Go, Go, Goers!

Garret and I had the last of our Toddler and Me classes this past week.  The learning discussion was on tantrums...how we react to them, how to handle them, what calms them down, etc.  I thought that G was going to have his usual 7pm meltdown at class, so I could practice what I learned, but to my surprise, he was very well behaved and sat on my lap during the last 15 minutes of class...until he threw a plastic duck at the girl sitting next to us.  Sigh. My week was pretty busy getting ready to head out of the country. On Friday, I told Ava that she needed to help take care of Daddy while I was gone.  She gave me a really funny look and said, "Isn't he supposed to take care of us?"  Scott will have no problems taking care of the kids while I'm gone...it's all the small things, like remembering to pack her lunch, getting her dressed in the right, required outfits for Summer Power, paying daycare, etc., that he needs help with.  He even told Ava that she ne...

Last weekend, we went out of town to visit our good friends, the Winfields, who used to live south of the cities.  Recently, they moved west of the cities, and even though the mileage is shorter, we have to drive through many small towns, which means the speed limit is constantly changing.  So, while they're physically closer, it still takes us over an hour to get there.  Maybe one of these days we'll be able to start up our Wednesday night dinners again with them! :) Regardless of the distance, we always have a great time when we're with them...and the kids got along pretty well.  The only time they kids started fighting was when it was late, and Ava and Isabel couldn't agree on where to put their feet in the bed they were sharing.  Easy to resolve!  We noticed both Ava and Isabel are getting to that sassy stage where there's a lot more attitude and exclusivity.  We had to remind them to include the younger kids while they were playing, not to exclu...

The month of Hell is officially over.  I survived, but barely.  All three of my projects launched successfully in the last two weeks of June, and now I can scale back my work hours to those of a normal human, and not a workaholic robot. This has been a fantastic 4th of July weekend....we've had a (literal) blast with friends, family, and fireworks!  After I left work on time on Thursday (hooray), Ava called her little friend in the neighborhood, and I walked her over to her house for a fun playdate, complete with trampolines, and a gaggle of other 2nd grade girls.  Back at our homestead, after G went to bed, Scott and I headed over to the neighbor's house for an adult evening of drinks and a bonfire.  Someone in the 'hood was setting off those floating lanterns, so it became a game to see who could spot the next one.  It was a GREAT way to start of the long weekend! Bringing Annie on her playdate... The next day started off bright and early with ...