exhausted despite drinking tea all day. Liv fell asleep too but when I put her in her car seat she started screaming again. She is just like Tor was when he was a baby -- she hates her car seat. She also won't take a pacifier like Tor. Jack loved his car seat and loved his pacifier. Too funny.

When we got home I nursed her again. I swear the kid is always attached :). Brian was home by then and he took the kids out to the swings while I made grilled chicken and grilled corn. We had a nice meal and we goofed off for a little bit after dinner and then we all went to bed early.

Not a bad day at all :).

Monday morning we woke up and Brian and Tor got us breakfast from a place across the street from the hotel. Not this one though :). Then we went to the beach. Here the kids are fooling around before we left. Tor isn't angry, he likes making this face for the camera (I have quite a few pics like this) and Jack asked me to take this photo of him pretending he is spider-man.

After the memorial and lunch, we went to the cemetery and I got to see my mom's grave for the first time. She is resting next to a little lake and there is a bench nearby to sit on. It is a really nice cemetery. We stopped by my parents house for a few minutes and then we went to have some gelato with my family. Georgie loves gelato.

From there we got Iced Green Tea from a Starbucks drive-thru right near my parents house and then we visited with Mrs. Knight and David. It was so good seeing them. We saw them last November before we had Liv.

After that we headed back to the hotel and the kids took a nap and then I took the boys to the beach while Daddy watched Liv. The kids had so much fun. They caught sand fleas and watched coquina's dig themselves back in the sand after the waves exposed them. We had so much fun after such an emotional day.

After church we went to my Mom's favorite Greek restaurant in Tarpon, The Original Mama Maria's. We met Papou, Georgie and Darcy there. Then my mom's good friend Thea Mary came with her sister and mom's Goddaughter Naomi and Mom's cousin Thea Katina. They put together my Mom's memorial service and coincidentally they also hosted my bridal shower 10 years ago. They were all very close.

Brian joked with me, George and Darcy that the sign outside the restaurant belonged on the "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks. Does it mean that it is really authentic Greek food, or is it "authentic Greek food" (wink wink)? Kind of funny, I never really thought about that before :).

I really like this photo of my Dad joking with Jack and Darcy, it was nice to see him laugh.

Brian loves feeding Liv. I chose this dress because it reminded me of a Greek Island dress. You can see it better here and here.