Afterward we came home and the kids hopped in the kiddie pool. Note the suds in the pool: this is what Daddies let kids do! No harm, no foul, but lots of fun. While the kids were splashing, Chris had been using dish soap and a scrubber brush "gun" to clean the gutters. When he was done, he let the kids use the remaining dish soap to make their pool sudsy. Then they spent another hour pretending to be Grampa Neil with his white beard (unfortunately, no photos record that).
Mary was grumpy and wouldn't smile for the camera. The kids then ate an outdoor picnic lunch in their swim suits: instead of mommy trying to make them a proper meal, they ate finger foods of plantain chips with sunflower seed butter, currents, hot dog, pepperoni, cheese, and pecans. The kids devoured the plate instead of complaining. Why don't I do this more often?
Then we made real lemonade since I had a plethora of lemons. Mary was having the best time eating a raw lemon, peel and all, but was cross when I tried to take a photo of her.
No, you won't photograph me!We ended the day making homemade pizza, dough and all, which I have finally mastered, at least in its basic form, after only five years of working on it. I've lately been making every Saturday, "Pizza Saturday." The kids enjoy it, especially when it is followed by ice cream cones!
I love the sudsy pool idea! We should try that in our water table (no pool).
ReplyDeleteTridentineWife: Oh, thank you! But remember that my two older kids are old enough to "go play by yourselves!" while yours are at one of the peak difficulties of ages (in my opinion, 15-24 months). As an example, that Saturday, my DH came with us to farmers' market, so I could ride in the back seat next to the baby to make sure she didn't scream the whole 15-minute drive. Then DH and big kids sat on a picnic bench eating a muffin I bought at the market while I wore the baby and shopped by myself. We drove home and DH kept the big kids outside in the pool for HOURS so I could just hang out with the baby and putter around. I made them a snack tray for lunch (easier than cooking), I think the baby was probably asleep while I made lemonade, my stand-mixer essentially "made" the pizza dough, and that was it.
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