Birthday Weekend

Last Thursday I celebrated my 33rd birthday.  I celebrated it with a trip to the Dollar Tree (I love that store!) and cleaning the house in preparation for Eric to come for a visit.  Though, it turned out that he did not actually arrive on my birthday (his flight was delayed for really ridiculous reasons...), the anticipation of his arrival had me in a good mood all day.  I'm sure the 70+ degree weather and sunshine was also instrumental.

The warm temperatures kept us all out doors for the majority of the afternoon.  The kids even had a water fight after they got tired of playing their version of the biathlon.

Though the kids did not give me any gifts, they found little ways to make my day special.  Molly belted out "Happy Birthday" to me.  Will gave me hugs and Dom got a 100% on his third quarter math test.

Here is a picture of one of Dom's pages in math that I discovered.  He was suppose to divide shapes into fourths and then shade one part to show the fraction of 1/4.  In the spirit of cross curriculum activities...anyone know whose national flag he used for a couple of the exercises?

Eric got in at 1 AM and though the original plan had been for him to get up early on Friday to get donuts and hang out with the kids...everyone in the house slept in until 9 or so.  Everyone.  Of course, they would.  And donuts were mostly sold out by that point...so....yeah.  But, we had a very nice morning all the same.  Followed by a matinee viewing of "The Lego Movie".  It was AWESOME!

Saturday was a beautiful day.  We went to Dom's last basketball game and then spent the rest of the afternoon outside.  The kids did several Olympic events which included both summer and winter sports.  The Luge was my personal favorite. 

We also opted for Saturday evening Mass.  Molly can be quite a handful at Mass, but my new strategy has been quite effective.  I don't allow her to nap (though she has given up naps anyway), bathe her about an hour before Mass, and generally she is fast asleep when we pull into the church parking lot.  The only downside is that I have to carry her...which is getting harder and harder to do.  But, the alternative may be chasing her around the sanctuary, so I have opted for this.  Is this cheating a little?  Perhaps, but I've also experienced the most peaceful Masses I've attended in nearly 8 years.

On Sunday, it poured rain all day, so we spent the day finding activities inside.  This isn't too hard to do.  The kids already had a heads up that it would be a good TV day.  What I didn't count on was that they would ask me to play Dr. Mario.  I was thrilled.  They have a long way to go, but we all have to start somewhere. 

We also got in a game of Wits and Wagers.  The above picture was one particular question that had me laughing.  We were suppose to write the temperature at which water boils.  Dom helped Molly (in pink).  After this play, we explained a little bit about game strategy...Eric still won, but at least Dom got on the board.

Eric's flight out was Monday.  I was down on Sunday about this, and the weather aided my feelings.  But, Monday was another beautiful day.  Molly re-discovered her jewelry box and proceeded to put every piece on.  Isn't she lovely?

Eric also bought me some flowers to help my mood.  And they are beautiful.  I was particularly impressed how well they matched my new placemats (Thanks, Mom!)

Another shot of our accessorized daughter.  She was wearing heels in this shot. 

And finally, the kids and Eric wrestled. They love to wrestle...and I think only Molly ever cried and only briefly at that.  I don't see the appeal...but, then I am 34 weeks pregnant. 

We had a really lovely weekend.  The switch from one parent to two was pretty seamless.  And we are very much looking forward to when we get to be a two parent household again!