Keeping Busy

This past week kept us busy.  We started out with not the best parent moment.  Andrew dropped Jackson off at swim practice Monday after school and a little later I get a call from the Aquatic Center.  It was Jackson and they didn't have practice.  I didn't even think about how they originally weren't supposed to have school and therefore didn't have practice.  Andrew was able to pick him up and took him to the office until I could pick him up after I dropped Ellie off at dance (which she did have).  Tuesday I worked on a couple things for Jackson's upcoming birthday party and then did some office work. The twins were getting impatient with me since I wasn't getting their lunch ready as I tried to finish up the office work.  But Andrew did hold them in his lap while he was eating his lunch and they were pretty demanding of his food.  Another funny thing they have been doing is stealing each other's pacifiers and then putting them back in the other's mouth.  That evening as I started dinner, Lincoln started complaining and becoming really whiny.  He said his belly didn't feel good and so I tried to get him to the bathroom.  We almost made it to the hallway by the bathroom and he threw up.  And then threw up a little more.  We got to the bathroom and he threw up even more.  It was a mess.  And of course this was a night that Andrew said he was going to be home from the office a little late.  I was able to get Ellie to help entertain the twins in the basement and I went to work cleaning everything up and giving Lincoln a bath.  It took over an hour and then I finally got back around to making dinner.  It didn't seem very appetizing though.  Andrew was able to come home a little earlier than he expected and went downstairs with the kids while I finished up dinner.  And Lincoln felt much better and we were all thankful he didn't get sick again.  I did keep him home from school on Wednesday and he managed to stack up some cushions against an end table making it fall over and the lamp fall off.  Thankfully just the light bulb broke and not the whole lamp.  Those lamps have definitely taken a beating.  Bennett just knocked another over today. 

Thursday morning the twins and I did our grocery shopping.  It is a good thing they are both strapped down.  One is in the front of the cart and the other one I put in this portable, inflatable booster seat I got when Jackson was little.  We used it a little for meals while we were on vacations, but it is definitely a great thing for the shopping cart.  I can strap it onto the cart and then strap one of the twins in it.  I do have to move quickly though as they like to start throwing things out of the cart.  Miles was determined that we weren't going to get salad.  He threw it out of the cart several times while I was shopping and then once again after it was already in a bag and I was paying.  When we got home I decided to quickly put together a spring centerpiece for our dining room table. I was able to use some stuff that I had but did buy a few new flowers.  I also downloaded some free printables and cut them out with my Silhouette. 

After lunch, Lincoln and I brought up all of our patio furniture from the basement.  Well, Lincoln held the door open for me while I carried it all.  I considered it my workout for the day. Then after we got that done we made some cookie "muffins" for Jackson's birthday party.  Jackson doesn't really care for cakes or cupcakes and always wants a cookie cake.  I decided to do something a little different this year and made the cookies in mini muffin tins and used them as part of the centerpiece for the table.  Jackson wasn't too sure about all of it, so I had him try one that night and he approved.  He really didn't have a choice though :-).   After we finished up the cookies, we played outside for a little bit before we had to pick up Jackson and Ellie from Little K.  Then we headed to my parents for dinner.  While we were there I started getting a headache and it was not fun by the time we got home.  I don't think it was a migraine, but I was ready to call it a night.  Andrew had just gotten a new phone, so I tried to help him with it a little and then it was time to turn off the lights and the noise.  I was better by the next morning, which was good since we had a birthday party and Daddy Daughter dance to prepare for.  As we were blowing up balloons, Lincoln told me that his favorite thing to do was help.  He is a funny kid. 

After lunch we had to go to the bank to sign some papers because Andrew was refinancing his office.  Lincoln and the twins went with us and I told Andrew that I just knew one of the twins would poop while we were in there.  And yep, about half-way through everything Bennett did.  And they both wanted down and to wander around the office.  We were able to get out of there fairly quickly and without too much of a show.  Then it was time to go home, change some diapers, and put them down for a nap.  Lincoln ended up falling asleep on the couch.  I had to finish up party preparations like setting our snacks and drinks, hang the pinata, put together the cookie centerpiece, and do the chalkboard.  The party was after school and Jackson had six friends over.  Andrew wasn't able to be there, so thankfully my mom was able to come over.  She pretty much kept an eye on the twins during the party.  They kept her busy since they were going in different directions.  And I had my hands full with the party.  They are a rowdy bunch and were ready to go after school. It was great that it was so nice outside.  They were all playing around the basketball hoop so I decided to do a few impromptu games of Knock-Out.  Then it was on to the planned games.  They did a Lego relay where they had to fill up a bucket with Lego pieces they carried on a spoon.  And then we played some Lego bingo.  I also had Legos set out so they could build things if they wanted to (it was a Lego-themed party if I didn't mention that before).  They were just too busy wrestling around to sit down and build stuff.  After the games, Jackson opened presents, did cake time, and finished up with the pinata.  I was happy that we filled up all the time and I think they all had a good time.  One kid did end up with a black eye though-no idea when that happened.  His parents were good with it though I think because they know that they all like to wrestle around.  Jackson deemed the party a success, so I was happy about that.

The party was over around 5 and then Andrew got home around 5:30 and took Ellie out to eat.  He thought things wouldn't be as crowded earlier on and then she could come home and get ready for the dance.  While they were at dinner, I got Miles and Bennett dinner.  Well first they ate some of the cookie muffins while I tried to clean up some of the party mess.  By the time they were done with dinner, they had made an even bigger mess.  Jackson was busy putting together his new Lego creations and Lincoln was outside playing.  And Molly came over to do Ellie's hair.  Ellie gets excited to have other people do her hair besides me.  I painted her finger nails and toe nails while Molly did her hair.  She loved all of it and was beautiful when we were all done.  She was so excited for the dance and getting to go with her Daddy. 

Have to love Miles in the background

Ellie had a great time.  She said at one point they were dancing to "Call Me Maybe" and Andrew started doing some dances moves and she was so embarrassed that she covered her eyes :-).  After some time at the dance, he took her to get some ice cream and then they came home. 

Andrew and Jackson were up early the next morning for youth turkey hunting.  I took my annual 5:30am picture from my bed.  Boy has he grown up from the first one I took.

I got a call around 10:30 from Jackson telling me that he got a turkey.  He was one happy boy and he had a pretty happy dad too.  I guess it weighed around 24 pounds, so it was a pretty big one.

While he was out hunting, Ellie was busy playing.  She played outside pretty much all day.  She played with our neighbor (and her third cousin) Faith.  They played a lot of basketball, rode bikes, splashed around in water from the faucet, layed out in the sun on their towels, and just sat around and talked.  They even had a picnic lunch.  Like I said, she was outside all day.  They sat on our teeter-totter for quite a while just talking.  This was my view while getting dinner ready...

Lincoln helped me inside with getting he and Jackson packed up to go with my parents to Des Moines for the night.  My parents gave Jackson tickets to go see the Harlem Globe-Trotters for his birthday.  The show was on Sunday, but they went up Saturday afternoon to spend some time with Kaitlin, Zane and their kids.  I also put together a park bench my parents got for Andrew for Christmas.  It is to go outside of his office.  Then I tried to clean out the garage yet again in hopes that Andrew would power wash it the next day.  Andrew worked at the office in the afternoon and got home around dinner time.  I made homemade chicken pot pie for dinner.  Andrew and I both like it, but the kids hate it.  I thought since we were down two, it would be a good time to enjoy it without having to worry about one of the kids gagging on it.  I even let Ellie have a peanut butter and jelly instead.  And after we got dinner cleaned up, I ran some errands while Ellie got to watch her Redbox movie.  I did a little grocery shopping and went by the Dollar Tree to get some baskets to put together baskets for the K-Life 3on3 silent auction.  I decided while I was there to go ahead and get toys and stuff to use as prizes for our trip to Florida.  It is still 2 1/2 months away but it is never too early to start preparing.  Once I was done with my shopping, I had to go by the office and set up the online backup for their new computers. 

We went to the early church service on Sunday and then it was time to get some stuff done outside the house.  While I worked on laundry and lunch for the kids, Andrew took everything out of our garage and powerwashed it.  It looks great.  I went back through later with the leaf blower and blew out the cobwebs that had formed on the ceiling and walls and put everything back in and I am happy wiht our garage again.  Andrew's thinks I am crazy though.  But he did take care of some other things I asked him to do like airing up bike tires and the balls in our toy box out back.  And Lincoln's bike chain is finally fixed which he will be excited about.  Lincoln now calls his bike a trainer though since Andrew has his bike on a trainer so we can ride it indoors.  Andrew also helped me cut our big grasses.  I cut them while he held it all together with a rope so the grass wasn't blowing away everywhere.  After he finished his work around the house, it was back to the office.  I worked on some other things though.  I had to clean out the toy box in the backyard and fix the lid.  I also sprayed for bugs around the house and cleaned up trash that had blown into the brush around our yard.  The twins took a good nap and Ellie spent most of the day outside again playing with the LaBeths and even ate dinner with them.  The twins were very excited to get outside though.  They just love it and love the freedom.  They are even doing much better walking down the driveway than I expected.  It was a beautiful weekend outside and we all enjoyed it.  I also loved having our windows open and the breeze blowing through the house. 

My mom sent me a few pictures from the Harlem Globe-trotters event.  She said Jackson loved it and really got into it.  When he got home he was excited to show us all of his tricks. 

They were just three rows back.

An exhausted ride home :-)

They all got home around 7 tonight and we played outside a bit longer and then the train came by.  Jackson, Ellie, and Lincoln all jumped on it.  I am sure Miles and Bennett were wondering why they didn't get on.

They did enjoy playing with the balls though.  Miles really thought he could shoot it at the basket.  It was funny to watch.  They mainly just liked to carry them around and throw them down every now and then.  And Bennett enjoyed my mom chasing him around.

It was a great week and now I am ready for bed.  We have another full week coming up including Jackson's actual birthday on Tuesday!   But I had to share one last picture of Bennett snuggling with my old bear, Barney.  :-)