May 7 = Rosie Visits USNA Day

Zachary went into work for a few hours today and took Miss Rosie with him... she was well received.

Looks like the coolest cat in the world, our Joey, is adjusting well.
 

Also... Rosie likes to sleep.

February 28 = Holding Hands Day

In my last post I shared a picture with a quote that made me think of Malia... today's is one for adults. 

I've had this exact thought before when I make the kids a beautiful plate for breakfast with strawberries, blueberries, cheese, oranges, bananas... and then I grab a pack of crackers on the way out.  This was a good reminder that I need to take care of myself too in order to take the best care of my babies.

So yesterday I worked on my yoga teacher training.  I'm doing a "distance learning" program so that, unlike last time I attempted this, I don't have to devote a full weekend each month- it's just not realistic for us.  So Zachary took the kids to the gym so that I would be able to concentrate.  On the way out, he learned how unmanageable they can be when you're by yourself.  So he did something super smart- told them they had to hold hands.  And they did!  He took a video of it and showed me because he knew I'd have to see it to believe it.  But today I snapped this picture of my three loves holding hands- how sweet!

Later, we had some senior midshipmen over for dinner- lasagna.  We played Apples to Apples which made me really happy.  It was really fun- the kids were great- the midshipmen are so good with them.  It was a great day!

December 13 = Last Mid Dinner Day

Today was the last dinner we had for the mids and it was my favorite!  But I'm getting a little ahead of myself.  Zachary gave Daisy a bath so that she'd be enjoyable to play with- these mids love Daisy.  She was super cold even after he dried her off really well so we put her coat on and bundled her up in a blanket- she got so warm she fell asleep.

We've become pros at providing a taco bar for lots of people so that's what we did again.  This was my favorite dinner yet because it was the company leadership that came over and so I've met most of them and they actually had conversations with me so I felt like instead of just being the childcare provider and making sure everything was well stocked, I was a part of the group!

Later, we put Malia to bed and Daisy stood watch outside her door.  She quickly became an important member of our family!

November 1 = Midshipmen Dinner Day

We've hosted a few midshipmen dinners at this point but today was exciting because Zachary's chief hosted it at his house- we were just responsible for a dessert.  So we enjoyed watching football and relaxing on this beautiful Sunday.  The cats had a good day too:

When we did head to Chief Sawyer's house, were greeted at the door by Rex and Malia was in heaven.

Then Emily and Ty helped entertain Malia- she loved this bean bag/couch thing.

And they had a chalkboard wall which both kids loved.

Soon after the midshipmen got there, Malia made it very clear that she was mad.  Mad about what, I do not know but she and I went to the car and I ate the dessert we made and she ended up falling asleep.  She gets tired when she's mad.  Once we got home, it was bedtime and Zachary and I enjoyed a night of catching up on some tv in our "adult cave" downstairs.

October 25 = Rugby Day

Zachary has a couple girls in his company on the rugby team.  We went to the guys' rugby match yesterday but we got the times mixed up and ended up going to a match that none of his guys were playing in.  But we got this one right and we had lots of fun.  I tried to get Malia to wear a headband- she wasn't happy about it.

We packed lunch and grabbed some lunch in case the packed lunches didn't work- which they didn't- and brought the picnic blanket out.  I'm telling you- this picnic blanket has been such a great investment. 

Later, we came home and hosted the next midshipmen dinner!  Malia found her a guy willing to hold on to her.

And Liam found some gals to hang out with.

October 4 = Midshipmen Dinner #2

I slept in this morning- woohoo!  While I was down, Zachary did some rearranging and moved the bed Liam never uses down from his room to the playroom- Malia was a fan.

But then it was time for work!  We had lots of midshipmen coming over again and lasagna was on the menu tonight.  We made five lasagnas and it was a pretty good amount for some hungry "kids."  I don't feel quite qualified to call them kids but whatever.  

Again, Malia worked her way into getting some attention.  She brought the Mickey Mouse tin that holds all the little characters Liam got in his birthday present from Uncle Matt & Grace and the guys helped her open it and encouraged her as she took them all out and put them all back in and closed it for her and repeated this several times until she was bored of it and found something else to do.  Sass.