Notes from Baba

Friday morning didn't start out quit as good as the other mornings. We had a small battle over clothes. We didn't pick out Jaelyn's clothes the night before and it was rainy and cool when we got up. She chose shorts and a short sleeve shirt to wear. We just left her alone hoping to get her to change later. Later was harder than I thought. She was insisting on not even wearing a light jacket and I was insisting that she change her clothes entirely. Lou wanted to take her to school and she wanted to get wet and walk to the bus stop. Finally, after I just said she could be cold if she wanted and get wet, she put on sweatpants and a shirt with a hood. It quit raining and Lou walked her to the bus stop. Allie and Caden didn't get to go because neither of them managed to get dressed in time. Something about our morning routine didn't feel right and I discovered later that I hadn't given anyone their medicine. That's what I get for thinking I have the notes memorized.

We stayed at home all morning, played and washed clothes. The weather was the kind where you just want to curl up with a good book. No such luck in this house! Allie and Caden were playing really well upstairs so we left them alone. Big mistake! Allie managed to get past all the ties on Caden's closet and get out the Mr Incredible Suit. She helped him get dressed, mask and all. When she came down to show him off, we thought he looked so cute that we took pictures. When Jaelyn come home she discovered where they got the suit and told on Allie for breaking into the closet. Allie's a hard one to stay ahead of.

She's so bashful when she goes in at school. At about 11:00, we ate lunch and got Allie ready for school. Her lunch was salad, ham and blueberries. She was a lot more agreeable with her clothes. Lou took pictures of her last day at preschool.

After we got her settled in at school, we had to do something so we did what we've become very good at this week. We went shopping. This time at the Atlanta Kitchen Company. I was so happy to find a spatula that I've been looking for everywhere I go. It cost $19 but it's very nice and it's left handed.

When we picked Allie up, I was hoping they had found her earring that she lost the day before but no such luck. She was so upset over losing the earring the day before that I promised her that if they didn't find it I would get her another pair when I go home. I sure hope they have more. It's nice to give someone a gift that they like so much as she did those earrings. We went straight home to get Jaelyn from the bus. Lou started not feeling so well so we spent the afternoon and evening at home. Dinner was the old standby of chicken nuggets, salad and green beans. I'm not sure if Lou and I ever ate. We let the kids have a special treat and stay up late watching a DVD. What a great way to have an easy bedtime. Everyone was so tired by 9:00 that they just marched off to bed without any complaints. Jaelyn wanted me to read to her but by the time I got ready for bed she was fast asleep. I'll admit I did fool around a little.

This morning (Saturday) everyone slept till 7:00. That was nice. We spent the morning cleaning house. Jaelyn was a great help. It's obvious that she helps a lot with the cleaning chores. The basement was our only challenge. Finally, when the basement was about half clean, I told them I would count to 100 and whatever didn't get picked up belonged to me. Man, can these kids move with the right incentive.

At about 10:15 we went to Jaelyn's school carnival. It was a lot of fun for the kids. We bought $10 worth of tickets and some parent gave Allie about 10 tickets. Most things only cost one ticket so our money went a long way.

About noon time we left the carnival and headed to Cracker Barrel for lunch. We decided it was time we had a good healthy meal. The kids were great. You can really tell they've been taught how to act when they are in a restaurant. After we left Cracker Barrel, we had promised to take them to the Dollar Store so off we went. Our GPS is really coming in handy. We were going to McDonald's for dessert but Caden was falling asleep so we went home so he could take a nap. When he woke up, we all went out back and the kids played for a while. They sure love their swing set. For dinner we decided to go to chic-fil-a because Lou can do the best job of staying on his diet. Jaelyn demonstrated her ability to shoot the paper off a straw. Too bad it flying over to another table! No one ate very much but they enjoyed the play area for a few minute. After we left there, we were crazy enough to think we could take all three kids to Target. Lets just say we won't try that again without tying all three of them in a buggy. While we were at Target, we managed to buy some ice cream and cones. After dessert, we had a great time blowing up balloons and making a banner to welcome Mom and Dad home. Grandpa taught the kids how to blow up a balloon and then make it fly by letting the air out. What fun! Allie tried to sneak a balloon upstairs but once again we caught her. Jaelyn worked hard on their welcome home banner. It's 10:30 and Jaelyn and Caden are still up. They are so excited about their Mommy and Daddy coming home.

This week with the kids has sure been full of ups and downs but I wouldn't trade it for anything. We've broken a lot of rules, eaten too much sugar and lots of fat, we've stayed up too late, our clothes haven't always matched or even been right and we didn't always get our medicine but overall I think we did alright. The one thing that I'm sure we got right was that they all got oodles of hugs and bushels of love! They gave us our share of love and hugs, too. Jaelyn, Allie and Caden are the best and we are really proud of them.

We'll Kellly tomorrow I'm turning the blogging back over to you. After writing this for you, I'll read what you write every day unless I don't have access to the internet. I'm really proud of you for taking the time to write you experiences and for saving them for your children.