The Repaired Camera!

Over two years ago, Zara knocked over our dresser which sent my Nikon D5100 tumbling to the ground. Though the camera could still take photos, the LCD screen was broken. I assumed it was a loose wire or damage to the circuit board but as we didn't have the money to fix it, I just went on taking photos "blind" and hoping they came out okay (like we did in the olden days before digital). I still managed to take some good photos but it also meant that I often didn't get the best lighting or use the best settings since I couldn't preview the photos on the screen.

We finally decided it was time to get it fixed and as luck would have it the only certified Nikon repair shop in the whole state of Georgia just happens to be 15 minutes from our house. I picked up the newly fixed camera back in February and had to take Benjamin out for some new photos. It's so nice to have a fully functioning camera again even if i still don't know what half the buttons/settings do. Maybe I should read the manual....but then again, it's all in Korean. 

Anyway, here are a few photographs of Benjamin from February. I need to take him out for another photo shoot soon. He's growing up way too fast. He's already wearing some 18 month clothes!

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Georgia Aquarium

Back in February, Zara had another week off school. (They get a lot of weeks off. I only remember getting Christmas and spring break, but I digress.) Being some form of masochist, I decided to take all three kids by myself to the Georgia Aquarium because they were running a special admission deal. We had visited once before before we had kids and I had wanted to visit again to see if purchasing a membership would be worth it. Aquariums are great for when the weather is too cold/hot or rainy and the zoo or park won't do.

 The Georgia Aquarium is one of the largest aquariums in the country and it does have some very impressive animals (like these beluga whales) and tanks. They even have a dolphin show which was delightful.

But I have to admit that after working at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and visiting many others (including the Chattanooga Aquarium recently), the Georgia Aquarium is not my favorite. In part, it is because it is very crowded and not well laid out. It is terribly difficult to navigate with kids and especially when you are a lone parent with three kids and clearly not able to handle them all. But the biggest part is that it feels like a commercial aquarium that cares more about its big flashy displays and corporate sponsors rather than educating the public about marine life. 

I never feel like I come away any wiser about marine life or conservation issues which was the number one focus at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Still, the kids enjoyed themselves and loved to watch the fish. 

 They probably would have stayed there all day if I weren't so burned out and tired from coraling three kids all day. And since the aquarium is so crowded with narrow corridors, I couldn't bring my double stroller which would have made the trip so much easier.

So in the end, I'm glad we came for a visit. At least I have decided once and for all that an aquarium membership is not worth the price.

But watching all those fish swim around in those giant tanks was strangely soothing. 

Asleep in His Highchair

Never in the history of ever has any one of our three kids ever fallen asleep in an unusual place like their high chair. But Benjamin did today and I felt it needed to be documented. 

I picked up Zara early from school today because she was running a fever. She didn't want to eat anything and just went to sleep in my bed. Adelaide was being cranky and crazy and after her second accident after several days of none, I stuck her in her room to sleep the cranky off. So Benjamin and I didn't get our lunches until a little later. I set him up with his favorites (Cheetos and frozen yogurt) and was eating my own lunch at the table and checking things on my computer. 

He was making cute noises and then the next time I looked over, he was asleep. I'm just going to let him be and enjoy this rare and unusual gift of three children all asleep at the same time during the daylight hours.

Sleeping Beauty Ballet

Way back in September, I saw that the Atlanta Ballet Company was doing a short weekend presentation of Sleeping Beauty for Valentine's. It was a shortened performance of only an hour intended specifically for children. I knew Zara would love it so I took a leap and bought a pair of tickets.

Thankfully it all worked out that we were able to go and so Zara and I went to enjoy the ballet together. Afterwards, we went to the mall to get a special treat together (Zara picked Cinnabon) and buy a present for David. It was a fun little outing but I will admit to being glad it was only an hour because I don't think either Zara or I could have made it longer.

A Little Helping of Benjamin

We need a little bit more Benjamin up in here. This baby is hardly a baby anymore and it makes me sad. He crawls everywhere, pulls himself up on everything, and puts everything except for actual food into his mouth. He has quite the distaste for pureed baby foods but he does like Cheetos. He also looks a lot like Adelaide. I should post some comparison photos. Still, this baby does my heart good. Everyone always comments on what a happy baby is. He does love to smile.

Adelaide Goes to the Dentist

This past Tuesday Adelaide had her first trip to the dentist. Our family dentist doesn't see patients under the age of 5 and it took me a little while to find a pediatric dentist that a) takes our insurance and b) didn't have awful reviews. I had to drive farther away but I finally found one.

Luckily, Adelaide has not yet inherited my crappy teeth and she was given a clean bill of dental health. She got a cleaning and a red balloon and did a great job. I'm glad I can check that off my list for the next six months.

Adelaide's Big Bed Girl Bed

Playing catch up from my blog hiatus. Next up, Adelaide's move from a crib to a twin bed, or as she likes to call it, her big bed girl bed. 

Even after Benjamin's birth, Adelaide was still sleeping in her crib. She didn't seem to mind it but she had started climbing on the railing. While she had never climbed OUT of the bed, we knew it was only a matter of time. We had bought Zara's twin bed at Costco and so we went to Costco to pick up a bed for Adelaide.....but they didn't have any. I checked back every time I went to Costco (which is a lot because I love Costco and have a huge love of buying things in bulk) but still no beds. 

I started shopping around at other locations but the beds were so much more expensive than the one we had bought for Zara and I really didn't want to have to pay so much. Plus, most of the other stores don't carry the mattresses in the store and so we'd have to pay extra to have it delivered to us. I also didn't want to buy a super cheap mattress for Adelaide but something comparable to what Zara has so that both will last a good long while.  So Adelaide kept sleeping in her crib and I decided we'd figure it out after Christmas. 

Well, I was shopping at Costco the week after our return from California and lo and behold, they had twin mattresses! So we speedily purchased the set and took it home, strapped to the roof of David's car. 

The next day, I took Adelaide shopping at Target for new sheets/comforter. I wanted her to get something that would work well with the current color scheme (PINK and MORE PINK) and she selected this cute comforter with horses and stars.

We got the bed all set up and Adelaide needed very little convincing to sleep in her new bed. She's done great in her big girl bed (big bed girl bed) and it was a pretty seamless transition.

Now, potty training on the other hand.....that's another story.

Have Yourself a Blurry Little Christmas

So you may have noticed that I have not updated this blog in a very long time. A very long time. I blame Christmas. (And David. When in doubt, always blame the spouse.)

See, we made plans to spend Christmas in California with my parents this...er, last year. I was so excited. We hadn't been to California for several years (not since before Adelaide was born) and we had never spent Christmas in California since we got married. I was excited to take the kids to San Diego, introduce them to all the delicious food, go sight seeing, and splurge on a trip to Legoland. We haven't taken a proper vacation in a long time and nothing sounded better than Christmas in California.

But two days (or was it three?) before our scheduled flight, I started to feel sick. But I soldiered through thinking it couldn't last more than a few days. But I was wrong. I was so wrong.

I cannot remember a time when I was sicker. I was constantly tired and couldn't eat. I coughed and coughed and coughed and couldn't sleep. I ran a fever. I never run a fever. By the second or third day of our vacation I begged David to take me to urgent care.

Finally a diagnosis: strep throat and bronchitis.

I was given a prescription for antibiotics and sent on my way but it was somewhat comforting to know that I wasn't imagining my illness. I was truly good and sick.

The rest of the trip is a bit of a hazy blur. There was a lot of sleeping and not a lot of eating. (I lost 10 pounds. And I tried! I really tried hard to eat In & Out and Mexican food and all the things I had been craving but I mostly just drank a lot of Jamba Juice.) We did not go to Legoland or the zoo or visit the ocean or all the things I had wanted to do with the kids. My mom did take pity on them and take them to the Wild Animal Park (which I refuse to call Safari Park) and spoiled them as grandmothers are meant to do. I did get to have two lovely visits with my dear friend Tessa and several trips to my grandmother's house. I may have fallen asleep on the couch talking to her, but I still love visiting my grandma.

I hated that I ruined Christmas for everyone. But apparently I'm the only one who felt that way. David assures me that after two years of almost non-stop work, the trip was incredibly relaxing and peaceful simply because he did nothing. The kids got to watch lots of TV and eat junk food and get spoiled by their grandparents who also have cats. Nothing could have been better. Zara still asks when we can go back.

And as David pointed out, this was probably the absolute best time and place to get completely knocked sideways and out for the count because he was there the whole time to take care of me and the kids and my mom was there to make sure we were all fed and looked after. Moms never get sick days but this was about as good as it gets. I only had to be sick and that was wonderful. So even though I still feel a little bummed that our vacation was marred by such a hard and prolonged illness, it was actually a bit nice to just sleep through most of it.

The other sad outcome was that I took hardly any photos and most of the ones that were taken were blurry. So here's what I got from our Christmas but it's not much.

Playing with my parents' cats Bradbury and Lewis

Christmas money from the grandparents

New Christmas pajamas

Love these kids

It still took awhile to recover from my illness and I didn't feel 100% back to normal until a week or two after we returned to Georgia. But I hope I'll get another chance soon to take the kids to California and really show off the state.

Drowning in Babies

Sometimes there are too many babies. I'm just drowning in them.

Selfies

I'm not much for selfie culture. I'm not much for photos of myself period but occasionally I like to have some proof that I exist, especially since I'm the one usually behind the camera. I was a little bored waiting for the girls to finish playing in their bath tonight so I showed Benjamin himself in the mirror and he seemed to think he was pretty great.  I just had to capture a few selfies. 

I adore this kid.