"Yes, Lewis."

Thursday is donut day (actually, now it’s every other Thursday). I pick up Art and his friends Ben and Si from preschool (and Evva, her brother Oscar and nanny Kersten often join us, too). I think it’s one of those experiences that, in their smaller world, is just a really big fun deal. DONUT DAY!

wearing goggles to prevent lots of crying while cutting onions. Sorta foggy though…

Jessica smartly uses a single bath to clean all four little bodies in our house (she has a certain confidence I lack when it comes to holding slippery babies). She will put the babies in as Art and Lew play and they’ll help pour water over the girls. It’s fun and chaotic and a very good use of a water. I think this is Netta.

I often tell people that the only way I keep my sunny disposition
while caring for the twin babies AND the preschool-age boys is with
LOTS OF HELP. I never refuse help. I make a habit of accepting all
offers to hold a baby, load the dishwasher, change a diaper… In
fact, I try to hold babies as little as possible whenever I have
guests and I have yet to spend an entire day alone with four of my
children.Well, today was a patchwork day of me plus Lewis and girls, me and
just girls, all four kids with just me and my cousin with all four
kids and me and I would say I fared just ok. This was oing to be a
sob story post about how all i did today was nurse and nurse and nurse
and nurse (supply is apparently low because those girls have been
nursing all the time and when i got so sick of nursing and gave them a
bottle they each took at least three ounces, proving that I am behind
and need to ramp it up!) but in retrospect I did a lot more than I
thought. I managed to get two loads of laundry put away. I made a
batch of chocolate chip cookies and and nice glazed pork chop dinner
with roasted squash. I emptied the dishwasher. I loaded the
dishwasher. I washed the diaper covers. I set up the boys for
painting and put away yesterday's awesome train track and I even drove
Lewis to the Y to meet Ben and Art.I shed a few tears when the girls woke up only ten minutes into their
nap for the third time, but Netta got herself back down and I nursed
Bailey back to sleep long enough to get 10 minutes of shut eye myself.
So, all in all, not a bad day for this stay at home mom. Good job,
Jess.–
Jessica

They just sent us these. A couple times they watched all four kids, a (mostly) lovely chaos.

My father Tim and his wife Cynthia visited last week from North Carolina. It was a long scheduled trip meant to overlap the three days I was out of town shooting a wedding. Cynthia, a homemaker extraordinaire, was really helpful around the house, with babies and great company for Jessica.

But as Jessica wrote me a couple times while I was away, my father and Arthur especially seemed to be establishing a real connection and friendship during the visit. Papa did puzzle after puzzle with Art, he wrestled with the boys just as he did a gazillion times with my brother and I as kids, and Papa and Cynthia took the boys to the Mall of America for a couple rides (and big deal for the Art and Lew). It warmed my heart thinking of Art and Papa getting to know each other better and for Arthur to be getting so much undivided attention from his Grandpa. They’re two of the most important men in my life!

The day before their flight back to North Carolina we had planned a Chinese feast (cooked by Jess and Cynthia) together with my brother and his wife all together at our house. But Papa and Cynthia had to suddenly leave a day early to avoid the big snow storm. And I think the person most disappointed was Art. He knew he was going to miss his good friend and playmate Grandpa Tim!

I finally had some time during my short trip (to Los Cabos, Mexico to photograph a wedding) to edit a little video from our August 2010 trip to the Meher Baba Center in South Carolina. It’s especially nice to remember the warmth and peace we found there in the midst of another big-ass snow storm.