Katie has been in rare form this week.
She's been screechy, demanding, whiny, and a little bit naughty. She's been pushing her brother around and getting very bossy.
She's also been cuddly, silly, sweet, huggy, and funny. She's been patient with her brother and spent time playing with him and reading to him.
I guess I would say that it's been a roller coaster of a week.
(And while I used to like roller coasters, since I've gotten older I've realized that roller coasters are DANGEROUS. (Really. What was I thinking in my youth?) So when I say it's been a roller coaster of a week, I don't mean that in a good way. Because similar to a roller coaster ride, there's been lots of screaming/screeching, arms waving in the air, and bumps. Don't feel too sorry for me... it wasn't too bad, just not too much fun.
I guess I would say that it's been a roller coaster of a week.
(And while I used to like roller coasters, since I've gotten older I've realized that roller coasters are DANGEROUS. (Really. What was I thinking in my youth?) So when I say it's been a roller coaster of a week, I don't mean that in a good way. Because similar to a roller coaster ride, there's been lots of screaming/screeching, arms waving in the air, and bumps. Don't feel too sorry for me... it wasn't too bad, just not too much fun.
However, based on the actions of the week, I didn't plan on taking the kiddos out till Saturday when we were going to a birthday party for one of Katie's friends, Donavan, until Grammy called and invited us over for dinner.
Of course I had to accept. I may have mentioned how much I like her cooking a time or twenty on this blog and, after my usual question of what's for dinner (because for some reason I can't go somewhere and not know what the meal plan is*) I quickly said I would be there.
And I even brought the kiddos with me even though I'm sure Grammy and Grampy really just wanted me to come so we wouldn't be distracted by two cute kids running around like crazies. Which they totally never do**.
*Slight exaggeration... trust me on that. And don't ask my mom.
** Trust me on that too. Really. Never a nut house here.
Of course I had to accept. I may have mentioned how much I like her cooking a time or twenty on this blog and, after my usual question of what's for dinner (because for some reason I can't go somewhere and not know what the meal plan is*) I quickly said I would be there.
And I even brought the kiddos with me even though I'm sure Grammy and Grampy really just wanted me to come so we wouldn't be distracted by two cute kids running around like crazies. Which they totally never do**.
*Slight exaggeration... trust me on that. And don't ask my mom.
** Trust me on that too. Really. Never a nut house here.
So dinner was a favorite of mine. Pot roast, mashed potatoes, biscuits, and broccoli. (It was delicious, of course.) And as I sat there wondering why I ate so much (I didn't wonder for too long because, um, I TOTALLY blame Jacob. He didn't finish his meat or his potatoes and I couldn't just let it go to waste, could I? It might have also had something to do with the fact that I had seconds...) I also rued the fact that we would have to leave before 9 so I could get to Target in time to pick up John's medicine refill before the pharmacy closed.
So I was stuffed AND I would have to lug the kids out of the car and into the store and try to avoid a repeat of this trip to Walmart all while picking out a cute, creative gift for Don's birthday, talking to the pharmacy person to get John's refill, AND picking up a few grocery items. And before leaving, I would need to find room for my Grandma's homemade APPLE PIE!
Luckily Grandma mentioned that they would watch the kids while I ran out for a bit. What a relief. And I didn't feel too bad about leaving Jake with them because so far during our visit he hadn't caused any damage to their house or belongings. (Huge sigh of relief.) Katie's never a concern because she is usually so well behaved (the Walmart visit mentioned above? The ONLY time she's caused any trouble when we've gone out. It was probably all of the chocolate I gave her... and she was hungry for dinner. Not a good combo.) So I got to go to the happiest place on earth (move over Disney) all by myself!
Even though they were behaving well when I left, I still didn't want to tempt fate so I hurried... Ran in, got our stuff, picked up some fun art supplies for Don and got back to find the kids... behaving.
And learned that the pie Grandma grabbed out of the freezer wasn't pre-cooked so it would be awhile. But that was fine with me. The kids were having fun and (I think) Grammy and Grampy were enjoying our visit. And the house smelled really good. There's nothing like the smell of baking apple pie to make someone who was previously full miraculously find just enough space in their tummy for a slice of home cooked apple pie. With ice cream.
Finally it was done. We ate it about 5 minutes after it came out of the oven and it was fabulous. The crust was flaky, the pie filling was perfectly perfect... it was delicious. I'm getting hungry for it all over again. So good. And I shared with Jake but he doesn't need to know that most of the bites I gave him were ice cream... and not much pie.
We finally left at around 10 and headed home. Got the kids to bed and did my shred. Not an early night.
Saturday was A BLAST! Well, not all of Saturday. The morning was pretty much life as usual for a Saturday. But the trip to the miniature golf place where we were celebrating Don's birthday? Awesome!
We had cupcakes and juice (if you didn't already know, consider this a PSA that red frosting is not attractive when it sticks to your teeth... and your tongue) and Don opened his presents and then the kids played miniature golf!
Well, Katie played and I "helped" till she got tired of playing (probably somewhere around the 8th hole) at which time I took over the club and her purple ball. She enjoyed walking along the brick "walls" around the holes, jumping down off of the brick "walls", and watching all of the other people there while I tried my hand at something I hadn't done in at least 15 years. It was so fun!
After we completed the 18 holes we went to the BUMPER BOATS! I went on with her and tried to steer away from the fountain and the cave because I wanted to avoid a soaking. We came close enough to get a little wet but not too bad.
Then we went over to the GO KARTS. I think I was a little slow but she didn't mind. We were both grinning from ear to ear.
Who knew that 4-year-olds could be so fun?!
We went back to the bumper boats for the last ride and Katie went on with one of the older girls at the party. Kiera (I don't know how to spell her name so I took a stab at it) steered into the fountain and cave and came off of the ride soaking wet. Katie loved it. She didn't look thrilled as they were heading under the water but coming out of it she was smiling.
Finally it was time to go and as we said goodbye, Don's mom told him to give Katie a hug.
There was a moment where the kids just looked at each other but then Don walked over to Katie with his hands at his sides. Katie stood with her hands at her sides. They stood about an inch apart, just looking around each other, for a few seconds. Long enough for us to get the giggles while watching. Then they both turned and walked off. I'm still laughing about it as I type this.
On the way home, Katie wanted something... I think she wanted to play with the Make-a-Mess app on my phone. I told her she had to go home, go potty, wash her hands, and then she could play with it.
After being told that I was a mean mommy (tell me something I don't know because I had probably already heard that 6 times already this week... let me see... two scoops of ice cream is plenty=mean mommy, you can't go downstairs because Grandma and Grandpa are sleeping=mean mommy, you can't take all of Jake's toys to your room=mean mommy, pick up your toys=mean mommy.), Katie said she was going to tell on me. She was going to tell Grandpa that I'm mean. And I was okay with that because I'm pretty sure Grandpa has heard it all before. Then she threatened to call the COPS on me. Hmph. I wasn't impressed with the threat. After all, I still had the only phone in the car and she wasn't going to get it until she went potty, washed her hands, and changed her clothes.
Then she decided to change the topic. She said, "Mommy, if I see someone running down the street with money in their hand, I'll call the cobs. Not the CORN on the cobs Mommy... the police." I laughed. To myself, of course. I got the idea she was calling a truce and didn't want to upset the delicate balance. That happened a few minutes later when she said she again demanded to wear her wet dress all day long and I told her no. *sigh*
Sunday was a quiet day. We didn't have anything planned AND the weather was so beautiful.
I did laundry while the kids played, Katie did my workout with me *grin*, the kids colored and no color ended up on the walls (kitchen floor, yes, but not the walls), and the best thing about today?
The kiddos got along.
Ahhhh, bliss.
Now I'm off to have some ice cream and then to bed.
So I was stuffed AND I would have to lug the kids out of the car and into the store and try to avoid a repeat of this trip to Walmart all while picking out a cute, creative gift for Don's birthday, talking to the pharmacy person to get John's refill, AND picking up a few grocery items. And before leaving, I would need to find room for my Grandma's homemade APPLE PIE!
Luckily Grandma mentioned that they would watch the kids while I ran out for a bit. What a relief. And I didn't feel too bad about leaving Jake with them because so far during our visit he hadn't caused any damage to their house or belongings. (Huge sigh of relief.) Katie's never a concern because she is usually so well behaved (the Walmart visit mentioned above? The ONLY time she's caused any trouble when we've gone out. It was probably all of the chocolate I gave her... and she was hungry for dinner. Not a good combo.) So I got to go to the happiest place on earth (move over Disney) all by myself!
Even though they were behaving well when I left, I still didn't want to tempt fate so I hurried... Ran in, got our stuff, picked up some fun art supplies for Don and got back to find the kids... behaving.
And learned that the pie Grandma grabbed out of the freezer wasn't pre-cooked so it would be awhile. But that was fine with me. The kids were having fun and (I think) Grammy and Grampy were enjoying our visit. And the house smelled really good. There's nothing like the smell of baking apple pie to make someone who was previously full miraculously find just enough space in their tummy for a slice of home cooked apple pie. With ice cream.
Finally it was done. We ate it about 5 minutes after it came out of the oven and it was fabulous. The crust was flaky, the pie filling was perfectly perfect... it was delicious. I'm getting hungry for it all over again. So good. And I shared with Jake but he doesn't need to know that most of the bites I gave him were ice cream... and not much pie.
We finally left at around 10 and headed home. Got the kids to bed and did my shred. Not an early night.
Saturday was A BLAST! Well, not all of Saturday. The morning was pretty much life as usual for a Saturday. But the trip to the miniature golf place where we were celebrating Don's birthday? Awesome!
We had cupcakes and juice (if you didn't already know, consider this a PSA that red frosting is not attractive when it sticks to your teeth... and your tongue) and Don opened his presents and then the kids played miniature golf!
Well, Katie played and I "helped" till she got tired of playing (probably somewhere around the 8th hole) at which time I took over the club and her purple ball. She enjoyed walking along the brick "walls" around the holes, jumping down off of the brick "walls", and watching all of the other people there while I tried my hand at something I hadn't done in at least 15 years. It was so fun!
After we completed the 18 holes we went to the BUMPER BOATS! I went on with her and tried to steer away from the fountain and the cave because I wanted to avoid a soaking. We came close enough to get a little wet but not too bad.
Then we went over to the GO KARTS. I think I was a little slow but she didn't mind. We were both grinning from ear to ear.
Who knew that 4-year-olds could be so fun?!
We went back to the bumper boats for the last ride and Katie went on with one of the older girls at the party. Kiera (I don't know how to spell her name so I took a stab at it) steered into the fountain and cave and came off of the ride soaking wet. Katie loved it. She didn't look thrilled as they were heading under the water but coming out of it she was smiling.
Finally it was time to go and as we said goodbye, Don's mom told him to give Katie a hug.
There was a moment where the kids just looked at each other but then Don walked over to Katie with his hands at his sides. Katie stood with her hands at her sides. They stood about an inch apart, just looking around each other, for a few seconds. Long enough for us to get the giggles while watching. Then they both turned and walked off. I'm still laughing about it as I type this.
On the way home, Katie wanted something... I think she wanted to play with the Make-a-Mess app on my phone. I told her she had to go home, go potty, wash her hands, and then she could play with it.
After being told that I was a mean mommy (tell me something I don't know because I had probably already heard that 6 times already this week... let me see... two scoops of ice cream is plenty=mean mommy, you can't go downstairs because Grandma and Grandpa are sleeping=mean mommy, you can't take all of Jake's toys to your room=mean mommy, pick up your toys=mean mommy.), Katie said she was going to tell on me. She was going to tell Grandpa that I'm mean. And I was okay with that because I'm pretty sure Grandpa has heard it all before. Then she threatened to call the COPS on me. Hmph. I wasn't impressed with the threat. After all, I still had the only phone in the car and she wasn't going to get it until she went potty, washed her hands, and changed her clothes.
Then she decided to change the topic. She said, "Mommy, if I see someone running down the street with money in their hand, I'll call the cobs. Not the CORN on the cobs Mommy... the police." I laughed. To myself, of course. I got the idea she was calling a truce and didn't want to upset the delicate balance. That happened a few minutes later when she said she again demanded to wear her wet dress all day long and I told her no. *sigh*
Sunday was a quiet day. We didn't have anything planned AND the weather was so beautiful.
I did laundry while the kids played, Katie did my workout with me *grin*, the kids colored and no color ended up on the walls (kitchen floor, yes, but not the walls), and the best thing about today?
The kiddos got along.
Ahhhh, bliss.
Now I'm off to have some ice cream and then to bed.
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