Week in Review: Playdates, Story Time and Errands Galore

It's been another wild week although everyone has been well. Carl has been out of town since Tuesday and since he was gone last week - it has definitely caught up with me. He is really good about helping out when he comes home. I usually clean up the kitchen and he bathes the children and then we tag team putting them to bed. It's a lot harder to do everything myself! Blogging has taken a back seat between solo parenting, Christmas preparations and just trying to juggle it all. Something has to take the back seat but I sure do love having a written record of this special time with my precious children! I will try to do better.

Monday: Evie had a Christmas party at ballet. Henry went too because he saw me through the glass and decided that he would like to go too. He sat on my lap during the little performance and then ate a cupcake with the ballerinas. Carl came home early and we enjoyed a delicious pork dinner with apples from the meal swap. I sure was sad to prepare the last dinner in my freezer. It's time to cook again with my Meal Swap friends.

Tuesday: Evie went to school and Henry came home with me to do a few things around the house and take a good nap. After school, we went to a friends house to decorate Christmas cookies. Henry knew exactly what to do and put his frosting on the cookie then decorated it with a few sprinkles. So cute and the cookies were delicious. We raced to swim lessons after the cookie decorating since we all needed to burn off some sugar. I tried out a new sitter while I ran a few errands. We all loved her and it's too bad that she is a senior. Good babysitters are hard to find! I was able to get a few things crossed off my list and rewarded myself with a hot Krispy Kreme. Okay, I'll be honest, two hot Krispy Kremes. They were soooooooo good!

Wednesday: I attempted to take both kids to story time at the library. Henry lasted approximately five minutes. Evie loved story time as a baby. I'm sure Henry would have loved it too but he thought dancing on the stage was so much more fun! We are so lucky to live less than two miles from one of the top ten children's libraries in the country. Books make me so happy and this library is truly amazing not to mention Ms. Pat the librarian extraordinaire.  Evie has been begging to see her boys so we invited Courtney and the boys over for a play date. It was good to see them as always! We all ate a nice healthy dinner of chicken, broccoli and blueberries to counteract all the sugar.

Thursday: Both kids went to school and I had the oil changed in my Odyssey, attended book club, ran to Target and the hardware store. Dashed home to straighten the house and prepare some snacks. We had a play date after school and it was fun but crazy. I liked play dates a lot better when I only had one child that could barely move. Henry is all over the place and it's hard to keep everything together while chasing after him. Evie had swim lessons after the play date. Henry went to bed early and Evie watched a movie with me. She loved that Henry was asleep because I let her have his chocolate from the advent calendar too. I worked on my Christmas cards and straightened the house again before crashing myself. There is just not enough time to get everything done.

Friday: Both kids slept until after 7. We ran a bunch of errands this morning - 9 to be exact - which is a record for me with two kids. Sometimes, I even surprise myself! Evie and Henry were troopers and were rewarded with a trip to the pet store to see the bunnies and fish. Evie really wants a fish so that may be her first pet. Although, she has such a sensitive little heart that I worry about her reaction to the fish dying within days of it arriving in our home. Henry took an epic nap and I attempted to clean the house a bit since Carl was coming back. Evie wants to paint now because I just finished mopping the floor. Oh well, it looks like we will be painting. My condolences and prayers go out to all the families impacted by the tragedy in CT. I cannot imagine the pain everyone is feeling. As a former teacher, just practicing for lock-down was scary for the kids and it's hard to comprehend the magnitude of how horrific a real lock down would feel for kids and teachers. On a happier note, Carl is in the air en route to Nashville after a visit to North Carolina, Virginia and Pennsylvania. We cannot wait to see him. Evie loved video calls with her Daddy while he was gone. She'd chat a bit and then just gaze adoring at him. Technology makes traveling for work so much easier on our family.

Happy Friday, y'all!