3 things

An admission.
I know I'm not supposed to think this is funny, but it really kind of is. You see, my oldest child taught my youngest child how to say "crybaby." So guess who E calls crybaby? Yep. His big sister, who, in fact, tends to be somewhat of a crybaby. (She adequately fits the definition of preschool girl with her tattletaling and boo-hooing.) So, something upsets her apple cart and she starts crying. E, with a little grin on his face, starts in with, " 'Rybebe. 'Rybebe." This, of course, makes S cry more and yell, "I not a crybaby. S no crybaby." I simply have to turn away and admonish little brother for calling his big sister names and try not to let them see the laughter being held in. Sounds so mean, but it really is funny. I've been trying to tell S that E (and J) will continue to do it as long as she reacts to it, and she's starting to catch on. Fortunately, my crybaby is also pretty darn smart.

An accomplishment.
My niece lives about an hour and a half away with her husband and 2 girls, ages 8 and 2. She emails me and says that they are planning on being at Cosi on Friday and did we want to meet up with them there? Sure! Sounds great! Well, it sounded great until E spent all day Thursday running a fever and needing me to hold him nonstop. I honestly didn't think we would be able to go on Friday morning, so I did nothing to prepare for the possibility of taking all 3 kids to Cosi the next day. By myself.
Well, wouldn't you know E wakes up cool as a cucumber and ready for adventure. Excellent. I managed to get all 3 kids fed, dressed, and brushed, as well as myself, and then threw together a diaper bag and a snack bag, grabbed our membership card, loaded the double stroller, got everyone buckled into the minivan, and off we went. Now, because we have a membership to Cosi and live here in Columbus, we make regular visits and usually stay for just a couple of hours. Since my niece was coming in from out of town, this particular trip became an all day affair. J and his cousin M had a blast together -- despite the fact that she is a girl -- and the little kids enjoyed all the cool stuff made just for them.
One funny story: We were up on the second floor near the suspended unicycle and I was shoveling a little bit of snack into the wee ones' mouths (as well as my own) when a bit of granola bar went flying over the barrier to the floor below. Totally my fault. As I tried to pretend it didn't happen, a dad stopped near us with a couple of kids as the mom continued to stroll by. She kept looking at us and then started urging the dad and kids to keep coming -- saying that it wasn't a good place to stop. I thought it was weird, but nothing more. She then came back to me looking a bit anxious and told me, "I'm so sorry. It's just that my kids have severe food allergies." Explains why she had been looking more at our food than at us, and it provided me with an interesting racial interaction. Strangely, it hadn't even crossed my mind that she was concerned about the color of my children. Does that make me naive? I don't know. But when she came back it was clear to me that she was worried that this is what I had thought of her, and she did not want that. She wanted me to know her true concern had nothing to do with us but with our scary granola. We did get some interesting looks that day -- mainly from people of color. Some smiled, some looked confused, but most paid us no mind. The stares usually come from children who are trying to figure us out. Good luck doing that!
So, other than having a stroller that proved to be both a help and a hinderance, I survived the whole freakin' day at Cosi with 3 kids. Pat me on the back and give me a cookie! It helped that the kids were totally awesome. They waited until we got home to turn back into little monstas. :)

A milestone.
Monday marks 4 months since we came home with the kiddos. It feels like it has been longer in the sense that I have reached the point of not being able to imagine life without them. They are finally becoming ingrained in our lives and our home, and I do feel a new normalcy kicking in. J still has his moments, but even he is making great progress toward the new norm. They are both so different than the little ones we brought home four months ago, and I can't wait to see what changes await us in the coming months.