Month of April: Easter, William's First Haircut, Erin and Sara Visit, and Much More!

On the plate:  Really yummy fried egg breakfast sandwiches courtesy of my creativity and cravings.

Soundtrack to cook to:  Silence!!  No cooking in the house...the smell of it made me sick to my stomach.  :-(

Woo hoo!!  I've made it to the month of April!  I still wasn't feeling completely great and my "morning sickness" was really an afternoon/evening sickness (kind of like when I was pregnant with William).  So, I had most of my energy in the beginning of the day and tried to do as much as possible before I would start to feel crummy around 3 p.m. until bed time.
We had a busy month of visitors and did lots of activities this month.  There's never a dull moment in our household.  :-) 

Happy Easter 2015!!  I wasn't on my A game this year, so I didn't go above and beyond, and cooking in the house made me soooooo nauseous.  So, unfortunately this year, I did not cook an Easter brunch and I did not cook a Passover dinner.  I barely had enough energy to fill the Easter eggs. 

Here's the boys on Easter morning with their baskets
courtesy of the Easter bunny and Grandpa and Mama B.
Thanks Mom and Dad!

The boys hunting for Easter eggs.

After looking through their Easter baskets, the boys began their Easter egg hunt.  Unfortunately, there was still some snow on the ground and the grass was kind of muddy, so the boys had their egg hunt indoors.

Oscar was very curious as to what the boys were collecting
in their baskets.

Oscar likes to help.

There goes William!

There goes Alex!

They were so excited!

"Peek a boo!"

Happy Easter 2015 from the Franses men!

Later that afternoon, Alex and Joseph dyed some Easter eggs while William was napping.

Alex, dying the Easter eggs.

William woke up so we let him do one with some assistance.

Once the eggs dried, the boys decorated the eggs with some Minion stickers.

Look at that concentration :-)

We started off with six eggs, but one of them got knocked over
almost immediately and cracked.  :-/

Our happy boys with their Minion eggs.

Our Minion Easter eggs!  Aren't they cute?  You can tell
which one William decorated (the one at the far right).
Alex decorated the rest.

The boys goofing around.  Oooh boy...this William
is a cheeky one.

Joseph and the boys, ready to watch a 4D movie at Lego Land.
(Clearly one of our favorite places to visit.)

William and Oscar having a sweet, brotherly moment.  :-)

One afternoon, I dropped Alex off at school and took William to the mall to walk around.  He was acting pretty groggy, so I put him in the stroller.  About 10 minutes into our mall trip, I looked down at him and found him like this:

The little guy was out cold!  I had a lovely 1 1/2 hour
quiet visit to the mall.  It was wonderful and William was
rested and played nicely the rest of the afternoon

At the beginning of April, Joseph's parents came back for a quick visit because Elias' sister Nellie and her daughter Mary were visiting the states.  They made the trek to see Nelly's son Ilias who is going to grad school at MIT.  We had a lovely visit that was full of Boston sight-seeing and lots of good food.  The boys loved having so much family around!

Elias, Linda, Nellie, Mary, Joseph, and Ilias hanging out at our house.

Me and William having a swinging good time!
The weather was finally starting to improve.

Our cool dudes modeling their darling jackets that they
got from Joseph's aunt Roula and uncle Simakis.
Thanks so much for the jackets!  They were perfect for
the breezy spring weather and the boys got so many compliments.

Little Weewum, playing around in the basement with
a mouth full of food.  Gotta love this guy!

While Alex was in school one afternoon, William and I ventured to the Watertown public library.  They have a really great children's section.  William insisted on carrying the bag of books that afternoon to check out.

This guy is little and determined.  He loves to have
jobs and help out.

With the weather getting better and better, Joseph decided that he wanted to kick a soccer ball around with the kids one afternoon.  Here they are playing on the island across from our house:

This is about the closest thing we've got to a "yard."
The boys loved chasing the ball around and playing
keep away.  I hadn't kicked a ball around in ages.

Joseph and the boys out for a stroll.

My appetite was finally starting to improve and for some reason, the baby was waking me up in the mornings craving artisanal fried egg sandwiches.  Since my nausea didn't kick in until the afternoon/evenings, I decided to make breakfast my biggest meal of the day.

A fried egg seasoned with salt, pepper, and herbes de Provence,
served alongside some crispy, pan fried prosciutto di parma,
sharp white cheddar, and fig preserves on a toasted whole wheat bagel.

It was a little creation of mine that was absolutely heavenly.
The perfect combination of salty and sweet.
*This would have also been awesome with some peppery arugula!*

Another afternoon, William and I met our friend Shikha and her son Rohan out for a snack and a romp around the playground.

Here was my cute snack date that afternoon.

William found a little car at the playground an
enjoyed sitting in it and turning the wheel.  He didn't
feel it was necessary to move it around or anything.
What a funny guy!

Fried egg sandwich number 2!
A fried egg seasoned with salt, pepper, and herbes de Provence,
uncured turkey pepperoni, sharp white cheddar, and yellow mustard
served on a toasted pretzel bun.

Wowy kazowy!!  So flipping delicious!

*Again, this would have been great with some fresh spinach or arugula,
but I didn't have any at the time.*

One of our morning excursions brought us to the New England Aquarium.  We typically walk around and see all of the exhibits and then have lunch at Legal Seafood's (my favorite part of the trip).

Alex, making his best fish face to show me what one
of the fish looked like.

Joseph had an overnight shift, so if we can't face time with him or call him to say a quick, "Good night," I try to send him a picture of us.

Me and the boys doing a night time snuggle.

Woo hoo!  On April 18, Joseph and I ran the B.A.A. 5K in downtown Boston.  The first time I ran it, I was 10 weeks pregnant with William.  Then, I ran it last year as part of the B.A.A. Distance Medley challenge.  This year, I ran the 5K with Joseph when I was 15 weeks pregnant with baby number 3!
Since I got into running this past year, a 5K wouldn't have been too big of a deal.  But let me tell ya something, the 5K with a 15 week old fetus was quite the challenge!
It was so great to be able to run this alongside Joseph again.  He was such a trooper, too!!  He had just met me in the Common after having worked an overnight and was literally running on no sleep.
I'm proud to say that I finished the B.A.A. 5K in 29 minutes and 54 seconds.  Not too shabby for not running for three weeks, and being nauseous and pregnant!  :-)

Me and Joseph, getting ready to run the 5K.

I wanted to show off my 15 week baby bump. :-)

Woo hoo!  We did it!  *Phew!*  That was not easy.

Me with my 5K finisher medal, baby bump, and swag.

An hour after the run, Joseph went home to sleep and I took the boys to a birthday party.  Thankfully I wasn't too sore and enjoyed watching the boys run around and bounce.

William and Alex firing some foam balls at another kid.

Mommy and William selfie because William didn't
feel like jumping around in the bouncy houses with the big kids.

After the birthday party, I took the kids to Pinkberry for a little treat (and also to keep us out of the house while Joseph was trying to sleep).

Alex and Mommy selfie at one of our favorite places.

William loves Pinkberry, too!

Whenever we get in the car, the boys always want to bring one toy with them.  William felt like bringing his ninja sword one day.  At least we were safe in the car.  :-p

William was, "Ready to fight da bad guys!"

I started to encourage William to start doing things on his own.  One of these things was taking off his pajamas in the morning and changing into his clothes on his own.

He's starting to get the hang of things.  :-P

Silly William

I wasn't feeling well and was laying down on the rug while the boys
were playing morning.  All of a sudden, I heard a nibbling noise
and looked over to see that Oscar had brought his rawhide
right by my face and set up camp to chew on it right there.
Not a glamorous moment.

With the weather and my condition improving more and more, I decided to take the boys to Drumlin Farm one morning before they went to school.  We packed a picnic lunch and enjoyed walking the trails and seeing the animals.

William Billiam checking out the sheep.

The boys were so tickled by the sheep sounds.

The boys checking out the chickens.

Alex trying to pull the same amount of weight that a pony does.

Hay ride time!

From week 6 to week 14 of the pregnancy, the taste of water made me so nauseous.  (I know it sounds crazy, but it's true.)  I was starting to become dehydrated, so I had to try out a new liquid each day to see what I could tolerate.  I discovered that lemonade didn't turn my stomach, so one night, I got a little crafty and made myself a mocktail!!  Here's my version of a "Mock-jito."

Half a glass of lime seltzer, half a glass of fresh-squeezed lemonade,
and some muddled mint leaves served on ice.

So refreshing and so delicious!!

Cooking in the house was still out of the picture because of my nausea, so I took the boys to Friendly's for lunch one day.  I introduced them to mozzarella sticks (I was craving them).

William, gobbling up some mozzarella sticks.

Alex and William were so tickled that the cheese was
so stretchy and long!

Oscar tucked himself under the covers.  He's a funny dog.

I love to snuggle with this guy!  He prefers to be
the "little spoon."

One afternoon, Joseph and I took the boys to Toro (an AWESOME tapas restaurant) for lunch.  The boys behaved so well and ate all of the delicious, gourmet tapas that we had ordered.

The handsome Franses men, ready for lunch.

Alex loooooved the white anchovies and William liked
the salt cod fritters.  We loved that they had such healthy
appetites and were willing to try new things.

Our furry little friend never leaves my side.  He's
a little high strung but so loving.  :-)

Woot Woooooot!!!  One of Joseph's and my favorite musicians is Ben Folds and we were so thrilled to find that he was performing in Boston!  On April 24, we got a babysitter, had a lovely dinner, and got right by the stage at the Royale to see his awesome performance.

Me and Joseph ready to "Rock this Bi@%$!" (one of his songs).

Look how close we were!

Then he got even closer to encourage an audience
sing along.

It.was.awesome!

On April 26, William's hair was finally long enough to warrant a hair cut!  We took him to Snip-Its for his first hair cut (at the age of 2 1/2) and he was beyond excited!

William grabbed a broom and started sweeping the
floor of the store while we were waiting.

The back of his hair.  Bye bye beautiful, wispy, baby hair!

Our fuzzy little chick, ready to get his first hair cut!

He sat so nicely in the chair and loved every minute of it.

He was such a trooper!

The big boy was very excited to get a lollipop at the end.

Ta-daaaaa!!  Lookin' sharp after his first hair cut.

Hey there, cutie patootie!

Pregnant lady problems.  At 17 weeks pregnant, I quickly grabbed a shirt out of my closet one morning, got dressed, and took the kids downstairs to have breakfast.  I noticed that my shirt was a little on the snug side and felt a slight breeze at the bottom of my belly.  I checked myself in the mirror and saw the following view:

Yeeahhhh, I think that by 17 weeks pregnant, it was
time to graduate to wearing maternity t-shirts.
HA!  Not very attractive under belly view.  :-/

HA!!!  Another "claaaassic William" moment.  He's
such a funny kid.

"Mommy!  I'm strong like da Hulk!"

"Don't.make.me.angry!  Grrrrrr!"

Alex singing his "Chiquita Banana" song that he

was preparing to sing for a school play.

From April 29 to May 3, my super awesome college friends Erin and Sara visited for a whirlwind of a weekend!  Each day was packed with activities full of Boston sight-seeing, eating great food, and lots of much-needed catching up.  It was so wonderful to see them and reminisce about old times.  Love you ladies!! 

One of the things Sara wanted to do was to watch a
Red Sox game.  We made our way to Fenway to watch
the Red Sox play the Yankees!  We couldn't believe
that we found great seats for $40 a pop!
Here's Erin and Sara at Fenway.

It was a little on the chilly side, but it was a beautiful night
to catch a game.

Since I couldn't drink beer, I indulged in the concessions!
I loooooove ball park hot dogs.  There's nothing like them.
As soon as we got to our seats, I flagged down a guy and
proudly ate my hot dog.  I was in heaven.  :-)

Woot Woooot!!!

I took a video of the 7th inning stretch to show to the kids.
They've never been to a ball game, and we're planning on
taking them to one this summer.  I wanted to show them
some of the fun things that go on during a baseball game.

Erin and Sara posing with Wally the Green Monster.

After the game, we were still a little hungry, so we headed to one of my favorite places to take visitors:  The Top of the Hub.  It's an incredible restaurant/lounge where they play live jazz music at night, you get a beautiful view of the city, and they serve one of the most amazing desserts I've ever had in my life:  The warm cookie plate.

All it is is a plate full of freshly baked, warm, and gooey
cookies...but mannnnnn is it delicious.  It's completely
soul-warming and decadent.  A delicious treat to enjoy
while looking out at Boston's beauty and listening to live jazz.

That next morning I had to leave the ladies at home (while they recovered - HA!) and I took Alex to one of his friend's birthday parties.  It was a super fun party at this place called "Create-a-Cook" where kids cook their own food by following a recipe and then they get to eat it afterwards.  Alex had a blast!  Happy 5th birthday, Avangeline!!

Alex eating his garlic bread while finishing up
making his personal pan pizza.

While the pizza was baking, he decorated a cupcake.

Woo hoo!  The pizza was baked to perfection!
He was so proud of himself.

Alex digging into his pizza at the party.

He had lots of fun blowing the party blowers at his friends.

His pure joy in this picture is priceless.

Alex dancing around with his buddies while the
guitar player sang a song.

That evening, we hired a babysitter and headed over to the Harpoon Brewery by the waterfront for a tour.  The beer is soooo delicious and they even make their own soft pretzels to serve alongside the beer!

Me and Joseph, ready to go on the tour of the brewery.

Sara, Erin, Joseph, and me in the tasting room.
We got to sample a little bit of everything they produce.
(I had tiny sips of everything.)

Cheers!

Erin, Joseph, and Sara enjoying the beer tasting.

Since we had some time to kill before our dinner reservations,
we decided to sit down at the beer hall, and order some beer
and house-made pretzels.

Holy moly the pretzels were to die for!!  They make
the pretzels with the leftover yeast from the beer production
and cook it in their beer.  Then, they have a variety
of dipping sauces to go along with them.
So.freaking.good!

So good that we got another one to split that was
topped with cheese and had an amazing marinara sauce.

*I'm currently drooling right now.  If you knew how good
these were, you would be, too.*

Sara, Erin, Joseph, and Me at one of our favorite restaurants Empire
later that evening.

That next morning, we started off at Boston public garden and then walked part of the Freedom Trail before we had to drive back home and take the ladies to the airport.

Alex, Joseph, William, Erin, and Sara on the swan boat
in the Boston public garden.

This is one of my favorite places to go to in Boston
and this is definitely one of my favorite views right here.  :-)
Love these guys.

Sara, Erin, Me, Alex, and William amongst the beautiful tulips in the public garden.

Joseph and Alex with the Make Way For Ducklings statues.

Erin and Sara in Quincy Market.

We had lunch at the Union Oyster House, which is the
oldest restaurant in the U.S.

Our last stop was Little Italy where we had to make
a visit to Mike's Pastry to get some cannolis, almond cookies,
and black and white cookies before we went home.

Here's Alex indulging in a black and white cookie.

William enjoyed the other half.

Our handsome little William enjoying the warmer weather.

Alex holding his walking stick and being his happy-go-lucky self.  :-)

By the end of this month, I was finally not-so-nauseous and was starting to feel myself again.  Thank goodness!
It was a great month full of lots of activity and lots of fun with family, and friends who are basically family.  :-)
Until next time...

Love and kisses,
Nikki

P.S.  Look SMACK!  You're famous!  ;-)