Kids for Rent!

This week has been one of those weeks that if gypsies were roaming through the area I would have happily sold my kids to them...for a week at least.  Bryon had an out of town golf outing from Friday until Monday night and if I haven't mentioned it before, Kayla is a major daddy's girl.  So by the second night we were having meltdowns for daddy and terrible sleeping.  Top this off with a grouchy Abby and it made for a long weekend.  We tried to fill it with art projects and walks to the park as much as we could.  But never the less there was a lot of crying and temper tantrums (and me rocking in the corner!).  However, we survived and daddy eventually came home. 

Abby has gotten to start the adventure of eating solids, which has moved our bath time up about an hour every night.  I am trying to do more of the baby led weaning style rather than make a bunch of purees. I've started off by steaming most of the veggies she has tried and just mashing them up with a fork then letting her feed herself.  Because of her swallowing coordination issues her GI doctor thinks the thicker substances should be easier for her to eat.  So far it is going slow and she seems to have some issues with textures, but I am hopeful that as she keeps eating this will get better!  But as you can see letting her feed herself equals a much bigger mess.  However, the peas were a hit!  

In between the rain we have had this week we took some walks to collect leaves for an art project.  This project quickly turned into a pinterest fail for me. It started out as we were going to make leaf people, this quickly turned into let's make it of our family and include our dog and cat!  This tends to happen to me I can't leave a little idea alone, I make it way too big!  Needless to say that between a screaming baby and temper tantrum throwing toddler this project was not completed at all!

One of our rainy day projects is a train.  Kayla has a ride on car that we bought for $5 at Once Upon A Child when she was a baby.  We use rings and connect empty diaper boxes.  Normally she puts her animals, dolls, and other toys into the boxes; however since little sister Abby can sit up now she has become the newest passenger on the train.  To add a twist to it this week we decided it was a crazy hat train and got all of Kayla's crazy hats out and put them on while riding the train around.  I get the fun job of being the caboose so I can make sure Abby doesn't suffer from whiplash with Kayla's constant starting and stopping. 

You know how a good haircut can put you in the best mood, let me tell you, a bad haircut can ruin a day!  I had the idea of getting bangs added to my hair because I have been growing it out for 3 years.  Well the lady who cut my hair had a different idea of a trim and add bangs...SHE CHOPPED MY HAIR!  And not only chopped it, but chopped it all uneven!  Needless to say I was not mentally prepared for my long hair to just be gone so it put me in a terrible mood. All day Kayla kept asking me what happened to the lady.  She even kissed my hair to make it feel better.  And of course daddy taught her to say "I like your mullet mommy" because that is what my current style looks like!  However, by the end of the day I found a really cute short haircut style and will be going to a friend to cut it for me (who actually knows how to cut hair the right way!).  So by Sunday I can stop hiding this terrible cut in a ponytail.  The one positive, I do like the bangs :)

The end of our week started to look up though as I woke up Thursday and decided on a cold day like this what better to do then spend the afternoon with my best friend, Melissa (originally supposed to head to the Cider Mill but Abby woke up with puffy eyes and stuffed up nose)!  Everyone needs a friend like Melissa.  We have talked about how our friendship, while we work hard to make sure we spend time together, is "easy".  We don't hold grudges or keep score of who did what favor for each other, we just enjoy our time together and can be honest with each other.  She is so easy to talk to and I know she plays a HUGE part in my kids lives.  Kayla adores her and can often be seen riding her bike to Melissa's house (which I need to add is way too far from me!).  I am very very thankful for Melissa being in my life.  So we spent a fun Thursday afternoon together eating lunch and hanging out.  And of course a trip to Costco so I can eat every sample they offer.  Just spending a lazy afternoon with her helped to kick me out of my funk of wanting to sell my kids.

Friday we took a drive to St. John, MI to Uncle John's Cider Mill.  When you live in Michigan you have to go to the Cider Mill in the Fall.  Unfortunately Michigan weather decided it should be winter, so it was freezing.  For some reason toddlers have no understanding of how cold they are so when we met up with my friend who has a two year old son, him and Kayla of course wanted to be outside the whole time.  We got to stay warm at the beginning for a little bit by enticing them with donuts and cider.  My friend Alexis is a photographer so we got some great pictures.  Of course poor Alexis was probably freezing bc she was laying on the wet grass getting most of them.  We did end up letting them play outside for a little bit but when their hands were purple it was time to pack up the cars and head back home.  Luckily there are so many cider mills around us I know we will take more trips.