Good news and a trip to Costco

Brandon was offered an externship at the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office this summer! We are SO excited that we get to stay in Portland for the whole summer! I'm also excited that Brandon won't be tied to his law books, and will be able to hang with us on week nights and weekends. Woo hoo! Looking forward to this summer is the only thing getting me through today. I was seriously hating law school this morning....until baby Kate reminded me that life is good. Really good. :) 

I've got sweet, smart, cute kids and a very supportive (but extremely busy) husband. We've got money for food and endless opportunities for creative play. Life is good. 

We went to Costco today and Amelia only had to have one time out, in the cereal aisle. She's got some sass, that girl. But she's also pretty sweet. See?

During our trip we came across some sunglasses for Brandon. We weren't sure if they'd be fashionable enough for him, so we tried them on...just to make sure. 

Amelia is the real fashionista of the family. Do you see that outfit? Footie pajamas, leopard vest and Hello Kitty rain boots. That's an Amelia original right there, folks. 

Health issues

After extensive testing, it turns out that I don't have an ulcer. In the past month I've had a lot of tests run to determine the cause of all my pain, and they're still not sure what's going on. I've had countless blood tests, IVs, an X-ray, ultrasound, CT scan, endoscopy, colonoscopy, urine tests, stool tests, and lots of doctors appointments. The good news is that most of the scary bad stuff has been ruled out, but the bad news is they don't know what's going on. 

I suspect food allergies. I've lost 15 lbs in the past few weeks because my diet has been dramatically scaled back. I ate soup, bread and applesauce (nothing else) for two weeks straight, and noticed a drastic (positive) change. I've been slowly adding new foods into my diet. Through trial and error, I've learned that sugar, eggs and dairy make me extremely sick. I'm hoping to have one more blood test to verify this and test for other allergies next week. 

Because of all my health issues, we decided to start Amelia in preschool this week, and she loved it. She goes twice a week for 4 hours, and has a great time. Here I am walking her in on her first day. 

It's a French immersion school, meaning they only speak French, and it doesn't bother Amelia at all. She told me today "teacher Joelle says BONJOUR AME-LEE-AH!" They do ballet class, music class, computer time and lots of arts & crafts. It's a really neat school, and is only 5 minutes from our house. 

Having one on one time with Kate is great, and it gives me a chance to recharge. I have more energy to devote to creative projects and healthy meals cooked at home. Today we painted push lights to look like planets:

Made a boat, dressed up in our swimsuits and went sailing in the ocean:

And took a class at Gymboree.

It's been a good day so far. Having to wake up early for preschool has been rough, but having a routine is awesome. The girls are adjusting very well.