Playing Cards and Building Forts

Before 8 am this morning the boys already had me playing card games with them.  Our breakfast of home style oats, blueberries, and walnuts (just blueberries for picky eater Max) proved to be very entertaining with each boy trying to play a different card game with me at the same time.  That's a lot to keep up with while not drinking coffee.  But ,I am my Grandma's Granddaughter and for those of you who don't know what that means, I'm saying that I'm usually game for a good round of card playing.

Today was going to be errand running day, but I scratched that almost immediately this morning as I tried frantically to keep up with the daily chores.  I know I'm not the only one out there that feels it.  The faster and harder I tried to get the house in order, the crazier my house became.  The endless picking up of things off the floor today was incredibly insane.  I would start doing one thing and find another thing to do, and another, and before I knew it NOTHING was getting finished. I know you know what I'm talking about.  This snowball effect is a regular occurrence in my home.  But, in the end, it all came together....for about .5 seconds when my little tornadoes ran back through, and now I'm sitting here with my back to a mess trying to forget about it for just a few minutes.  I'm sure it'll be waiting for me when I'm done unless Jeannie moved in and can take care of that with a crossing of her arms, a head nod, and blinking of the eyes.  Okay, call me crazy (it wouldn't be the first time), but has anyone actually tried that before?  I'm not going to lie, periodically I give it a try.  I mean, what can it hurt?  Just MAYBE one of these days it'll work?  Alright, I'm not delusional, just desperate sometimes. 

During the madness of the day I decided to give the guys a surprise.  Partly because I needed to distract them so I could get their room straightened up because it was driving me even more crazy, and partly because I just LOVE surprising them with things.  I sent them out of their room and made them stay out until I called them back in.  I hung sheets off the top bunk bed on the foot of the bed and on the side to create a fort.  I gave them a pair of toy binoculars and a view finder, told them to watch for enemy cars driving down the alley.  They bought it...well they bought into the fantasy, and we had a lot of fun off and on today playing in that thing.  Remember the train set we set up at the end of last week?...well the best part of the fort play was they were too distracted to care that I picked up that set and put it away....finally.

The boys and I did quite a bit more summer planning.  They are in for a lot of fun activities this summer.  I'm exhausting myself just trying to plan it, hope I can keep up with them.  I'm definitely going to keep a day or two free each week just for "at home" play.  My boys have the most amazing imaginations and I can't even fathom the idea of not giving them that time to play together in their own little worlds.  

This is off topic, but I felt it was worthwhile to share.  Perhaps most of you already do this, but I have to admit, it's the first time I really gave some time to it.  While researching summer activities and tours of our local Fire and Police Departments I checked out the Bedford PD website.  The site is so informative.  It had links to the city's most wanted with photos, pictures of local sex offenders and home addresses, and descriptions and photos of the city's most wanted and missing persons.  I knew all of this was out there, but I just never had the time to really think about visiting the page.  I think I'm going to try to check it out more often.  I definitely think that with kids out of schools and with the weather nice, before we just let our kids out lose in the neighborhoods (no, I do NOT EVER let my 4 year old or 2 year old out to wander on their own nor do I recommend it) perhaps you should consider checking out your local PD website for information on your community's offenders.  Okay enough about that little bit of useful (or useless) information.

Let's move on to...
Favorite parts of the day:
Max:  playing in the fort (okay, bad parent moment, Fer and I honestly can't remember exactly what Max said, but I'm sure this was part of it)
Nico:  "Playing with Chase!!!" "when Papa came to my home"
Fer:  Getting his haircut, picking up things for our vacation, and the fact that our picky eater, Max ate his chicken for dinner.  Go Max!
Jen: playing cards with the boys, surprising the boys with the fort, and of course snuggling with my baby, and after the chores are done, enjoying a clean house for about 2 seconds before I conk out

Today's bloopers:

Seeing my boys repeatedly without pants on.  It's like I would get them a pair of pants, turn around, and they'd be gone.  I couldn't keep a pair on them if the world depended on them.  I apologize to the neighbors walking by who were greeted by my children with only underwear....and poor Belle, she's drooling so much and having explosive diapers that I'm constantly seeing her clothless too.  Ah well, they're just kids :)

Jen running around like a chicken with her head cut off trying to get things done....but what's new :)

And the most awesome blooper of all, Fernando gets in his car to go get his haircut, but without thinking he drives himself, not to the place he gets his hair cut, but to Brahms.  As he's pulling into the parking lot he realizes his error and barely makes it to get his haircut before they close.  I guess he's taking a few too many ice cream runs...(there I go again mentioning Brahms.  We should be getting paid for advertising.)  We REALLY don't go that often for ice cream.  It's just a big deal when we do.   


Alright, I'm in desperate need of a tall glass of chocolate milk in a frosty mug...so yeah, that's where I'm headed then it's on to clean up this place.

BEST...DAY...EVER...    

update:  before Fer could read over this and I could publish it, I had my milk and cleaned up.  Wahooo!!