February Smorgasbord: Ballet, yoga, hiking, the park and playtime at home

At the end of the week, we typically have “smorgasbord” for dinner… basically that means we scrounge up whatever we have left in the fridge and call it a meal! This week it was Jake and the girls’ specialty, Spanish Tortilla de Patatas (pretty much eggs, potatoes and veggies cooked into a delicious frittata), while some weeks it’s just applesauce, cheese sticks and plain noodles! I liken these blog posts unto our end of the week smorgasbord because of the lack of unifying theme when my pictures have built up! So blog smorgasbord it is.

We’ve spent the better part of four years in this spot, watching the kids grow up in this little playground.

This girl brightens up my day! We will miss our little tot lot so much when we move. We are close to deciding on a house and will only be moving a few minutes away to a bigger house, but the day (and weeks after) we sold ours, I was an emotional wreck. We couldn’t have asked for a better neighborhood and friends I know I can rely on for two cans of diced tomatoes, an onion, and beef broth (actual ingredients I needed and received via doorstep delivery from one of the neighbors I group texted last week)! We will miss our beloved home dearly and are trying to engrain in our memories the place where we brought our babies home for the next month until it’s time to say goodbye.

Cold weather doesn’t ever deter the twins from begging to go to the beach. Who needs sand toys when you have driftwood?

At the beginning of the year, the twins started a new ballet/yoga class at Grace and Zen and are hilarious practicing their mermaid and dolphin poses. It’s a very fun, low-key and zen-like class. The girls even get to rub soothing lavender oil on their feet at the end to wind down! I think I should be the one going to this class.

Cute mini dancers.

So graceful…

Tree climbing and showing off some gymnastics moves after dance.

The girls love to roughhouse and be silly on the floor. Meredith gives as much as she takes and the twins are often left screaming and crying after she pulls their hair and crawls over them like bugs!

I will especially miss the trail out in the canyon behind our house… countless memories of taking Bandit out there to chase bunnies before we had kids, then going on nature walks with the girls and running with Meredith and the jogger.

We had to be out of the house randomly last month for an Open House, showings and inspections, and I often took the girls out for a picnic lunch and playtime at the park after preschool pickup to kill some time.

The twins were SO excited about their 100th Day of School celebration wherein Samantha and Amelia were tasked with bringing 100 chocolate chips and 100 Chex, respectively, to help make their class snack mix.

The twins never had one of these little push tricycles when they were babies because there was no way I could push both of them at the same time. They were pretty much resigned to the double stroller back then, but now they love pushing Meredith in her trike (and ride it themselves, in an apparent attempt to regress and enjoy the toys they never had as babies!) I must say, it’s a completely different experience having a singleton.

One way in which Meredith compares to her sisters is her capacity for trouble. She’s worse than the twins! She loves to camp out by the fridge and tinker with the spice cabinet, waiting for the opportune moment when I open the fridge to grab something out of the door. She was quite happy with her spoils of maple syrup this time.

Samantha and Amelia’s favorite pastimes include dressing up, especially if it’s with mommy’s jewelry and shoes.

Lately, the girls have been requesting fairy tales like Jack and the Beanstalk, Rumplestilstkin, Hansel and Gretel, and the Three Billy Goats Gruff at naptime/bedtime (sometimes edited to be less– er– nightmare inducing!). They love to act out the Troll Game where they take turns being the guards of the baby gate and random places around the house, yelling, “None shall pass!” in threatening/giggling tones.

When the girls are in preschool, Meredith and I usually go for a little stroll after she wakes up from her morning nap and right before we pick the girls up from school. It’s nice to have the one on one time and watch her explore her world.

One aspect of parenting we’ve been trying to get better at lately is giving the girls more one on one time alone with one parent. They are together SO much of the day, and even though they are each other’s best friends and would come to each other’s defense in a heartbeat if anyone so much as dared tease them, the fights, the tattle-telling and the whininess rear their ugly heads if they don’t get their little attention baskets filled as individuals. We aim to spend at least twenty minutes a day of “special time” with them individually, doing something they like to do at home, and try to get out on a more extended “date” once a week. That doesn’t sound so hard, but trust me, some days it is difficult to find the time/occupy the other two with something so I can spend time with one if Jake’s not home. Here’s Samantha on a date with me at the library, concentrating on her coloring and relishing being the only child for the hour. The difference in their personalities is astounding when they are by themselves… zero arguments, whining, or fighting. It’s almost too quiet!

During her special Samantha time with Daddy, she almost always requests to build a castle with magnatiles.

Besides romping with her sisters, going on walks, feeding Bandit treats, and wreaking havoc in the kitchen, Meredith’s favorite pastimes include going up and down the stairs. She loves it when I pretend to chase her, shouting, “I’m gonna getcha!”