Busy

Pretty danged good weekend, if I do say so!

We'd told Penny she could have Ripley over for a sleepover Friday night, so Braz and Adin and Ripley and Henry came over to have dinner with us and hang out. We ordered out Chinese (there's a combo Chinese/sushi place that delivers -- how does it get more awesome than that?) and put all four kids to bed, and sat up talking and watching Netflix until Adin started falling asleep in her chair. When they left, they took Henry with them but left Ripley sleeping in Penny's room.

The girls were up at 5:30 Saturday morning; I went in a couple of times to ask them to be quieter, then gave up and got up at 6:30 when I heard Alex was awake as well. But aside from being AWAKE! they were all really good, playing together happily all morning.

That afternoon, Penny and I went with Adin and Ripley up to Richmond for a semi-annual craft show that's a big tradition for Adin and her mom and sisters. It was a lot of fun (even though Ripley crammed in enough junk food to make herself throw up) and I definitely want to go back again! Penny bought herself a couple of princess hats and a necklace, and I bought her a pretty bracelet. I got myself a jewelry rack to replace the cork board and thumbtack solution I'm using now.

In the meantime, Matt and Alex hung out with Braz and Henry, and by all accounts, they had a good time, too. (Amusing anecdote of the afternoon: Henry pushed Alex. Alex gave Henry a Look and forearmed him. Henry gave Alex a Look and punched him. That was the point at which Braz stepped in to halt the escalation, but he said the whole thing was actually really funny and he had a hard time not letting the boys see him laughing.)

Matt left for his monthly D&D game before we girls got back, but Braz promised that Alex and Henry together had been perfectly fine for the hour or so he had them solo. We all ate dinner together again (mm, leftovers) and hung out until well past 8, when I finally decided I had to get the kids home and to bed.

Sunday, despite having gone to bed an hour or more late, the kids were up early. Even without considering the Daylight Savings time change. UG. Matt hadn't come home until 1:30 or 2, so I got up with the kids, but Matt didn't sleep much longer. My back and hip were hurting from all the walking at the craft fair, and on top of being short of sleep, I was pretty grumpy, so when Alex went down for his nap, I took one, too.

After Alex got up from his nap, he and Matt went out to the park while I stayed home to make lasagna for dinner. Braz and Adin and crew came over to have dinner with us, but since it was a school night, they couldn't stay much later, and we pried all the kids apart amid much wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Alex was in underwear all weekend again, and only had one accident! Granted, Matt and I stayed pretty much on top of him to go to the potty a lot, but I'm still pretty excited about it. The connection was finally made in his brain, too, about the reward he gets for going poo in the potty (2 whole M&Ms!) and so now every time he goes, he tries to squeeze out a nugget. It's hysterical.

I'm still pretty tired and sore -- it'll take me a few days to adjust to the stupid time change -- but overall, it was a really great weekend.

This week at work looks like it's going to be insanely busy, though, so if I end up skipping a day (especially Wednesday) don't panic! I'll be back! ;-)