1) spring sports. Cece's developmental basketball team finished the season with a bang at a tournament held by a local school. the third grade team is comprised of such sweet girls and I'm excited to see them continue to grow together! their last practice was a scrimmage between parents and girls which was hilarious. I played for just a few minutes and managed to double dribble which earned me a talking-to from the coach, to the intense amusement of all the kids (and the censure of Cece, who told me later, "Mommy! you KNOW better!").
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| besties after winning their semifinal consolation game |
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| Elizabeth can't wait for her turn on the court! |
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| a lot of these parents were really good!! I provided the comic relief |
no sooner did basketball end than developmental volleyball began. with practice from 3:30-5 PM, my friends and I quickly devised a carpool plan to pick the girls up from school and get them to the gym, and then pick the girls up after practice and drop them at home. I'm so thankful for this village! and the carpool driving had me literally laughing out loud every single time. these girls are so funny and I just loved overhearing snippets of conversation about their school day and home life (including a very intense whispered conversation about how babies are born).
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| a typical moment searching for someone's shoes in the back of the van (while safely parked!) |
2) Chicago. when the 2025/2026 Broadway show lineup was announced, I knew I wanted to coordinate with my college besties to come with me to see Chicago! we met up for brunch beforehand (many thanks to Amelia for thinking ahead and securing reservations) and then walked over to the theater. the show was phenomenal. afterwards, we took advantage of the beautiful weather to walk around downtown (our old college stomping grounds), lamenting the demise of the two-story McDonald's from whose top floor we used to people watch.
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| highly recommend Ritual House for a varied menu with plenty of gluten free options |
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| a hanging display of candied bacon and deviled eggs... yes please |
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| pulled pork eggs benedict! I was in heaven |
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| ladies at the theater |
3) baby boy. we went for the anatomy scan at 21 weeks and baby boy is growing right on track! he does have a subtle abnormality with his kidneys -- bilateral urinary tract dilatation -- that is relatively common in boys and tends to resolve in utero as the ureters develop. at least as of now, there is no real cause for concern -- worst case is he may need daily antibiotic prophylaxis after birth and could potentially need minor urologic surgery at some point in the future. everything else looked perfect. and his cute little profile matches his sisters!!
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| footprints! |
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| hi sweetheart! |
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| there's no mistaking that button nose -- he's definitely our child! |
4) siblingette. in light of her upcoming wedding in June, my sister Kira had a stroke of absolute genius and decided to pivot from the traditional bachelorette party to a relaxed get-together with all of our siblings (and significant others) since our siblings (plus her BFF) make up her bridal party. whenever we get together for our annual Geigerpalooza family reunion, my favourite part of the trip is our dedicated sibling time after the kids go to bed. it was HEAVEN to have this entire trip to spend together! my only regret is that Nick wasn't able to join us, between work obligations and, you know, taking care of our children while I was gone. I'm so grateful for his sacrifice but we already all agreed we need to schedule another sibling trip when he can be there too!
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| about to start the seven-hour drive south. I've done this drive solo once before (while pregnant with Victoria!) and fared much better when I split the driving over two days instead of doing it in one straight shot, so this time I booked a hotel room in West Virginia to stay on Monday night and then again on my way back home on Thursday |
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| the Fairfield Inn in Beckley, WV -- not too shabby!! not pictured: my full length body pillow that I stuffed into one side of my suitcase |
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| I arrived at Kira and Patrick's house around lunch time, after stopping for some much-needed chicken and coleslaw at Bojangles, and once the others arrived from their AirBnB down the street we had a toast to the official start of Siblingette! cheers from one half of the room... |
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| ...and from the other! |
Kira and her fiance live in the sweetest small town in North Carolina. the rest of us were continually marveling at how it seems like an honest-to-goodness Stars Hollow a la Gilmore Girls. whenever we walked around town or popped into a bar, a steady stream of people would greet them and ask them how the wedding planning was going. at one point a neighbor knocked on their door in search of a tape measure he had left there a few months prior while doing some work on their house with Patrick's dad (even though neither Kira nor Patrick had ever met him until this very moment).
please note that I say "popped into a bar" as if that could be a spontaneous event. no no ... for as laidback as this soiree was, no major decisions could be agreed upon without a flowchart and vigorous debate over the pros and cons. Exhibit A: the process of selecting which bar to go to for trivia night. we may be crazy but at least we're the same brand of crazy.
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| we all thought the third option was best but Kira fretted that it was too far away to drive there "and should we just stay home so we don't inconvenience people with a long drive?" the rest of us would have none of it. |
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| we were vindicated -- it was SO cute in there and the trivia was super fun! |
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| I told her to "look cute" but took the previous picture before giving any direction. |
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| they had a fantastic selection of cocktails, beers, and mocktails! we did not win trivia but everyone had their chance to shine contributing to specific categories. |
the following day we had more stereotypical bachelorette shenanigans and the unveiling of the much-heralded charc (charcuterie board, the ingredients for which were decisively labeled in the fridge with admonitions not to pilfer them!). then we played several rousing rounds of Bananagrams, and eventually trotted over to the local brewery Four Saints to play more games (Hues and Clues).
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| one of John's winning creations. just incredible |
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| another toast! |
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| turns out the photobomber in the background is none other than their florist for the wedding, because of course she is! (also let it be known that the Four Saints has an incredible selection of non-alcoholic beers -- the dark pour in the pint glass is mine and it was delicious!) |
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| back at the house for more bachelorette shenanigans. |
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| feats of strength. I was happy to remain a spectator |
on Thursday, departures home were staggered throughout the day. I headed out in the afternoon and gotten settled into the same hotel in West Virginia around 7 PM. around 9 PM, Nick called to tell me that the stomach bug had hit our house. ugh, the worst! originally I had planned to spend a leisurely morning at the hotel before checkout the next day, but given the circumstances, I woke up early and was home by 10 AM to provide reinforcements.
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| the most on-brand gas station "graffiti" in Bible belt North Carolina |
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| the saddest little face I ever did see. (and yes... about 72 hours after this picture was taken, I got hit with it too, just when I was on my way out the door to work. needless to say I had to cancel all my patients that day. it was a nasty one!) |
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| I discovered this setup on the couch at one point ("in case Minnie needs to frow up") |
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| Elizabeth documented my work-from-home setup (unbeknownst to me). I was feeling well enough to handle patient messages, lab results, refills, etc -- in fact, it was a good distraction. I just couldn't chance being on a video call when I might need to make a hurried exit to the bathroom. the look on my face is peak pregnant + stomach bug = badness |
bonus round:
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| Cece with her Easter-themed braces colors and Victoria feeling MUCH better! |
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| after Palm Sunday mass. where did my babies go?! |
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| more discoveries on my camera roll |
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| two Broadway shows in one month! the best part of this show was the incredible puppeteer work and acrobats during the circus scenes -- several of the cast members have performed with Cirque du Soleil! |
your turn: what was your bachelorette party like, if you had one? are you close with your siblings? do you have any fun carpool stories to share?
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