A Weekend with Cousin Mya...

What a weekend!

This weekend John and My brother-in-law and sister-in-law were going down to Tennessee for the OU vs. Tennessee game, so I was going to watch my niece for them so that they could really enjoy the trip :)

Saturday morning Ryan got up around 6:45 AM, which made getting up and getting ready for Mya to be there at 7:30 a lot easier :) Jamie and Jim dropped Mya off and from the minute she walked in, she was ready to play! Thankfully there were no tears!

Kylie and Josh had been sleeping over at my parents, so Kylie came home as soon as she heard that Mya was there. We all went down to the play room and played for a long time. While they continued playing I went up and made chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. Right about that time my dad and Josh came over and Kylie, Josh and Mya had a blast playing together!

After breakfast there was more playing by the kiddos…all the while I was doing tons and tons of laundry (is there anything else that I do?) and popping in to play with them. Right before lunch I noticed that Kylie was off playing by herself…I can tell when Kylie just needs some time to decompress and have “alone time.” But within ½ hour she was back to playing with Mya. Unfortunately it was a rainy mess all day, so we were couped up inside the whole time, which of course we’re not used as all summer we have been outside the majority of every weekend.

For lunch we had these wonderful crepes with ham and tomatoes and cheese in them (so easy to make!). After lunch the kids went back to playing for a while and then it was time for naps. This was where Mya had a hard time…a new bed, by herself = crying! So Kylie went in and read her some stories and then just read to herself while Mya fell asleep. Then she quietly snuck out and she and I attempted to get some scrapbooking done since everyone was asleep. Unfortunately Ryan only slept a little while, so our alone time was abruptly interrupted.

The rest of the day the kids played more, and then it was time to make dinner! I thought it would be fun to have the kids make their own pizzas! So I made up the dough and gave the kids rolling pins and then went to town! Then we put the toppings on…I helped Mya out, so while she was waiting on the other kids to finish, she decided that she would eat her toppings off of her pizza :) The kids almost all of each of their pizzas, so I think it was a success!

Then it was time for baths – Joshie and Mya took a bath together and then I gave Ryan one. Ryan had only slept 1 ½ hours ALL DAY! But thankfully, with Motrin and his gums numbed, he was really a fun little guy all day…I had so much fun playing with him!

Then it was bed time (and quiet time for me!). I sat down for the first time all day at 9:00 PM. I had hunger pains because I realized I had barely eaten all day. Thankfully my mom went out to get us some wings so I had a great dinner at 9:30! I felt like every time I turned around I was running a load of dishes, doing laundry, making a meal, or doing what the kids wanted to do…it was exhausting! But really, really fun and rewarding!

Sunday we all woke up in great moods (mainly because Ryan only got up once and Mya slept fine all night). We got ready for church (that’s right…I took 4 kids to church by myself! But I did have my mom and dad there helping me…). I was helping out in the baby room, where I had Ryan, a little girl that’s 2 months older than Ryan, and then Mya didn’t like being in the big kids’ room, so she came in with me too. I’ve never worked the baby room because I’m in charge of the 18 months – 4 year-old room, so it was a nice change and I loved getting that extra time with Ry-Ry.

After church my mom went to McDonald’s and grabbed us lunch, which was a huge help, and we got to go outside for the first time all weekend! Then Jamie and Jim came and picked Mya up after lunch, and we stayed outside the majority of the day…our neighbors came out and hung out with us until about 4:30, and then we went inside, made dinner, and then John came home. That evening Kylie finished up her homework and Joshie and I read a book with his Leapfrog TAG thing. And then Kylie and I got some good time scrapbooking together. I had promised her since she had been such a HUGE help the whole weekend (playing with Mya, watching Ryan when I needed to do something, putting Mya to sleep, getting me things if I couldn’t leave a room…I could go on and on…) that we would get some special time together. The 45 minutes of scrapbooking went by way too fast…I definitely owe her some more time!

And now we’re back to Monday :( And to top it off a huge cold front is coming in :( But Joshie has another football practice today and I’m really looking forward to getting home and seeing the kiddos again :)