Summer: Wed., 8/22
Finally, after a couple days of overcast skies, we got some sun. L&G were again in play mode. We played Quirkle after breakfast, then read a ton of The Unintentional Adventures of the Bland Sisters: Jolly Regina. Then they went downstairs to play in the basement. After two full days of play immersion, the basement looked like a tornado had gone through it. Everything, and I mean everything, was out, and on the floor: piles upon piles of dress-up clothes, dress-up jewelry all over the art table, cushions everywhere, Magna-Tiles and Keva planks everywhere, drifts of paper and pens, play food. With the cleaners coming tomorrow, I anticipated an arduous cleanup, which I warned the girls would be coming at some point. But they were playing, so I went upstairs, and they then began loudly talking about BUILDING A CASTLE and yelled that I shouldn't come back down.
When they came to get me to "show me the castle," they brought me downstairs to a pristine playroom. They'd cleaned the whole thing. I honestly don't know how, because it was an insane mess. I hugged them. They were quite proud of themselves.
They played outside for a while, of their own volition, riding various things around the driveway. We had lunch. We finished The Bland Sisters. Really a cute book--about sisters named Kale and Jaundice.
Later in the afternoon, we went to the pool--these pool days are dwindling. I didn't expect to stay very long--the last few cool days made the water quite cold--but L&G had fun anyway and we stayed for about two hours. We got Ring Pops and went home for dinner.
At bedtime we of course had to clean up the bedrooms to prepare for the cleaners. And if you're thinking to yourself, "Why on earth do you need to clean before the cleaners come," well, you've clearly never encountered the line of Happy Places Shopkins. These are the tiniest toys you can imagine--from an adult's height, they appear to be no more than a speck of very vacuum-able dust on the floor. But no. They're quinoa-sized strawberries, or staple-sized toothbrushes. They have tiny smiling faces and are, of course, prized. Long story short, these are often all over the floor and must be gathered up. So we did that.
The bedtime ritual is complicated these days because L&G now have a whole ritual for getting their American Girls ready for bed. They have to be changed into PJs, and tonight they had to have their teeth brushed and faces washed. I got them upstairs to start the process on the early side, so there was plenty of time, but still. It's a lot to manage when my brain is rapidly switching to NON-PARENT MODE, which happens at 7:30pm exactly.
When they came to get me to "show me the castle," they brought me downstairs to a pristine playroom. They'd cleaned the whole thing. I honestly don't know how, because it was an insane mess. I hugged them. They were quite proud of themselves.
They played outside for a while, of their own volition, riding various things around the driveway. We had lunch. We finished The Bland Sisters. Really a cute book--about sisters named Kale and Jaundice.
Later in the afternoon, we went to the pool--these pool days are dwindling. I didn't expect to stay very long--the last few cool days made the water quite cold--but L&G had fun anyway and we stayed for about two hours. We got Ring Pops and went home for dinner.
At bedtime we of course had to clean up the bedrooms to prepare for the cleaners. And if you're thinking to yourself, "Why on earth do you need to clean before the cleaners come," well, you've clearly never encountered the line of Happy Places Shopkins. These are the tiniest toys you can imagine--from an adult's height, they appear to be no more than a speck of very vacuum-able dust on the floor. But no. They're quinoa-sized strawberries, or staple-sized toothbrushes. They have tiny smiling faces and are, of course, prized. Long story short, these are often all over the floor and must be gathered up. So we did that.
The bedtime ritual is complicated these days because L&G now have a whole ritual for getting their American Girls ready for bed. They have to be changed into PJs, and tonight they had to have their teeth brushed and faces washed. I got them upstairs to start the process on the early side, so there was plenty of time, but still. It's a lot to manage when my brain is rapidly switching to NON-PARENT MODE, which happens at 7:30pm exactly.
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