Saturday mornings, Z usually has his swim lessons, but he was still feeling the effects of his ear infection, and decided he wanted to skip it that day. Instead he ate pancakes and played video games with Dad. At least if you’ve gotta skip swimming; this is the next best thing!
Later in the day, everyone was feeling a little better and we decided to be adventurous and walk to the park, then walk to the grocery store. This is about a 4 mile walk (round trip) so we were being pretty brave!
To undertake a walk of this magnitude with two (sick…remember?) kids, required some extra packing, and planning. We needed sun hats, snacks, sunscreen, the Snugli, Tylenol for both kids… We also (by we, I mean I) decided to let Avalee ride in the stroller like a big girl, without the carseat. That meant we (by we, I mean Colin) had to tweak the stroller a bit, which took some more time. Finally we were ready to go, but by this point both kids were getting antsy and a little cranky. By the time we got Avalee strapped into the stroller, she was crying and yelling. A few blocks down the road though, and she realized she had a whole new outlook… She started kicking her feet, waving her arms and talking to everything in sight! A few more blocks, and we heard nothing, we realized she fell asleep!
The rest of the walk to the park went great, and Z behaved very well. Once we got there, Avalee woke up and had her snack ;0) while Z ran, jumped, slid, climbed and chased. He decided he wanted to play soccer, so I took him on. I’m not sure who won, but I will say Z definitely has more intensity on the ‘field.’ He’s also fearless, and ironically scared me more than once by running full force at me, and not stopping... Yikes!
So, now it was onto the store (about a mile from the park) to pick up some stuff for dinner. Before we got even halfway there, Z started complaining he was hungry. He had gone through all his snacks, so we kept promising him something once we got to the store. The promises turned more into bribes, when he started dragging along and wouldn’t get on the stroller. We asked, ordered and pleaded with him to get on the stroller, but it was not happening. Finally he said, “I can’t get on there. My flower is on the seat!” Well, I had picked him a flower on the way to the park and it was put on the seat. For half a mile, we dragged poor Z along and doubled (at least!) our time, and it was all because of that stinkin’ flower! Once the flower was re-located, Z happily jumped aboard and we sped off to the store.
After grabbing our dinner stuff and some raisins for Z to snack on, we hit the potty and headed out. By the time we got back home, both kids were tired and hungry, but happy.
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On Sunday, we decided to tackle our bonus room which was teeming with boxes of Christmas decorations. I know it’s May, but we’ve been a little busy since December, plus that room does have a door on it. ;0) When my mom called and wanted to take Z out for shopping and a picnic, we thrilled. Without Z, cleaning (and eating…and showering…and…) goes much faster! With Avalee asleep about half the time, Colin and I were able to clean/organize the room. Plus, we pulled out all the tubs (and tubs…and tubs) of Z’s old clothes/toys and found lots of ‘new’ stuff for Avalee. We even pulled out the highchair and the activity center for A. Yay!
Avalee tested out her new seat at dinner, and seemed to like it better than sitting in her bouncy seat. She still whined and fussed until someone (cough…Colin…cough) gave her the usual throne, as she is accustomed (that same ‘someone’s’ lap). But, she started the whining/fussing much later than usual so a small victory. :0)
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On Monday, we decided to have a last minute BBQ. My parents, sister and her boyfriend all came over bearing steak, potato salad and hotdogs. We broke out our hamburger that we got for an awesome deal at Safeway, and Colin made burgers (side note: if you suck at burger making like Colin does, get one of those burger patty thingies. Ours is from Tupperware and it changed our world!), then grilled everything up. After a yummy dinner, we all headed to the family room to play the Wii; we just rented Wii Music and had fun making music videos. :D
Z in his new "US flag shirt" helping get the BBQ ready
So, even with two sick kids, we still managed to have a fun (and productive weekend!)! I’m just hoping the sicknesses stay away for awhile, so we can all enjoy the upcoming Summer!
