news from the black hole

Erm. So perhaps it might seem that we have fallen off the face of the earth. But we haven't. We're here. I've just been a poor blogger of late.

So here's the micro-update, the Lea family newsfeed, in case you've been wondering...

Jeremy is admired and appreciated professionally for all sorts of skills, but back on the home ranch we appreciate him for a different and wonderful skill-set:

Nap-training:

He has found his artistic medium: magentic doodle pads....

And helping Teg find the freshest oranges in our backyard:

We have also been teaching our kids necessary life-skills: like how to slay a giant worm-monster that appears in the living room using nothing but a flimsy foam sword. 

Teg no longer naps during the day, but has a "quiet hour" during which she works on projects by herself while Mommy has her own "quiet hour". Putting her good citrus harvesting skills to use, her quiet hour project one day was to harvest two dozen meyer lemons, bag them using tape, and then make personalized cards and gift bags for us to give to our friends.

 

When we're very, very lucky - we get to play with the Armstrong boys. 

And at other times (like the 2 weeks we were out of commission with colds), we just plays by ourselves with our trusty friend the cardboard box.

 While everyone else is busy with lemons, oranges, boxes, snacks and pirate swords, I am busy growing baby #3. We are at 32 weeks now, and I finally managed to dig out the teeny-tiny things and put them aside so that when baby arrives we have something to dress him/her in.

Occasionally, we try to think of names. We try not to veer into the ridiculous too much with suggestions like Brock (Lea). Or Joachim O Lea.... which, when pronounced, would make a remarkably spanish-sounding avocado-dip.

I try to be careful not to further damage my ligaments (symphysis pubis dysfunction, if you're wondering what I'm talking about). I also found out that I have gestational diabetes today... so no more nightly ice-cream snacks for me, unless I want to hazard having an 11lb baby.

And between all this, we get magical days like yesterday when we headed up to Tahoe IN THE SNOW for a wedding. What a beautiful day: weddings and snowmen - all the things that make my daughters' heart swell with joy.

And cake, which makes Callum's heart swell with joy.

And dancing! Or, in our children's case, something which looks remarkably like a dancing style from the 80's...

and taking a break from the (break) dancing, there was time to build a mini snowman...

 
And one of those ever-so-rare family photos. With almost all of us looking at the camera. With some of us smiling. With none of us covered in mud. And with me holding Callum's arm down so he doesn't have yet another photo with him sucking his thumb....