A clean house?! What's the occasion?

We're having company over tonight. We haven't had company over in a long time...probably since Simon's birthday in August. I like having people over for the obvious reasons: socializing, eating and laughing.  The not-so-obvious part, being that it forces me to clean. I dislike cleaning. I love the end results, but I hate that is doesn't last. Before the night is over, you probably wouldn't even know that I spent countless hours, dusting, vacuuming and de-cluttering (how did we get so many toys?!). It's well worth the effort though and I'm sure my husband wishes we had people over more often...just for the clean house. ;)

I find that I have to be SUPER organized when it comes to hosting. A clean house, dinner (salad, homemade French baguettes, loaded potato soup, apple/rhubarb crisp and vanilla ice cream...), a presentable me AND kids, doesn't come easily and they all must come together relatively at the same time.

I have a few lists laying around the kitchen counters (the only safe spot in my kitchen where the boys can't destroy) and they all pertain to different things. Food: What I'm making, when to make it, when to have it ready, etc. Schedule for the day. To-do list for the day: Clean, cook, get ready, etc. On top of all of that I have a list running through my head: Miles' schedule, naps, waking up, bottle, etc. Simon's schedule: school, pbs time, nap, etc.  If I didn't write things down, I'm sure my head would eXpLoDe.

I'm so thankful for busy days like this. It gets me up off my butt, and I find that I have way more energy when I have a to-do list to go off of. Plus, the boys seem to be happier, when I'm popping in and out and not so readily available to their every whim - weird, I know. Not to mention I'm really looking forward to the fellowship that we'll have with this sweet couple tonight. I'm SO grateful for happy boys today too, I don't think I would be sane if they were like they were yesterday - crabby, whiny and against naps. Yay for happy cooperative boys (hopefully that lasts throughout the evening...). 

scary dinosaurs

I'm writing with really nothing to write about. Ever feel like blogging just to blog? That's how I'm feeling right now. I have a cup of coffee nearby, the weather is chilly outside (gotta love September, it's chilly in the morning/late evening and hot in the afternoon. The best of both worlds), and the youngest is taking a nap while the oldest watches network Saturday morning TV.  Don't judge, this doesn't happen all too often. Peter's away this morning, helping a family out from our church. It feels like a Friday morning because he's gone. Second Saturday in a row that he hasn't been home. It's okay though, he'll be home in the afternoon/evening and ALL day tomorrow. Squee!

As stated above, my son is watching Saturday morning kids TV. This is a rare treat for him. Every now and then it's nice for him to take a break from PBS and watch mindless kid stuff (kinda like when I watch reality TV - heh). When I do let him watch network kids stuff, I'm reminded of how much I love PBS. Not only are the shows educational, but they don't have annoying ads geared towards kids. Ads that make your kids go insane begging YOU to spend $30 on stupid slippers. Simon wants these SO bad.

Really? Yeeeah, not going to happen kid.

I will say though, PBS does run ads for waterparks and local zoos. He has it in his head that he wants to go to a huge waterpark. This coming from a kid who hates baths, hates getting his hair washed and hates water on his face/head.

A few months ago, PBS was running an ad for the MN Zoo's Dinosaur exhibit. Of course Simon wanted to go, because he loves dinosaurs. We didn't have a season pass, so we never gave him hope that we would go before the exhibit was over. But, a few weeks later, in mid-June, my Aunt asked if I wanted to go with her and her little girl, they just happened to have a couple guest passes. We happily agreed. Simon was so excited to see his beloved dinosaurs! Truth be told, it could have gone a lot better. Not only were these dinosaurs life size, but they moved and made noises and some even squirted water at innocent pedestrians. Simon was not a fan and quite frankly, was scared out of his mind. You had to pay to get in, so I wasn't about to fight through the crowd and exit through the entrance, wasting precious mula. If Peter had been there, he would have taken pity on his son and left. But he wasn't, so we stayed. Plus, I thought maybe he'd get used to them. Nope. He cried, clung to me and even screamed a few times. I felt awful...and a little humored. Let's just say he didn't have an enjoyable time. Weeks later, he was still talking about the scary T-Rex. My husband was wise and told him that they were just big robots. That actually helped him more than me telling him that they were just pretend. I wish I had thought of the robot explanation while we were going through, he might have dealt with them better. Oh well. It's a memory that won't soon be forgotten and a good reminder that even though the ad looked pretty cool on TV, it might be way too much for a little 3 3/4 year old to handle. And that's why we're not going to the waterpark anytime soon. ;)

Simon and his little cousin were SO pumped to see the dinosaurs!

The entrance

 

scary big!

He started off walking. Holding on to me tightly...

 And then the apprehension changed to terror. I carried him while pushing the stroller. It was an interesting walk.

Aww, look Simon *little* babies. See, they're little!

Scary dude.

This is a pretty cool youtube video of the exhibit. See, it is kinda scary. 

the end.