March Madness (of another kind)

We are having a bit of a blogging slump. Sometimes one is swimming along gracefully through life, looking at the sky meditatively with each stroke and breathing rhythmically. Sometimes, one is dog-paddling for dear life. This past week or so has been a bit closer to that last end of things.

So we have no pictures of Grandma and Grandpa Grunert's visit, which is both shocking and ridiculous. They visited from Wednesday through Saturday and had a lovely romp with their grandchildren, also enabling Jon and me to go on TWO dates (TWO), one for fro-yo and one to see The Hunger Games, like everyone else in the world. And yet. No pictures.

No pictures of the gorgeous International Street Fair we attended on Saturday, with all the color, texture, and variety there. I wish I could have taken all of you with me to sample food from all over the world, hear music, see dancing, juggling and other cultural demonstrations, and learn about the diversity represented at Virginia Tech. But I don't even have pictures.

I don't even have pictures of Palm Sunday, in which I dressed Adele (and Miles) to the nines and we marched around the church with palms upheld. Heck, I couldn't even hold the prayerbook and hymnal, much less a camera.

We've had a daycare kerfuffle, you see. Miles and Adele have enjoyed being cared for in our home by dear Miss Caroline, but she had to move on (she's getting married soon, too!) and we have been through a couple of options and last-minute changes. This has stressed me out a bit, because if there's anything more mommy-guilt inducing than leaving your kids with someone else, it's fearing you won't be able to find someone to do it. It's no one's fault, mind you, just an unfortunate coincidence that led to a small frenzy.

Fortunately, we have found a wonderful in-home daycare, new to the kids, where Miss Jessie will be caring for the kids in the company of just a handful of other tots and several very kid-friendly animals, including two macaws!! I have it from Papa that Miles ran delightedly into her house today and didn't look back. We shall see how Adele responds when she wakes up in a new place...

In the meantime, a few shots of my treasures:

Everyone wants to take care of these two, of course. But not everyone can. They tried to raffle themselves off to the highest bidder, but I shut them down.
 

"What? I'm just holding her tenderly by the neck. It just looks like a hostage situation. So when am I going to get another cookie, again?"

"I guess she's okay, for a girl."

"But I'm still the favorite kid, right??"

"Okay. We can both be the favorites."

Anytime someone is in the market for childcare, this song pops into my head and plays on repeat. So I thought I'd give you the opportunity to join me in my madness! "The Perfect Nanny" from Mary Poppins. Enjoy!