Justin went to Texas last week for training. Luckily one of my best friends came to visit the day that he left. We sadly said goodbye to Daddy.
Then long overdue fun began with Leah, Jack and Lucy!
James’ obsession with Jack also began. Jack just turned three. James loves older friends. I think he enjoys learning to do big boy stuff.
For example, eating at the table. Every time he ate out of a bowl though, it landed facedown on the floor (cereal, pasta, oatmeal, etc.). I think its time to buy a kid’s table.
It didn’t take long to realize these boys have a lot in common and were going to rule the house.
But first, let me tell you that the day Justin left and The Davises arrived, my air conditioner broke beyond repair. All three kids sweated and cried all Sunday night. I realized Monday morning that I had three kids, no hubby, and a serious situation on my hands.
A few hours and a few thousand dollars later, it was a stagnant 89 degrees in our house. A new AC unit was being installed so, we had to be home all day. At 4:00 it was cooler outside than inside. Dodging dehydration, we played in the water and ate popsicles.
And for the first time, poor Lynyrd ran out of dog food. :(
These kids were such troopers, though. We were so proud of their resiliency.
After the new unit was installed, we knew the house needed to cool. So, we put the kids in Leah’s minivan and headed to a restaurant that ended up having a broken AC as well. We ate there anyways, and realized that I had left my keys at home. Therefore, I LOCKED US OUT OF THE HOUSE! What is wrong with me? I’m thinking at this point that I clearly was not holding down the fort. We sat in the van for over an hour waiting on roadside assistance.
Everyone was cranky. Poor Lucy was crying. James repeatedly asked to “get out” while Jack asked for water about 30 times. We were all so dehydrated and exhausted. At this point, I would have done anything to make these kids happy. I felt so guilty. We put on a new movie: Winnie the Pooh. And I was again thankful for their resiliency.
When we got in, the temperature was 84. I almost started crying, and Leah said “we are not packing up and leaving.” So, we gave the kids a cold bath,
and positioned two fans on each bed. We let them stay up to watch TV and eat cookies.
Every night before bed these two watched Mickey Mouse, had Vanilla Wafers and milk, and talked. It was so sweet. They’d sit right next to each other and say things like “that’s Donald Duck!” “Yeah, and that’s Minnie.” and “That’s a balloon.” I wish I took a video of it.
Reading before bed.
The house somewhat cooled overnight, and everyone slept well. The next day was Leah’s birthday. I was determined to have a good day. Jack was saying he wanted to go home when all the work was being done on the house. It broke my heart. I was determined for him to have a positive experience. And we did.
We spoiled our kids with toys and candy at the Mast General Store. We enjoyed birthday cake!
We went to Edventure, the children’s museum.
We ran errands.
We went to the pool. James wore a float for all of 5 minutes… because Jack was wearing one.
We bathed the kids together every night.
And we relished our time together.
Leah, thank you so much for making the trip with two kids in tow. This may have not been the week we expected, the boys may have lived in their underwear, our adult time didn’t start before 9:30, we cleaned up more accidents than we ever thought possible, and we may have gone into a depression when you left, but I wouldn’t have wanted to experience this crazy summer week with anyone but you. And our kiddos of course!
And Justin, you were missed!
