We survived the picture taking marathon yesterday! Hooray! It all went very smoothly even though we only had about two minutes to change Accalia's dance costumes and hair. The older girls that help out with class do such a great job, too, and that makes a huge difference. I was so glad to have Cory at home with Cole and Ella, though, because there's no way I would have been able to move as quickly as I did.

One of the moms with a girl in Accalia's ballet class was there with her three-year-old son, and she was in an awful mood. She was constantly scolding/yelling at her son to be still, which is really helpful in a crowded dance studio with kids and parents all over but also understandable that the son wanted to run all over with the big, open spaces in parts of the studio. Cole and Ella would have wanted to do the same thing if they were along. Then, when we were all crowded in the small changing room and I was helping Accalia into her soccer uniform, this mom was there yelling at her son to be quiet, yelling at her daughter that she was nearly nine and old enough to put a sock on by herself and yelling at both of the kids that she couldn't talk to Daddy on the phone when they were both talking to her. Then she asked them what they wanted to eat for lunch. I'm thinking it would have helped out a lot if they had been able to eat before getting pictures taken since it was past 1 p.m. at that point.

I've known this mom since Accalia started dance and her oldest was in the same class as Accalia. At that point she had two girls and was such a different person in public. Now, whether it's the addition of a third child, that the third child is a boy who seems to have quite a different temperament than his sisters, or whether it's something completely unrelated to the children, she's definitely changed. That's what happened a little after our sister-in-law Shannon had her third. It honestly sent her over the edge a bit, and I think that - at the time - they would have liked to reverse their decision to add on to their family. There have been times this pregnancy where I've wondered how well I'll be able to parent four children, especially when there are days where I feel as if I'm definitely not up to par. Of course, I also had those thoughts when I had just one child and then two children.

Anyway, back to pictures...

Accalia was so relieved to make it to her soccer pictures on time, and I think that's what she was most worried about missing. Of course we ended up parking on the wrong side of the huge park since they hadn't told us where the pictures would be taken. How hard it is to say the east side near the middle school? We ran about half way, but I had to slow down to a walk, me being pregnant and out of shape.

Cory did have to work yesterday afternoon and evening. The kids and I went on a walk, went to two parks and hung out in the backyard during much of that time. It was such a nice day yesterday. Today is supposed to be even warmer, but I wonder what will happen since it's been cloudy and overcast since I woke up. The first warm days of spring are always a great time for the kids because everything outside is new to them again. The swingset, sandbox, all of the outdoor toys - it's as if they're going to a different park each day.

Right now Cory is doing a bit of grocery shopping. It's so nice to have a week where the kids and I aren't going out and doing that. He'll probably be home soon. I think I'll see if the kids want to get dressed and have something to eat.