I've been slacking I know. And since I have pictures galore to share, I'll keep the words brief and the pictures flowing.  

We spent Saturday in Evanston at Gram and PopPop's. Our favorite Iowa cousins were there, and we had a blast! The big kids were treated to an "EL" ride and a trip to the park. And then we had plenty of play time back at Gram's. The girls are already asking how soon we can play with Edward and Daniel again!

The pictures are giving me trouble - so they might not be in chronological order. Sorry. You'll get the general idea.

Quick update about our day today. It was about 40 degrees and rainy/foggy - so what better activity than a trip to the zoo?  Actually it was a perfect day to go - to ZOO SCHOOL!

The Milwaukee County Zoo offers great education classes for kids as young as 2.  Each class focuses on an animal or group of animals and includes art projects, stories, songs, and usually a trip to see the animal and talk with the zookeepers.  Sometimes we wonder if the parents or kids enjoy them more. Chris and I have to take turns going - we enjoy them so much!

Today I took Katherine to "Bunnies" while Maggie tackled "Otters, Turtles and Bears, Oh My!" (at age 5 you can choose to go without a parent.)  We all had a great time - despite the weather!  

Katherine's class allowed her to use shaving cream finger paint, lots of glue, more paint, and plenty of stickers to make a bunny costume and

 a few other bunny projects.. "Tag" the bunny came to the classroom for a petting session, and she got a bunny snack (bunnies eat sticks in the winter, snack was pretzel sticks.)  She's been hopping all day - and went to bed asking when she could go to zoo school again!

Maggie's class focused on life at the river. They talked about River Otters sliding down mud slides and catching fish in their mouths

 (Maggie's most intriguing fact of the day,) bears  that catch fish in the river, and beavers who build houses in the water - and the houses stay DRY!  She made an Otter mask and a large fish - that she could "catch" as an otter.  But her favorite part was going to the small mammal building to see the otters in action. She was able to see the otters being fed, as well as swimming and playing in their tank.  She was very excited to tell me that the 2 otters at the zoo (Oscar and Buddy) are brothers- just like she and Katherine are sisters.   But she agreed that I should not try to feed them fish or make them swim for their food!

Katherine's class is an hour shorter than Maggie's - so we took a stroll through the foggy, cold zoo. Not surprisingly, we saw only a handful of visitors. For the most part it felt like we had the whole place to ourselves.  We spent the most time in the Monkey house.  "MJ and Mahal" the mother/son orangutans put on a great show for us!  Mahal was climbing and swinging all over his  cage, taunting his mother and obviously playing with her.  Katherine thought this was HYSTERICAL!  She was shouting to Mahal and trying to get him to go higher or lower, really thinking he was listening to her!  Then, the zookeeper came out and gave them their morning treats - apples and pears and some other foods.  Katherine was in heaven - she was eating HER snack and Mahal was eating HIS snack!  I asked her if SHE could climb and swing like Mahal, "NO Mommy, cuz I am not a monkey!"  But, a  moment later she piped up, "But if I WAS a monkey - I would be a  great swinger!"

All in all it was really fun, and the added bonus  was the girls were so tired, that they both took great  naps! And so did Mommy!

No good reason for the delay in posting this time. Nothing exciting going on- just surviving this "in between" phase of weather - snow storms, followed by 60 degree days, followed by 2 straight days of 40s and rain. The good news is that the rain has eliminated all of the snow you see in the picture, and the we haven't needed hats and mittens for the last few days. Not that I've packed them away yet - I'm quite positive we'll need them again! 

The girls finished their swimming lessons yesterday. Maggie ALMOST passed 

to the next level, but needs to work on her "front crawl" skills. She also needs to be more serious. Working with teen instructors and having a good friend in the class caused her to be a bit goofy at times.  I agree that this is the level for her at least one more session (probably not until summer.) Maggie spent her last class experimenting with  wearing a life jacket in the water. She had a fun bouncing around without anyone holding onto her. 

Katherine didn't get a "report card" but Daddy reports that she improved on her skills as well - singing songs, splashing, jumping from the side of the pool, and generally having fun.  I think we'll all appreciate a more relaxed pace to our Saturday mornings! It's hard to get everyone up and out the door and into the pool by 830-900!  That is why we did not sign up for the next session - assuming Baby will make her appearance during that time - it would be nearly impossible to coordinate a new baby with swim lessons!

Speaking of baby, I thankfully have nothing exciting to report!  I'll be 33 weeks on Tuesday and all is well. I am apparently getting larger every day. I can't tell you how many different people have remarked about my size in the last week. I actually think I'm  average sized - but since I've been without my winter coat this week, it is much more obvious that I am, in fact, quite pregnant!  Baby has been moving around a LOT. Chris and the girls still enjoy feeling her move, but I think it grosses Chris out when I tell him to watch  the changing shape of my belly.  I'm finding it awesome. It's probably because this is the last time I plan to have all these feelings, but overall I'm really enjoying this pregnancy.  (remind me that I wrote that in a about 2-3 weeks, OK?)

How time flies when you're having fun!  Last week was full of excitement. Tuesday was Chris' birthday. He probably didn't care too much. However, certain members of the family thought this was a most exciting event - and made sure it was celebrated appropriately.The girls are no good at keeping secrets.  So, I saved all the birthday shopping for Tuesday. As soon as Chris left 

for school, we baked his cake, and then left the house by 825 to do our shopping. Each store was more exciting than the one before, and every salesperson learned that it was Daddy's birthday. It was a really fun/cute day.

The best part of the day though, was their insistence that we have a "surprise party" for Daddy.  So, I woke them from naps in time to get set up before he arrived home. They took all of his presents and his frosted cake, and sat in the living room. This offered them the advantage of watching from the 

window to know when he was coming, but also decent hiding - in that he wouldn't see them as soon as he walked in the  door.  The giggles were contagious as we waited with excitement. Chris was certainly surprised when he walked through the house to find us and was bombarded with hugs and shrieks and squeals.  He will tell you it was one of his better birthdays!

The rest of the week was routine. Saturday we braved the winter storm warning and went to swimming class. It was only 5-6 inches of snow - enough to be annoying, but not enough to change any plans.  I will admit, I do feel a little sorry for Maggie by the end of class - she's usually FROZEN and shivering with blue lips.  She actually had trouble getting dressed after class this week because she was so cold!  But she loves swimming and is making progress - what can you do?

On Sunday, Gram and Pop Pop came and Chris and I escaped for the night.  We went  to Lake Geneva - just one night away from the children. The girls didn't even notice we were leaving - they were too busy playing "stairball" with Pop Pop. We enjoyed our time away- we even ate at a real restaurant with no children's menu! But of course we were glad to come home. Maggie was excited that Gram and PopPop got to take her to school, and Katherine decided her favorite part was reading stories with both Gram and Pop Pop.

One last note. Maggie has been spending hours and hours coloring in coloring books for the last few months. She LOVES to color. Yesterday she took out a sketchbook and started coloring her OWN picture. She refused to show it to me until it was all done. It was supposed to be a special surprise.  Finally she let me see - it was "Mommy and her 3 girls." I tried to take a picture of it to share - not sure how well you can see it, but  Mommy in the middle has Maggie and Katherine on either side, and "new baby" is in Mommy's arms. We each have sleeves on our outfits as well. It is  one of her more impressive artistic creations so far.

Happy Valentine's Day from the Seperskys!  It may be just a "Hallmark Holiday" but we decided it was a good reason to have  party.   Maggie invited 2 friends from school, and Katherine invited 1 friend; we had 5 little girls for 2 1/2 hours on Saturday.  It was very simple, but very fun.  Everyone enjoyed pizza for lunch and then cookie decorating for dessert.  They also had fun just playing with toys and games. Maggie brought out some CDs and had an impromptu dance party, and we ended with a civilized coloring session.  

As expected, the post-party let down was dramatic. Maggie cried herself to sleep for a much needed nap after the party, wailing that she never wanted her friends to ever ever leave.  Luckily, we ALL woke in better spirits and enjoyed a lazy Saturday evening together.

Earlier in the week, I was disturbed to see the neighborhood stray cat had a friend on my deck. They were being, um, friendly.  A call to animal control put me on a mission to catch the cats and have them removed. Luckily, we own a large raccoon trap (from our previous house) and had a can of tuna just waiting for this mission.  Chris helped me set the trap and within 3 hours we had our first catch! Unfortunately, it was a raccoon, not a wild cat.  Not willing to dispose of it the way my father would, or to pay the money to have a professional come, Chris bravely released it back to the wild (our backyard.) I haven't tried again - figuring the cats are too smart and the raccoons are too  dumb. I'm working on Plan B.

Finally, in Baby news, I had my 29 week visit this week. Everything is perfectly normal and I'm feeling good. Hooray! I brought the girls with me and they were surprisingly patient when we had to wait longer than expected. A word of caution though - it's not a great idea to play "I Spy" in an OB exam room with curious small children. You may be forced to explain what the pictures are and why the exam table has funny footrests.  

The most exciting part of the appointment was scheduling my repeat C-section. Because of Katherine's dramatic entry to the world, I will most likely have a scheduled C-Section, Tuesday April 21, 2009.  I can't promise  anything though - - neither Maggie nor Katherine arrived as scheduled or planned for - so I'm not holding out much hope that #3 will be cooperative either. Still, it's nice to have a definite end in sight. It is possible that she might be early, but no matter what, she'll be here no later than 4/21!

It's a good thing we cured our Cabin Fever last week - because this week we all have SPRING FEVER! The temperature hit 50 over the weekend and 59 Tuesday (a new record for Milwaukee.)

 The girls have been a little confused by this change in the weather, wondering if it is spring already. "Spring" means many things in our house - new baby is due to arrive in Spring. Katherine's birthday is in Spring. The snow will be gone in Spring. (and darn it, we haven't made a snowman yet, as Katherine is quick to remind!)  I have done my best to be clear that although it does FEEL like Spring, it is not Spring yet - and we will probably have more snow to replace all that has melted. Maybe even enough for that snowman, Katherine!

To celebrate yesterday's amazing temperatures, we took a trip to the Zoo.  We invited our friends from school to go with us. Lauren is Maggie's age and Emily is Katherine's age. We ALL had a blast. Coats were removed within about 10 minutes of our arrival and we spent the morning soaking up the sunshine, admiring the animals, and splashing in every puddle we could find!

After a brief afternoon nap, we were back outside. It was dry enough to enjoy chalk in the driveway, a brief bike ride, and a walk with the strollers (mini-strollers with stuffed animals.)  All the fresh air had the desired effect. The girls were almost too tired for dinner, and were in bed with lights out by 715!  

Sadly, today is cool and rainy - with snow coming overnight.  We won't complain though. We had a taste of spring, and will wait for a month (or 2 or 3) for the real thing!

A passive aggressive reminder from my youngest sister is inspiring this post. I've been trying all week - but interruptions or writer's block seem to get in the way.  Honestly, the week was nothing exciting. The big adventure was Thursday - going to an indoor playground for  a couple hours to beat the 'Cabin Fever' that was plaguing us.  The girls had a BLAST  and love to tell everyone they meet that they went "to the park......the INSIDE park!"

It was warm today - 50 degrees. We made the most of the day. The girls and I took 2 walks; not too far, but it was nice to be out. Chris and I managed to remove the Christmas lights from the front of the house. We pulled them down to avoid using a ladder!  We also cleaned out the garage a bit, moved snow and chopped ice - to encourage the melting snow and ice to travel AWAY from the house!

The other major project of the weekend (because what's a weekend without a major project?) was painting the office/baby's room.  This turned out to be a MUCH BIGGER event than planned. The painting wasn't too bad (says Chris, who did the actual painting.) But we happily discovered that although the network computer equipment DOES need to remain in the room, it does NOT require the large desk to remain. So the desk was taken apart and carried to the basement.

But what to do with the space? After MUCH discussion, we agreed that putting a twin bed would offer possible overnight guest space, possible tired mommy space (midnight feedings) and was the eventual plan anyway.  After even more discussion, we agreed to change the big girls' room (AGAIN) and bunk their beds, and move Maggie's current bed into the baby's room.

It was quite an undertaking, but it was all completed by 7pm, even with a stop to enjoy a full turkey/stuffing dinner.  Now the girls are chatting happily - very excited about their new beds. And the baby's room is practically ready for  her arrival.   However, I'm just as happy to wait a few more weeks (like 10) to make use of that room!