Operation CrazyWoman: Day 3

We decided that today was the day we were going to go to the park.  Unfortunately, we got a later start than I had wanted to today.  I didn't have any kids dragging me out of bed at 6am, but I DID have both babies wake up in the middle of the night soaked and leaking out of their diaper.  Simon actually woke up first around 1:30.  I guess it's my fault for not putting a fresh diaper on him before putting him to bed the second time.  I got Simon out of bed, changed his diaper and pulled the soiled blankets from the crib.  Fortunately I had extra blankets and the sheets were clean.  He never would let me put on clean jammies.  I guess that boy just likes to sleep in the buff.  On a funny note, I noticed my shirt was all wet and I assumed that Simon had gotten me dirty.  Nope!  When I went to change it I noticed that it was milk, not urine.  Apparently all that crying made my milk let down.

That in and of itself wouldn't have been too bad.  I was back in bed by 1:45 after getting Simon back to sleep.  But then Maddox woke around 4am to eat.  I didn't notice his diaper until after I'd been nursing him for 20 minutes.  I had to go change my shirt again.  Needless to say, I decided to forgo the shower this morning for the sake of some extra sleep.  I got up at my usual time, got dressed, and went back to bed till the babies got up.  So yeah, we got a bit of a late start.

It didn't ruin our day, though.  We eventually got everyone dined, dressed, and ready to go.  The park is only about 1/2 mile away so I let the older kids ride their bikes.

As you can see, Kelsey didn't really want her picture taken.  She can be a stinker about it sometimes.

Because it's a longer distance to the park and crosses a busy street, I stayed with the kids the whole way in my van.  Occasionally I'd stop to wait for them and snap more pictures.

See how well they've been taught about safety?  They all got off their bikes, waited for the crosswalk light, and then walked their bikes across the street.  Awesome!

Once we got to the park, the fun really began.  Mallie pushed Maddox in the swing...

Kelsey and Wesley climbed to the top of... well...

...whatever that thing is, they climbed it.

 A good time was had by all.

Or ALMOST all.

 Mallie was really good at the climbing wall.  She climbed up...

...and up...

...all the way to the top.

Then she'd come down the slide.

And I'd laugh, every time.

Even Simon wandered around on the equipment.  He never would come down the slide.  I guess he didn't want to mess up his hair.

These two were giving me the peace sign till Nan showed them something else to do.  Looks like Spiderman to me.

And like any good mother, I let Maddox eat the wood chips.  It's fiber, right? (Don't worry, I fished them all out of his mouth before we left.)

Before we left, Wesley had a little "mechanical difficulty" with his bike pedal.  I needed a wrench to fix it, so he had to ride home with me in the van.

I followed the girls all the way home till they were 2 blocks from the house.  Then I went on ahead thinking they'd be fine from there.  A minute later, Olivia came speeding up the street to tell me that Kelsey fell and was bleeding.  So back I went.  And no, it wasn't her nose.  That's a scab she keeps picking.  It was just a lightly skinned knee, but she wouldn't let me take a picture of the wound, just the blood.

After we all got back from the park, we were super-hot so it was time to go straight into the swimming pool.  This time I took Maddox and Simon out to play in the baby pool, too.

Fortunately Julie had already told me that Simon's not really into swimming in the pool.  He's into playing with the hose.  So I slowed it down to a trickle and let him have a ball.

He also likes to drink from it.

He also likes to put the water on himself, and sometimes it squirts him in the face.  I just happened to catch this one on video.  He's got the funniest facial expressions ever!

 I already know from my experience bathing Maddox that he LOVES to splash in the water, so I figured this pool was just his speed.

Unfortunately, he learned that he can do this.

And this.

Eventually Connor came out to join in the fun.  He and Simon figured out how to play together with the hose.

Until Connor stole it when Simon's back was turned.

 See that sad expression?

His sister is really good at hers, too, though I'm not sure what this one was for.  Though it did tell me that it was about time to bring the little ones inside.

The rest of our day went pretty well.  Today's afternoon movie was 101 Dalmations and both Connor and Simon were down for a nap, so I got the older girls to watch Maddox and I grabbed a short nap, too.  Then it was back in the pool before dinner, and play-dough after dinner and chores were done.  At one point Olivia looked at me and said, "Mom, wouldn't it be great to have the kids come every summer for two weeks?"

You know, I think it might.  But maybe only the ones that are over 5 years old next time.