Work, Study, Play Weekend

Saturday I volunteered us to help at Eddie's daycare workday. We worked with two other dads to install a 30'x20' wooden border around the swing set. In a couple of weeks a dump truck load of wood chips will be delivered and we'll rake those around the swings for a soft cushion. I got to dig some of the post holes, something I hadn't done since the last time we did a daycare work day in 2011. 

Eddie got into each of the 24 holes we dug to make SURE they were deep enough. He was a happy, dirty kid that day.

There was one other kid there, two year old Drake, who had a grand time running around with Eddie. Toward the end, the kids and I went to the general store to get burritos and chips for everyone.

Drake and Eddie picked all the yellow sour grass flowers and floated them in the rain water the pooled inside the giant tires.

When we got home, Dave spent some time studying for his upcoming water operator exam. I took a short nap while Eddie watched some shows. Since I didn't take any pictures on Saturday afternoon, I had to work really hard to remember what we did the rest of the day.  It's crazy (embarrassing?) that I find myself forgetting what happened just a few days ago.  I was able to determine that we went running at the airport together before eating a lasagna dinner with Papa at our house. Oh, and I know I made a double batch of America's Test Kitchen Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies (the name doesn't lie).  

Sunday was the start of Daylight Saving and we had a yummy breakfast of bacon, eggs, grits, and venison sausage with gravy. Dave went to the office to study while Eddie and I did our usual Saturday chores--washing the sheets, cleaning the bathrooms, and vacuuming.  Eddie's room was a COMPLETE AND TOTAL DISASTER and it took him a 1.5 hours to clean it all up--and a third of that was with me "helping" him (read: getting on his case about NOT playing with everything and just putting it all away). He and Dave are going to be gone one night this coming weekend and you better believe that I'll be removing about 30% of the stuff from his room. Less stuff, less to clean up! He doesn't play with much of it anyway, it's just in the way of the toys he wants to find.

That afternoon Eddie had a 6 year old girl, Tali, over for a movie. It was this sweet child who held Eddie's hand when he was scared to get on the big scary school bus for the first time and sat next to him in the "preschool" seats for the whole first week.  (Bless her heart!)

Anyway, she brought stuffed animals and popcorn to share. I brought out the tubs of my own stuffed animals from childhood and we all had a grand time digging through them. We even found one of my mom's topsy-turvy doll, a toy that probably lived here on the coast back in the 1940s. Eventually we settled on the couch downstairs to watch Mulan. I wanted to watch something new that none of us had seen, but kids are kids and they wanted something familiar. It was a sweet change to have a calm little girl in the house who sat contentedly, petting the dogs, and cuddling her stuffed toys.  Before her grandma picked her up, we all drew chalk art outside.

I  made clam chowder that night, which was ready when Dave got home. Mmmmmm, if I didn't know how much butter was in it I would want to eat it every night.

Taters made a good bed desk for Dave.

A text conversation between Dave and I. He's slightly obsessed with anime.
PS. I adore our profile pictures--both of Eddie with pirate face paint from a day at Cassie's when he was a wee tot.