Quick Update for the Casual Observer

For those of you not a part of my day-to-day, I won’t make you go back and read April and May to put things together:

Aiden is a little boy we babysit in the day while he’s on the waitlist for daycare.  He’s been coming since May 1st and I hope we can continue this for a while!  The days are long and I’m very tired but he’s a good baby, the boys really really love him, and I really like having some money coming in (–and going straight out again, of course.  sigh.)

He is to-the-day nine months younger than my little Boy Blue, but he’s a big bruiser.  At 4 months he was equal in weight to Boy Blue on his birthday, and now I’m fairly certain he has surpassed my lightweight.  When I have the two of them in the double stroller, although they look nothing alike, I get a lot of comments about the “twins.”  (although to be fair, I also get twin comments when it’s Little Red and Boy Blue.  People are stupid.) 

We still make excursions out of the house, and I’ve even ventured to Trader Joe’s with all three boys although usually I save the grocery shopping for Saturday mornings.  Having Aiden does represent a significant change in our lifestyle, we are staying home more and I’m not going out on my long walks.  But it’s summer and I was going to hibernate anyway, so I don’t feel it’s a loss.

Sorry for the confusion — no I did not suddenly have another baby.  But I did try to trick a friend into thinking I did, when we caught up with them at Travel Town last week.  Funny!

Where the Wild Things Are

We’ve completed an entire round of Phreeley Fridays (as I like to call them, but they are formally known as pajama parties so the kids don’t feel like we’re ditching them for date night.)  It was a total success and we have started the rotation again.

We celebrated solstice by hosting the mosh pit at our place.  (and I was babysitting random extras all afternoon, too.  It really was the longest day!  haha, but good)

We’re in the middle of a heat wave so I asked Paul to bring home pizza.  He complied, willingly — how often do I come up with the suggestion of paying for food instead of making it?  But seriously, after watching 5 kids all afternoon with only an hour and a half break before I had 5 kids again, and with it still 100 degrees by suppertime, there was no way I was cooking, cleaning, or even thinking of turning on the oven.

Once the kids were over I left Paul with the younger ones, Logan and Boy Blue, and I took the 3-year olds (excuse me, Kyra just had a birthday) into the kitchen to make no-bake chocolate macaroons.  -so easy!  recipe at bottom.  And they played and played and played.

When Paul and I could stand the noise no longer, we turned on the movies.  Tonight’s double feature began with The Jungle Book and was followed by Horton Hears a Who*.  Miraculously, by 10 pm Boy Blue was in his bed and the older four were sitting quietly on the couch.  If we had just a couple more minutes before the parents came back I think I might have been asleep.  The kids all had to be carried out in the arms of their parents, and were sad to leave.  Whew!  another success, and now we have two date nights of our own on the calendar!

 

*You’re right, it is to early for Horton to be out on video yet.  There are benefits to living in LA.  One of our friends lent us a screener. 

 

No-Bake Chocolate Macaroons

Combine and set aside:

3 cups of oats

1 cup of shredded coconut

1 tsp of salt

5 Tbsp of cocoa powder

Boil together:

2 cups of sugar

1/2 cup of milk

1/2 cup of butter

Remove from heat and add 1 Tbsp of vanilla extract

Combine wet and dry ingredients together.  Drop by spoonful onto wax paper.  Chill in fridge.