There and Back

I had a busy week!
It was the daddy daughter dance at ballet, preparations for a sub, and then visiting with some friends in Rhode Island for a long weekend. I had a great time and as far as I can tell the kids suffer no long term damage from being on their own with daddy for the weekend. I missed them terribly (after a couple of days) and it was so fun to meet them in baggage claim when I got home. Tate kept rubbing my face and I got a lot of kisses. I got them books from the airport bookstore and they LOVED them. As always, they looked about 6 months older and 2 feet taller than when I left them. It makes me feel crushing guilt, but then I remember how good it feels to have an identity for a few days beyond mom and teacher.

Here are the sleepy head pictures Sean sent me when I was missing my babies:

Let's Not Talk About It

The Bad News: Gracie and Tater have started lying to us. Nothing major, but the little fibs when they know they are going to get in trouble. We want to get rid of this now before it becomes a habit.

The Good News: They are pretty easy to spot and have obvious tells. When Tate has lied he A) rolls his eyes from side to side/ looks at the ceiling or B) runs and hides. When Gracie has lied (as she did this morning about sneaking a piece of candy from the kitchen) she turns her back to you and says "Let's not talk about it anymore."

I have to give her points for trying.

Seriously though, I want them to "get" that it is a big deal to us, and they get extra long time outs when they have lied, but I feel like we should be doing something more? Any great ideas out there?

The Crime

Me:Gracie, you can't have hot cocoa because you hit you're brother.

Her: Massive tantrum in her bedroom

Me: Doing laundry

Her: Planning the perfect crime. Almost.

I came back upstairs to see her jump when she saw me in the kitchen. At her feet, a mound of hot cocoa powder (not pictured so you don't see how dirty my floor is). On her face, a chocolate smear and a guilty smile. I ask her what she was doing, she stares at me deciding whether to lie or not. I tell her I can see the chocolate on her face. She wipes it with one hands and stares more...I tell her she is in big trouble and put her back in her room.

The evidence: dirty spoon on the counter next to the hot cocoa


A hefty scoop taken out


Perhaps the most telling of all, was this face


It's nice to know they are horrible at hiding this kind of thing. Let's hope it lasts.

Don't Poke Your Eye Out, Kid.

Only dads think of this kind of "fun".




*Sorry for the blurry/darkish pictures, it was the best I could do on my phone, while cringing.

Quarantine

Not much to share since we have been on strep throat lock down. We were bound to get it since kids in my class had it as well as friends. I stubbornly denied it for 4 (painful) days until I went to the clinic. Then Tate woke with a sore throat and we quickly got his confirmed to get the antibiotics going as well. So far G and B seem fine, but that could easily change. They said we should keep Tate separate from the others for 24 hours. Ha ha, ok. Might as well just write me 3 prescriptions now because there is no way to keep these kids from crawling all over each other and sharing their milk.

We watched the Super Bowl last night at Grandpa's and my Benny is so hard core, he gets stitches just WATCHING the game. Ok, not really, but he did trip and manage to split his eyebrow open on a side table. *sigh* I am just waiting for daycare to call CPS on us. I swear we come in with a new bruise and explanation every Monday. My dad says Benny looks like an old boxer.

Just for fun here are some pictures I took of Gracie when we were being lazy around the house. I love it because she's surrounded by her favorite bedtime things: her 2 "girls", her "pink blue blankie" (Tate has a blue blankie and she has a pink one-so it's called a pink blue blankie.) And her soft flower blanket she's been sleeping with since birth. Finally, her owl pillow. I figure someday I'll look back at these and cry at her sweetness.