Cincinnati weekend

We traveled this past weekend to Cincinnati for the stateside reception of the India wedding Mike attended in December. We left after Mike got off work on Friday. For the kids, long car rides are the best, as we get to eat dinner on the road, and we allow them to watch movies from an old laptop Mike set up for that very purpose. And "Hush in a hotel" beats all. This time, they had their very own sleeping quarters. A block of rooms at the suites hotel right by the reception hall were reserved at a discount, and we had not only a kitchen, bedroom and a living room with a pull-out sofa (the kids' room), but a walk-in closet that was conveniently large enough for a pack 'n' play and a nursing chair. In other words, we all slept very peacefully/relaxed luxuriously. And we had a very happy babe in the morning. We walked around a bit of Cincinnati on Saturday, but it was so windy/chilly, and I forgot jackets, so we didn't get too far from the hotel. The girls were so excited by these horse-drawn carriages, which we first saw all lit up with tiny white and purple lights upon arriving at the hotel. After nap/quiet time in the hotel, I took the big kids across the street to the Cincinnati library to explore. A bunch of dioramas of city buildings and museums, created by school children were on display. Let me just say, we came away with a lot of inspiration. Jack requested a trip to the craft store today so we could commence his building idea. I think we'll draw up some preliminary designs first. I didn't get any pictures from the actual reception, the reason for our visit, as I was trying to chase around and pacify four little kids in a congested area. It was lovely, though, and we had a splendid time, even if the kids and I retired to the hotel after the third dance (around 10 pm). Ryan and Meenali sure know how to cut up the dance floor. Abigail was mesmerized, standing in my chair for a better view. Alas, I did take one picture at the wedding. The groom's mom was so thoughtful to give each of the kids their own gift bag filled with age-appropriate activities with which to occupy themselves.

Other highlights of the trip: Jack saw a "real live" harp for the very first time at Mass on Sunday morning. We had a nice time talking with friends at brunch after Mass on Sunday. Our hotel had a workout room with a great view, and I was able to get my mileage in this weekend (7.5 miles) while watching, I'm ashamed to say, Beverly Hills Ninja. And, Cincinnati knows how to plan roads. It was a pleasure to drive on them.

update: Here are some pictures taken by Ryan and Meenali's professional photographer (Sorry- I don't even know who to give credit to)

homeschooling get-together at Mingo Park

The kids and I joined some fellow homeschooling families today for a get-together at Mingo Park (organized by the author of {The Crafty Homeschooling Mama} blog). The sound of playing at the park, roasting hotdogs over a campfire, conversing with other moms and tromping through the woods on a nature hike sounded like a great time. BUT, I was horrified to discovered after we'd arrived there at lunchtime and set up a spot at the picnic tables that I'd forgotten our cooler of lunches (and all of our water bottles), which I'd spent so much time preparing this morning between helping with school and the kids' needs- I even packed hotdogs to roast. But I was humbled by and truly grateful for all of the mothers, whom I had never met before, that approached us and offered to share what they'd brought with my brood of hungry (and about to die of thirst) children. And they were quick to sympathize with and assure me that they'd done the same thing many a time. S'mores! Not five seconds after I snapped this picture, she came sailing off the edge of this disturbingly high twisty slide while rounding a corner, head-first to the ground, which was fortunately heavily padded with mulch. It only looked like we'd be taking a trip to Children's-- no injuries, thank God. Thankfully, I remembered to bring boots. Joy, from our Catholic homeschooling group, held Opal while I went down the waterfall with the older kids, and we caught a salamander (She wasn't really scowling at Opal) our friends, April and Dominic, from whom we heard about the event They were filthy. Good thing I also remembered changes of clothes. I love how Jack gets right in there in a new crowd of kids. We were excited to find such a great place (about 35 minutes south of us) and make some new friends at the same time. We're looking forward to more of these outings, which are going to be a regular occurrence, in the future!

Addendum: Besides forgetting our lunches and Iris falling off of the slide, Opal wouldn't nurse and cried herself to sleep in the Ergo, three of the four kids had meltdowns-- heat, too much activity?-- as soon as we got in the car (always when we're trying to do something nice for them), and all four of them required being carried to the bathtub when we got home (Opal, though she didn't go in the stream, hadn't had a dirty diaper in 4 1/2 days and was thoughtful enough to wait until the drive home to have the worst diaper explosion I've ever experienced (at #4, that is saying a lot). At least they all had naps, even if they didn't go down until after 3! Oh, and Jack is proud of himself for pouring his own milk for the first time, as I had my hands too full upon arriving home :)

beeswax candles

I wish I'd had a tape-recorder rolling for this endeavor. Jack kept making the funniest comments. Though these were in Abigail's Easter basket, she of course wanted to share the fun with Jack (she gave some to Iris, too, after she woke from her nap), and he couldn't have been more enthused. He kept screeching about how we'd never have to buy candles again- these were the most amaaaaazing and adorable candles he had ever laid his eyes upon. Silly boy. Abigail really loved it, too, and was a pro at rolling them. Candle-making is fun. Jack's spread We used some of the scraps to add flower decorations and such. We did a test-run on a little one at dinner. They work great! And they really were quite fun to make.