Eggs & Such

Oh boy am I behind on all-things blogging.
And holy cow: Tomorrow.Is.May!  (Cue mini-reality-check-breakdown.)

Easter was fantastic - even with ridiculous amounts of rain. And Josie's wacko-virus that spread like wild fire through the youngest Schneiders & Austins.

There were eggs. And baskets. And matching outfits. And cuddles. And huge smiles at our hilarious crew of four little ones.  And here are the photos to prove it.

 Thanks to everyone for making the trip to Cincy!

 And yes...we are still finding Lyla's eggs...everywhere!

Big & Little Meet & Greet

Big & Little Sisters in Big & Little T-shirts:

Our dear friend Kelly hosted a "Big & Little Meet & Greet" to welcome Baby Beatrice into the world and to welcome Josephine into big sisterhood. It was the perfect afternoon with family, food, and friends old and new. There was a house full of smiling, giggling and cooing little ones and the whole mood was just pure joy.  Here are some of my favorite photos from the day!

Big & Little Cupcakes:

And Big & Little Food:

With Big & Little Flowers:

Big & Little Cuddles:

Big Adventures:

...And little friends:

And the BEST Friends...

Big Smiles:

 And one little stinker (who had five cupcakes because she asked five different people for one):

Oh and BIG LOVE:

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! to everyone who made it out to the party, everyone who helped make it fabulous and to our super duper amazing hostess Kelly! LOVE YOU MAMA!

Two beautiful (albeit sick) little girls

Just a quick note to check-in. Josephine and Beatrice are both sick. Well...to be exact Josie is recovering from "the cough" that started on Friday but rages on and Bea is recovering from "the fever" that started yesterday and seems to be losing speed today.
It was a really fantastic (but way too short) Easter weekend with a full house of family, complete with loads of photos that will eventually make it to the blog. In the meantime, I thought I'd share these cute snaps of the girls today to let you all know that - even with this nasty nasty virus - our girls are still smiling.

EWH Easter Egg Hunt

Sure it was soggy and the rain was coming down in buckets. And sure there was thunder and lightning. But there were new neighbors to meet and neighborhood friends to see... Plus two very excited little girls eager to hunt for eggs. So we walked down the block to join our neighbors at the beautiful Valentine house where we were once again reminded that we live in the best neighborhood ever.
So far it has been very wet weekend. Lots more to come from this Schneider-Austin-Johnson Easter so stay tuned.

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Mother of two: Aerial view

Josie is sick sick sick, or in her words "too awful to even lay down." It has been a little tricky this morning, but J finally agreed that cuddling with my leg would suffice while B hung out on the opposite "no cough zone" shoulder.
Germs have the worst timing! Let's hope they at least have enough manners not to spread past Josie onto her little sister, parents, grandparents, cousins, tio & tia this weekend!

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A peek at Montessori

Truthfully it is a bit shocking that I got all the way through a Bachelors, Masters and Doctorate in education with nothing more than a mere mention of Montessori methods along the way. I taught in the public schools for six years and assumed that is how we would educate our own children. However, when it came time to find a preschool for Josephine, we quickly realized there was a better option for her. Like so many other things, learning styles are unique and varied. And what works best for one child would be disastrous for another. For Josie, it is her meticulous nature and strong sense of curiosity coupled with our goals for her confidence and independence that make Montessori the perfect fit for our family.  Her first year in preschool is winding down, and we has been such a joy to watch her thrive in this environment.

These photos are from the Family Work Day. We were all invited to school on a Sunday to have our kids share a typical work cycle with us.

Continents on the World Map

Rolling up her mat before moving on to her next work

Bea snoozes with class pet Carrot the Bunny

Math work, in this case "counting to infinity" according to Josie

Setting up some work in the Practical Life Area

Silver Polishing

This video shows Josie doing some sensorial work with the smelling bottles. I filmed her from behind the two-way mirror last week during an observation visit.


And I must say that opening her backpack each day is one of my favorite things. It is the best invitation a parent can give child: "Tell me about this." Yesterday I found wadded up fabric at the bottom of her bag and she proudly revealed it was her handmade spacesuit. Here is her explanation.


What a wonderful gift Montessori methods (which can be put to use by any educator or parent) give to children  - time to be free to explore their own curiosities and work independently in an environment that is set up for exploration and discovery!

Six weeks old...

...and still sleeping quite a bit.

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A peek inside the six-week postpartum mind

*Photo

A lot has certainly changed in the past six weeks. In some ways, I can't believe six whole weeks have already passed. And in others, I feel like Beatrice has been here with us forever.

Rather I shared it with anyone or not (did I?!) I gave myself the first six weeks with the goal of just "being" with Beatrice and not worrying too much about what was coming next. I wasn't totally true to that promise to myself (sure I've been a little stressed all along) but now that the real six week mark is here, I've got to get my head out of the sand about a few things.

 I've got to figure out when I'm going back to work, figure out the best childcare arrangement/schedule for the girls for the summer and find a long-term childcare solution (in the form of a new nanny). Then there's the promise for a swingset for Josie which is going to require MASSIVE yard renovations first (do you think people would honestly show up with shovels in hand if we promised pizza and beer?) and also the vegetable garden (oh no, maybe I should've been reading gardening books while on bedrest).  And then there's the personal stuff - the in-between sizes post-natal clothes fiasco and major hormonal changes that have turned my skin into something very closely resembling a teenage boy just hitting puberty.  Sprinkle in the obligatory dose of mama-guilt we all experience for lots of reasons that we know we shouldn't but just do anyway and well, I'm sorta kinda an absolute freaking mess at the moment.  Picture your best toddler tantrum and that's what is brewing. Really, I just feel like putting my hands on my hips, stomping my feet and yelling "You can't make me!" to the world right now. Luckily, I remember this with Josie and know that this too shall pass.  (Oh and poo - just realized I need to schedule my six week postpartum doctor's appt. Add that to the list.)  So, I'm clearly venting but that's what happens at 2pm when I just ate breakfast and have yet to brush my teeth. And alas I am blogging instead of hopping in the shower so - ha - I have no one to blame but myself.  I guess I just had to get all of this out of my system. So, there it is. Phew! I feel better and now I can move back toward my happy place. Bea is sleeping soundly and I better at least get out of my pajamas before it's time to go get Josie Posie from school.  No one said it was easy, but it's definitely all worth it.

Six Weeks and Smiling

Little Beatrice sure has come a long way in six short weeks from that first "Meet Beatrice" video of her just beginning to open her eyes and take a look at the world. Now she's a shiny happy six week old. Enjoy!