Cleaning House. Meeting SBO Sistas.

I waited too long again to catch up on my blog. I know I won't remember everything that's happened since Monday but that's okay. It's been a fun and good week. Thankful for that!

Monday evening we got a good rain. Boy, have we needed it. The kids LOVE to go out on our front porch to watch it come down. Wade is the one who has fostered this. It's cute though. Here are some photos from then. I love this one of Andrew because he was turning and jumping and I caught him in the air. Cute!

Look at my sweet girl with gum hanging out her mouth. LOL She looks like an eight-year-old here, I think. It must be those two big front teeth that have come in. ;)

Tuesday. When I got up that morning, Andrew and Elizabeth were already up (as usual). I stepped on a wet spot of carpet going into the kitchen. I asked Andrew about it. I cannot keep that kid out of the water. He gets himself in trouble a lot playing in it. I try to remind myself that it IS just water and doesn't stain. Back to the story. He tells me that he had cleaned that spot on the carpet and "can't you tell how I got some dirt up." He had "cleaned" a spot of carpet that the family knows is an eyesore for me. The dirt is ground in because it's a direct traffic path and nothing has been able to get it out (two professional steam cleanings and numerous steam cleanings with my carpet cleaner). I then notice that there's wetness on the arm of the leather sofa. I, again, ask him why there's water on that. He says he cleaned the sofa with a wet wipe. "What wet wipe?" I ask. "Those wet wipes in the closet for the leather sofas." He was smart enough to use those, I guess. *smirk*

I had to clean my house that day because we were having a play date on Wednesday. Andrew was definitely in a cleaning mood and asked to mop. Sure. That's one thing I have never cared for. So I got him set up to mop the wood floors in the kitchen. I was busy downstairs working. Elizabeth asks to help and I let her. Soon I hear giggling so I think it's best I go and check on them. Sure enough, they had got into mischief. My whole kitchen floor was a big puddle - kitchen and eat-in area. I was mad. Andrew, being only 5.5 yrs old, still knows not to let water sit on wood. I got up the puddly part and they took bath towels and dried the rest. At least I knew my floor was really clean!!

My main course for Wed night was Almond Lemon Chicken. So good! My kids even liked the rice this time with the "gravy" you make to go on it. It sort of had a citrus-y flavor with the lemon juice and orange marmalade but it wasn't too strong. The toasted almonds were delicious and my kids ate a ton of them by themselves.

Wednesday was our play date. My friend, Penny, brought her three kids over. We all had fun. Her kids are Jacob (5), Luke (3) and Sarah (20 mos). Andrew played well with the boys and Elizabeth was sooooo sweet with Sarah. It made me happy to see her take such good care of her and entertain her the whole time. She would pretend to facepaint Sarah and then let Sarah do it to her. We got the sprinklers out (all three!) and they got on the swings, played in the club house and then I made some icees. Mmmm! ;)

We had church that night. I made calls afterwards to invite some friends over for the Fourth. I haven't hosted a get-together with friends in a long time (other than birthdays). I'm excited and have some good food planned. Can't wait!!

Thursday was our library day. We've been enjoying these last few Thursday visits to the library. This week they had a magician that was quite the comedian. Several jokes the kids didn't get but all the adults enjoyed. (Nothing vulgar at all but just above their heads.) We ran by Walmart so I could get some ingredients to make Cookies and Cream Freeze for that night. Our friends, the Browns, had invited us over for dinner. We came home, ate lunch, I made the dessert and then we went back out for art lessons. I ran by the scrapbook store and TCBY for a capuccino chiller while they were there. I can't blog without mentioning food, can I? Hee hee.

So we went to Bobby and Christy Brown's that night for dinner. She had made some delicious food. I use her baked mac and cheese recipe but hers is always better than mine. Everyone liked my dessert. The kids went to Vacation Bible School while the adults hung out. They introduced us to the most hilarious sermon I've ever heard. Any of my friends who are interested can e-mail me and I'll e-mail it back. Make sure you've used the bathroom beforehand. Yes, it is THAT funny. LOL

Today, was an exciting day for me. I got to meet another SBO "sista," Marti. She is visiting with Patty and some relatives down here from New York. I invited them all over along with Brianna to meet up. We had NINE, yes, NINE kids at my house today. Man, I should have got a photo of all the kids. Marti has 3 boys (DJ, Adam & Jack), Patty has 2 (Chase & Sarah), Brianna has 2 (Cristian & Ellie) and then my two. I have never had that many kids at my house. They were great though. Admittedly, it was a little loud but us sistas got to chat it up while the kids played. Patty was sweet enough to pick up some pizzas for lunch so I wouldn't stress over feeding the whole lot.

I was supposed to cook tonight but I'm hoping to get out of it. We ate lunch so late and I know the kids won't be very hungry. I'll have to see what I can rustle up for Wade to eat. Tonight we plan on going out after dinner to find Wade some pants for work. I'm going to answer some questions for Kelli to blog tomorrow, I hope. ;)