A week in the life

My mom headed home Monday and Dayven has had a couple of work trips sprinkled in so I've basically been flying solo this week. I've been doing laundry, catching up on things and getting back into the swing.

Tate is a walking fool. He is all over the place, stumbling around like a drunken sailor. He doesn't even need an object to pull up on. He just squats and pushes right up to standing, usually holding an oversize object, like the little strong man that he is. He's talking up a storm too, in his own language. If I lose sight of him, I just call his name and he answers me. It's so cute. We have no idea what he's saying, of course. He is busy, busy, all the time - dumping over the dog bowls, sampling dog food, emptying tupperware cabinets, pulling all the DVDs from the drawers and messing up the folded laundry. He even gave himself a shower with toilet water. Thankfully someone had actually remembered to flush after using it. Still...Aggh!!!

Tuesday, I took the kids shopping at Trader Joe's, which they love for some reason (maybe it's the carrot juice machine?). I really love it too. What a great store. We sampled our way through the aisles and everyone picked out some goodies. I got two separate comments on my "bravery" for shopping alone with three kids (I usually always get at least one comment) but they were great. We headed next door to Chick-fil-a for dinner as their reward (and mine - no dishes!). I'm not a huge fan of fast food, but we do it once in a while for a treat, especially when Dayven's out of town. It was their "family night", which meant total madness, a giant cow, kids running wild, screaming and parents looking frazzled as they tried to rein them in (wait, that was me). The kids ate a bite of dinner at a time, in between breaks in the indoor play center. They even had a face painter and a make-your-own sundae bar. Basically kid heaven. We waited our turn for the face painter and the kids selected their design, even Wyatt who normally steers clear of this sort of thing. He's too sensory and would normally never go for it, so he shocked me when he insisted on doing it and held perfectly still for the painter. They were pretty sad when we went straight home and into the tub and their designs washed off. I told them what is why we take pictures. I'd rather admire it in a photo than on their pillowcases.

Wyatt gave the cow several hugs. He's going to be a pro at Disney!

Sugar nirvana! 

Dayven was home Wednesday afternoon in between work trips and ticked some items off his honey do list, hanging blinds and putting up the new full length mirror I bought. Can you believe I have had no full length mirror since we moved in? My outfits from the thighs down have been a mystery up until now. Thank you Dayven!  He was also able to pick Hadley up from school, which she thought was so special. Her class had their "Beach Day Party" with sand, water tables, treats and games.

I started a new process with the kids to help them become more independent in the morning. They each have a little chart that tells what they need to do to get ready. It may seem a little simplistic, but they really need it broken down for them, especially Wyatt, so I don't have to continually coach them along. It has been working out great the past couple of days. I can hear Wyatt in there in the morning mumbling to himself "now, let's see here....what is next?" and I know he's consulting his chart. I put out an outfit for Wyatt the night before (Hadley prefers to pick her own) and then they just follow the steps in the morning. I have been called in to help a couple of times when they couldn't reach the sock/underwear drawer, but mostly they're figuring it out on their own. I think it's really going to help make our mornings less hectic at a time when everyone seems to need me so much. I had to laugh when I looked over at Wyatt yesterday at lunch time and noticed his pants were on backward. He had gone all morning that way and never noticed I guess. Oh well, we'll get there!

We missed Hadley's soccer game on Thursday night. I just couldn't bare the thought of taking all three kids and wondering how I'd keep Tate occupied in my arms in the penalty box watching when he'd rather be out on the field having some fun. At least Wyatt can be pacified with video games. So, I just casually forgot to mention the game and no one was the wiser. It's kind of nice when your kids have no concept of time or day. I felt better about it considering we'd had a great time at storytime at the library that morning. At least she had already had one fun outing that day!

We're in the process of getting our backsplash installed in our kitchen. It's going to be so great not to have to wipe the splatters off the wall anymore. I'm a messy cook so I really need this. I sealed all the tile first since it's natural stone. It will have to be sealed again once the grout cures. The fumes were so strong, I was a little concerned Dayven might come home from work and find my unconcious in the garage, despite my respirator mask. If it wasn't 35 degrees and rainy I could have opened the garage door, but I made it. Dayven and I are fairly handy but decided we have neither the time or the energy to tackle this one right now when there is so much else on our list. We found a great guy who's installing it for us. He's putting it up as I type. We decided to get out of there since he charges by the hour and he likes to chat. Hadley called him out on his plumber's crack too - "hahaha!! Mommy, his back is STRETCHING out of his pants!! hahaha!") Seriously, no discretion or filter.

So many choices, I drive myself nuts. I finally selected something and can't wait to see the finished product!

I'm not sure why the inset looks black/gray in this photo.  It's the exact same shade as the subway tile. 

Otherwise just business as usual around here...

No, it's not a diaper box. It's an owl costume, for crying out loud. Where's your vision?

Nightly dance party courtesy of Pandora. Costumes optional. 

Afternoon "quiet time" - movie in mom and dad's bed.

The artwork wall has many masterpieces - new ones added daily!  I have to weed out the old ones. The really special ones are kept, but the rest quietly find their way to the recycle bin while the artists are sleeping. Shhhh....