Anyhow, this Saturday was just about as good as it gets. We started out the morning the usual way -- all of us hanging out, snuggling and watching cartoons, and having a big breakfast. We then got ready and headed to the store to do our weekly grocery shopping. Even though this trip is often hectic and I dole out several threats of removed privileges and toys throughout, it is also still wonderfully fun. We get to the store around 9am and the first thing we do is head to the bakery department. This is where the boys get their complimentary cookie. Yep, I let them eat a cookie at 9 in the morning and am not apologetic about it. It really helps make at the least the first half of the shopping excursion go extremely smoothely. About 3/4 of the way through the trip the sugar kicks in for Gage and he wants out of the cart pronto. Luckily, they have a great book aisle, so Corey does super daddy duty and takes our little redhead over to check out the selections. Riley also decides he needs out of the cart about now, but he wants to help mommy shop. That is if shopping means running up and down the aisles as fast as possible to find the brightest packaged item and see if he can sneak it into the cart. Sometimes this works, but mostly it is just a way for him run off some steam. We occasionally get some dirty looks from other patrons, but mostly we get smiles from the older shoppers with comments like, "boy, he is full of energy" or "what a great helper you have!" I also get many "knowing" looks from other moms that understand that sometimes the kids just need to run. As long as he stays in my sight and doesn't bother anyone or anything else, I figure no harm no foul, especially since this doesn't occur until about the last 3 aisles anyhow. So, now we meet up with Corey and Gage and head to the checkout. Ugggh, there is a long line of full carts. I give the boys a lecture about staying put as we are almost done and need to be respectful of others. Just then, a lovely young lady taps my shoulder and says, "Ma'am, I can help you right over her." Yay! Jackpot! I love when this happens = ) So, we head over to the next register and the boys help me unload the cart. They actually like this even more than putting things in the cart. The moving conveyor belt fascinates them, plus they really do like to be helpful. All right, one successful mission down, several to go ...
Now, we head home to unpack and make lunch. This all goes extremely well and no one pitches a fit. Woohoo, we're on a roll. Next is naptime. Corey and the boys all zonk out within minutes. Great! I use the next 2.5 hours to complete chores and projects in peace. It's amazing how much I can accomplish when I am not interrupted. Awesome, several more things checked off the list.
It's now 2:30 and the boys start to awake from their slumber. Since snack time is right around the corner, we start in with my first planned cooking project of the day -- homemade chex mix. This was so easy and so fun! Riley was in charge of the liquid ingredients and spices, while Gage was in charge of mixing together all of the dry goods. Riley was king of his domain melting butter in the microwave and using measuring cups and spoons for all of the other stuff. He was such a big boy! And Gage had a blast using not 1, but 2, large spoons to "toss" the chex, crackers, and pretzels. Yes, a lot of it ended up on the floor, but that's just something we're slowly learning to live with at our house! After the boys enjoyed the fruits of their labor, we moved onto the next project -- making a cake. Gage was done with cooking at this point and went off to toil with his daddy for a while. But, with more measuring being involved, Riley was right by my side. Oh, what pure joy this boy had when I broke out my new hand mixer (thanks Tracy!) Now, technically a mixer is not a power tool, but according to Riley it is. He describes it as "a drill that goes round and round and spinmixes." Sounds good to me! Anyhow, combining cooking with power tools is just about as good as it gets for that kid. And let me tell you, he was a pro with that mixer! And he was sooo excited when he got to use it again to make the frosting! Especially since we tried mom's new recipe for fluffy white frosting which requires you to beat the ingredients for about 10 minutes = ) Gage came in to join in this fun and the boys did a wonderful job of taking turns. Here they are relishing the best part of making frosting from scratch -- licking the beaters = )
Later in the evening, our sweet neighbor girl, Sara, came over to watch the boys so Corey and I could enjoy a much needed date night. We headed over to Topeka to watch our friends' band, The Marmots, play. So much fun! We really enjoyed the great tunes and hanging with friends. I think as we get older, these nights out mean even more to us since they are so few and far between. Also, it really is great to get out as husband and wife every once in a while instead of always being mommy and daddy. We love our kids with all of our hearts, but having the chance to connect on and talk about things at the adult level helps remind us of what brought us together in the first place.
Ok, before I get too mushy, let's move on. Sunday morning, the kids actually slept in until 7:00! This almost never happens. They pretty much rise every day between 5:45 and 6:00. You could literally set your clocks by them. So, that was a real treat and sooo nice of them since mom and dad didn't get to bed until almost 1:00. Unfortunately, they both woke up with head colds, though. But, with them not feeling 100%, they mostly wanted to laze around in the morning which was fine by us! The rest of the day was really just lovely since we got to hang out together and spend some time outside in the sun. A little outdoor time and sunshine seem to make any day better as far as I'm concerned = )
Well, since I started this post, both of the boys have now found their way into our bed. I would try to get them back to their own, but the poor babies are having a tough time breathing, so I guess I'll just have to go snuggle with them and try to keep them propped up. I probably won't get much sleep, but at least I'm getting to be close with my boys. I'm going to enjoy it now because tomorrow it's back to the grind.
1 comment:
you are so blessed and what is awesome is you know it and appreciate it
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