Memorial Day Weekend

This weekend, we enjoyed an uneventful three days at home. (The first in a loooong time.) Besides Daddy's baseball practice, we had nowhere to be, and no schedule to keep. :) We did lots of yard work, ran lots of errands, and still found time for plenty of fun.

Thanks to Daddy, I got a morning to myself. He and the girls went to the park while I enjoyed some shopping and a pedicure a-l-o-n-e. I even got to sit still long enough to read a People magazine from cover to cover without interruptions. Heaven!

Daddy also took Camryn to her first ever (non high school) baseball game. They went to watch the Portland Beavers play the Nashville Sounds. One of Daddy's former high school players plays for the Sounds, an affiliate of the Milwaukie Brewers organization. They had a great time watching Cole play.

Later that night, the girls had an impromptu, after-bath dance party. Not sure who taught Camryn to shake her bootie...

We also made an all-family trip to the zoo. It was a gorgeous day! Sunny, clear skies and 75 degrees. We ate a picnic lunch on the lawn, and played and played. If this is what summer has in store for us, we can't wait!!!!!

Grandma's birthday

Today is my mom's 29th birthday (again!?) , so the fam got together on Sunday for a lovely brunch, complete with kid's buffet (gotta love it.) It was so nice outside that we took a little stroll afterward, enjoyed the sun, and even got a few good pics. Mom and Dad by the lake

What a good looking bunch!

"Bethie & 'Mas," as they are affectionately known

Lacey & Dan

Why do all of our pictures look like this???
Apparently a nice family photo is just too much to ask...

Camryn *hearts* her Uncle Dan

Me and Mini Me

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

Marathoning

Marathoning. Is that a word? If not, it should be.

Marathoning (v.) to live life at a frantic pace; to attempt to excel in daily work, overall career, home life, and parenthood while balancing one's sanity, a bag of groceries, and the checkbook

I live this word. I do this every day. And I am exhausted. The pace of our last few months has left me weak-kneed. Bent over and heaving, sweat is dripping from my forehead. With only five weeks of the school year left to go, I can see the finish line, though I feel like I'm never going to make it.

Between holidays, birthday parties, baseball commitments, car repair, volunteer opportunities, out of town visitors, baby showers, haircuts, doctor's appointments, and (oh yeah!) work, grocery shopping, general home upkeep and child rearing, my head is spinning. Add to all of it the emotional roller coaster that is interviewing for administrative jobs during a time of economic crisis, and frankly, we all in the Bailey household are fried.

I don't write this expecting pity. After all, I'm not in this boat alone. Plenty of other moms do this every day. In fact, many of my own working mom friends are feeling the strain too. I can see it in their tired eyes and gray hairs (who has time for a cut and color?) And I'm sure when they look at me, they see it as well.

So my apologies, to those whom in the last week or so I've just said, "No." No, I can't go out to lunch. No, I can't be on that committee. No, I can't stay late to supervise that project, and no, I can't make it to Bunco. It's not that I don't want to do these things. It's not that I don't feel guilty turning down your invitation. It's just that I want to be home. With my girls. And with Brian too. It's just that I've reached my breaking point, and I still have five and a half more weeks to go before I'm allowed to snap.

Only time will tell when this ol' twig will officially give out. But one thing's for sure. I need a vacation.

Quality time

The girls' Mimi and Papa visited this weekend, and despite our best intentions for a trip to the zoo, or the children's museum, fate intervened. Between the wacky weather, my nasty head cold and subsequent sudafed fog, and fear of the swine flu in crowded places, our continued attempts to get out of the house and "do something" were thwarted.

By the time I finally gave up on "getting out" and got a yummy dinner in the oven, a freak thunderstorm knocked out our power, which forced us to go out to eat. I think someone was trying to prove to me that this weekend wasn't meant to be planned.

We did manage to get the girls outside for some playtime during a few sunny patches. Aubrey's favorite new word is "Bubbles!"

Camryn of course, enjoyed her morning ritual with Mimi, as she was pampered with a little lotion, nail polish, and "make up" (aka lip gloss and sparkles.) Thanks, Mimi and Papa for hunkering down with us this weekend. It was great to see you!

Mashed potatoes

Aubrey has been working on learning how to feed herself with a spoon lately. So far, she's been most successful with mashed potatoes, since they tend to stay on the spoon, even when it is flung back and forth through the air! Gotta love it!

Scooping up potatoes

Got some!

Made it to my mouth! Yum!

She hit her forehead, chin, and cheeks too, but did manage to get some in her mouth!
Silly baby girl!

Wooden Shoe Tulip Fest '09!

This weekend, we made our annual trek down to Woodburn to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival, under sunny, 75 degree skies. It was a gorgeous day so the place was packed, but despite the crowds we enjoyed the scenery, the activities, a picnic lunch, and some fresh air. Oh, and we managed to capture a few photos along the way, too. About 100 on our camera, and over 500 on Grandpa's. Here are a few of our favorites...

Sweet Aubs

I know I've said this before, but it seems like Aubrey takes giant leaps in her development every so often, and it seems as though she's done it again. Just in the last week or two she has really started to seem like a little girl, instead of a baby.

Her personality is bursting out of her, she is expressing her opinion in all sorts of fun (loud) ways, and is showing us that she has quite a sense of humor! She has been walking, walking, walking all over, talking up a gibberish storm, and spontaneously showing off skills that she didn't have just days ago. But really, I think it's the pigtails that push her over the top. There is just something about a tiny girl with "real" pigtails (not the stick-up-on-top-of-your-head type) that just makes her seem so grown up all of a sudden.

One of her latest "tricks" is to smile a giant, 3-toothed grin and say, "Cheese!" when she gets her photo taken. It makes us all roll with laughter, which of course fuels the fire. She gets so proud that she sometimes will then clap for herself. :)

As she gains new skills each day, we are reminded how fast time is flying by. Today at brunch, we reminisced about how one year ago, I carried newborn Aubrey around in a baby sling all of Easter day. This year, she was toddling around, gathering eggs, and making us all laugh with her antics. What a difference a day, week, month, (let alone a year!) makes.