Andy took my van to work yesterday so we were stranded at home until late afternoon, with nothing to do. I would normally have been flipping out because the kids get bored and when they get bored, things around here quickly go haywire. But everyone was tuckered from a busy weekend so they were content with computer games, toys on the living room floor, frequent snacking, and a little too much tv. So was I.
Today we are back to normal, busy with Spirit Month for all the kids at school. Sunday night we spent a half hour locating a suitable hat for Hayley, a pirate costume for Ace, and something green that Julia would actually wear (she prefers to rotate her 3 favorite dresses for months at a time). Today I'm at a total loss because it is Whale Day at Ace's preschool and Ace does not own one single item of clothing that has a whale on it. And we have to make an emergency trip to Grandma's house so she can mend his firefighting pants in time for the field trip tomorrow. Ace wants to bring all his firefighter gear to show his fellow firefighters. Considering that  all his gear takes up 3/4ths of his closet, I told him he can only take what fits in the backpack. He is not pleased with the compromise.
My parents are here and I am loving life with two extra adults around to even up the child/adult ratio. We met them last week for dinner at Julia's favorite joint and blueberry pancakes on Friday morning.  And Sunday we had ice cream and a walk on the beach with them. Lucy has a huge crush on Grandma. A few weeks ago she started wanting to walk more rather than be carried and wouldn't tolerate excessive cuddles. That all changes when Grandma is around. At the beach I was so flattered when she came over to me and raised her hands to be carried, then I realized she was only using me to get closer to Grandma and when we got close enough to her, Lucy leaped out of my arms like a spider monkey to get into her arms.
I'm seriously wondering how all four of my children remain in the 25 percentile for weight.  In the time it has taken me to type this post, they have consumed an entire bunch of bananas, 4 packages of chocolate chip muffins, and crackers. This constitutes a typical "small snack" for them.
Sorry, but that's all I've got for today. I miss posting pictures so much but we still have not replaced our camera. It was in the budget for this month but then Andy's truck died so a new (to us) car moved from the want to the need list. The kids are way more excited about the new truck anyway but I'm going crazy missing all these photo opportunities.