Party Time

So we've gotten about a thousand kid's party invitations in the past couple weeks. I love a jumpy house party...in a big way. I've said for a long time we need to book a "big kids" party there with a keg and the first one to throw up has to pay for it all. Apparently I was not the first one to have this idea because I have it on good authority that people have asked and were firmly told no. Some people don't know how to party...
Wow, this went off topic real quick.

Anyhow, our calendar looks like a black pen exploded on it. There is no way we could come close to all the things we have to do in the coming months. It won't keep us from trying though. I predict that chicken with its head cut off feeling. At least I won't be alone. 

Photodump

Dance Party

Just another Friday afternoon at the house with the girls. 

Loot

     I didn't talk about all the awesome stuff I got on Father's Day in my other post so here is a quick breakdown:
A framed photo of me and Ru from the girl's Baptism
A "Dad's Sippy Cup" tumbler
An excellent book about Bluff Park that is full of killer old photos
A Fahrenheit wrist thermometer for my watch
A hand colored and laminated tie bookmark (I guess, Ru made it at school so it is pretty rad no matter what it is)
A Bluetooth keyboard for my phone
Cash
An awesome lunch that yielded enough leftovers for an awesome dinner.

     I'm a lucky Dad. I hope all the Dad's I know had great days and fared as well as I did.  

Photodump-olivia Edition

Doing something a little different this week. All of these were taken on olivia's phone and sent to me via text. This is the kind of stuff we send to each other on the reg and all of these are from the past week.

Father's Day aka Why We Can Never Go To Logan's Again

     Our Father's Day lunch at Logan's was awesome. We all had a great time, a good meal, lots of laughs and thanks to the girls we may never be welcome there again. I'll have to take the blame for this one. It had been some time, probably a couple years, since the last time we had been to this particular establishment. To get the girls ramped up I explained how you could throw the peanut shells on the floor. Ru asked what she would have for her meal. When I said "maybe mac and cheese or something" her response was
     "and we can throw it on the floor?"
     "No. We will not throw it on the floor. Maybe you can get a cheeseburger or something"
     "And throw it on the floor?"
     I'm sure you can see where this is going. Despite our objections, there were solid attempts from both girls to get everything on our table onto the floor. Dropping peanut shells became launching whole peanuts and an apology to a family adjacent to us who had one land and skid across their table. I guess it is a roadhouse so it is ok to be a little rowdy, right?
     The girls have also developed a habit of taking their shoes off everywhere they go. In the car? Shoes off. Rec Center? Shoes off. Logan's for lunch? Off. Here is a shot of the underside of our table: two pairs of kids shoes, assorted crayons and a toy gardening tool bag that was Ru's purse for the day.

 

       The cherry on top of the cake was Sailor and her peanut shelling method. While Ru adapted her fork as an opener, Sailor's technique was much more basic. She would put the peanut in her mouth, bite down on it and separate the nut and the shell. As you can guess, this let to a lot of peanut dust and shell bits in her mouth. The logical answer to this, of course, is to spit these bits out all over the table. As funny as if is for me to read this, the video below is ever better. 

     Our waiter, who was only a week into his job, was a good sport and we took good care of him. All the same, it will be some time before we try and set foot in there again. I love their spirit and I am used to their shenanigans but sometimes it is a bit too much for even me.

Adjustment

     I keep telling myself it hasn't even been a week yet...we are struggling with the adjustment of both girls sleeping in the same room. We try to keep the bed time playing, talking and laughing to a minimum but the kids are determined and its common to have to go in a few times to settle them down. It hasn't helped that other changes have been taking place at the same time. Ru is out of school for the summer, olivia's schedule has changed, etc. It has been a lot to deal with all at once.
     What really makes the difference easy to see is the girls' moods the next day. Their attitudes are reflective of not getting as much sleep. This has effected nap time too so it really hits us hard some days. I do my best to quash it and it is getting better but its a process. I am hoping by the end of next week things will be closer to normal.
     It been so crazy this week we haven't even finished the furniture transitions. We looked at the calendar to schedule our Ikea trip and we have so much going on that it will likely have to wait until August unless we can squeeze it in somewhere or have something cancel. I am itching to get it done and confine all the toys to one area as opposed to where they are now...all over every available area of the house.

Photodump

Bedroom

     Last week the girls were out of town spending some time with olivia's mother. In the days they were gone, we decided it would be a good time to pull the trigger on moving them into to the same room and making Ru's old room into a playroom/guestroom. The biggest part of the project, by far, was painting the girls beds. I can't take any credit for this one. From picking the color to taking the beds apart to every brush stroke, olivia labored over them most of the week to get them ready for the girls return.
     As you can see, the end result was well worth the labor. The color, coral, goes well with the aqua walls. The girls as still adjusting to being in the same room. Here, adjustment means giggling for half an hour before naps and bed and struggling not to take toys out of the playroom and into the bedrooms. All in all, I am excited about the change. The yard sale's purpose was to fund the guest room renovations so we have an Ikea trip in our future. This means Atlanta and a meal at The Vortex so I can't help but be excited.
     Big thanks to both our Moms for all they have done in the past couple weeks. From helping and babysitting at the yard sale to watching the girls, we couldn't have done it without you guys. You are an excellent support system and we appreciate you both more than we can say.

Kids Say...

     We have a bit of a first today, a guest poster of sorts. My Mom was nice enough to watch the girls this past weekend during our yard sale. She sent me this e-mail after and with her permission, I am sharing it here.

 "Ruby never ceases to make me laugh -------- Three funny things she said at my condo yesterday:

 

She was most upset that I let a 'stranger' into the condo while she was here and talked about it at length.  Who?  The air conditioner repair man.  (In May she told me she would not talk to Miss Amy's substitute teacher because she was a stranger.  Miss Faye eventually told her it was ok to talk to her.)

 

I was trying to do some prep for the food I was making to take to a party last night, making the girls' and my lunches, etc.  The kitchen was a mess when I sat down to eat lunch with them, and Ru said, "GG, Mommy says you should always clean up after yourself while you're cooking."

 

I heard Ru in the living room while I was in the den playing with Sailor, and asked her what she was doing.  She said, "Setting up for my yard sale".  She had my figurines, paper weights, candles, etc, lined up in rows on the coffee table.

 

I can hardly wait until Sailor starts talking in sentences to hear what comes out of her mouth.  They are such a joy to me!!!"

Yard Sale!

Just in case you missed it this past weekend, a commercial we did for our yard sale. Enjoy!

Wash

     Not really sure how "Yes, you can play with the water table while I wash the car" turned into having two helpers for washing but that is exactly what happened. I'm pretty sure this was the dirtiest they have ever been. Covered in suds, dirty wash water and all sorts of dirt from the pools in the driveway made by water from the hose...they got a good bath afterwards, believe me. In case you can't tell, they had a ton of fun and now every time I go to get the hose they beg to help. I hope they still feel this way about helping with cleaning and chores in a few years but I doubt we'll be that lucky.