Accepting Adoption Applications

Not really, sorry. But after viewing this post, you may want us to adopt you. We're a pretty cool family & cool parents who let our kids do cool stuff. Just sayin'.

We were all out of town this weekend. Brandon went on a golf/camping trip with a bunch of guys & I went on a girls/kids trip at my friend's beach cabin. Of course the guys get a golf vacation, and the girls get a "vacation" which = taking care of 5 toddlers and a teething infant! Oh, and we had rain. Lots and lots of rain. And a rat problem. But we made the most of it and thanks to rain boots and an indoor swing, had a great time!

I headed up to Camano Island with the girls Friday morning. It's only about 1 hour away from the house, and doesn't require a ferry ride. I had a certain idea in my head of what my friend's "cabin" would look like. I imagined an older home on the water, nothing fancy, but with a great view & nice place to get away. Well, my expectations were far exceeded. It was the perfect beach house! And the view? Well it doesn't suck. I had to nurse the baby as soon as we got there, so I sat down & just stared at the view.

Despite the rain, it was beautiful.

Why yes, that is a built-in hot tub

We spent the day inside mostly, but got the kids out for a walk when the rain took a break. Abby loved "riding" the balance bike. But nothing beats an indoor swing! The indoor swing was actually my nemasis the entire weekend. Abigail would swing for hours at a time if we'd let her. And having it up there available 24-7 was a little irritating. She'd swing for 30 minutes (not exaggerating) and then get off & 15 minutes later be begging again, "Mommy, swing me! Mommy, swing me, please!"

So what's the worst thing that could happen to 4 women who are watching 6 kids without a man in sight? How about a rat problem!? Some rats set up a nice cozy home under the patio furniture cover & grill on the back deck of the house. There was rat poop & pee everywhere! We set a trap out both days and caught 2 rats. But of course, we got a no-kill trap & then we were left with - what the heck do we do with this rat!? Not only that, but what comes along with a rat problem? Well, a hungry hawk of course! Nothing like having a giant bird of prey staring down at you through the skylight on the deck because he wants the rat in the trap!  Kinda scary!

Paying Gary a visit while he's on Death Row

In the evening, after the kids had gone to bed, we sat around, drank wine and plotted the Gary's death. We named the rat Gary, of course. We discussed setting the trap on the beach, so when the tide came in, the rat would drown. We discussed poison, starvation, there was even talk of beheading. Thankfully, my friend's step-father came over to the house & took care of the rat for us. He was going to release it into a field down the road from the house, but when he did, the hawk swooped down & took the rat! It had been stalking it the entire time!!

The next day we caught another rat in the trap. The neighbor promised to kill it for us, but ended up just letting it go. People wimp out when it comes to actually killing a living being, even when it's a rat. Not that I blamed him, I certainly couldn't do it!

The kids begged constantly to go to the beach. Of course, typical Seattle, it's mid-June and raining, with a high of 57 degrees. But, being the awesome fun moms we are, we bundled the kiddos in fleeces, rain jackets, and rain boots and took them down to the beach for some playing in the sand.

At first things were completely under control. Abigail was searching around for seashells and we discussed the jelly fish that had washed up on the sand (no, she's not actually touching the jelly fish).

We never anticipated things would get quite so messy! I don't know who started it, but one of the kids decided it would be awesome to go jump around in the water! Next thing we knew, they were all doing it. Of course they're all toddlers and not very coordinated, so they were falling over and getting soaked from head-to-toe in the Puget Sound. I couldn't believe it, but none of the kids minded being so cold & wet! They threw fits when we made them come back inside. Then we hosed them off on the deck (warm water), and had group shower time. I can't think of anything better when it comes to being a kid in Seattle.

On Sunday, the sun actually came out and it was a beautiful day. Too bad we were all worn out and ready to go home. Did I mention Brooklyn SCREAMED at me unless I was holding her, the entire weekend? Taking her to the doctor today in case she has an ear infection, but I'm 95% sure she's teething & just was miserable. ugh.

I took Abby for a quick visit to the beach, since it was actually nice. She got really mad that sand got into her shoes & took them off. I'm not sure how that's any better, but it made her happy, so fine. She said, "mommy, will you make a sand castle with me?" But then she didn't like my method, so she really just did it herself.

After the beach, we stopped to hose off her feet & then just went straight to the car to head home. And oh my, that was the most brutal car ride home EVER! The baby started screaming 5 minutes into the drive, so I pulled over at Starbucks. She was screaming so bad & acted like she was choking, where I almost called 911. It was bad. She could breath, which is why I didn't call, just scary! Finally she burped & that seemed to help her feel better. I nursed her in the driver's seat of the car in the parking lot, while Abigail emptied my bag full of pantry items we hadn't used over the weekend & sampled each item one-by-one. As soon as I put the baby back in her carseat, she started to fuss again, so I took time & installed a mirror for her on the headrest, because she loves to look at herself in a mirror. I went through the Starbucks drive-thru (Thank you, Jesus for drive-thru Starbucks!) and bought myself a much needed large drink, as well as the promised apple juice and snack for Abigail. As soon as I got on the freeway, baby started screaming her head off again. I reached back to replace the pacifier in her mouth, but she wouldn't even suck on it. She just screamed. So, again, I pulled off the freeway & into a parking lot. I went to see what her problem was & realized she'd pooped. So, I opened up the trunk and take the suitcase out so I could change her diaper in the trunk of my car. Abigail started yelling that she wants to watch me. So I let her out of her carseat & sat her in the trunk next to the changing pad. Baby had a blowout diaper, so I had to change her clothes too. Abigail climbed up to the front of the car and started messing with the wipers, horn, blinkers, radio, etc. Then she looked at me panicked, "mommy! I have to go potty!" I grabbed her little trainer potty & set it on the ground int he parking lot next to me. Poor kid, she totally peed in the middle of a parking lot, barefoot cause she'd never put her shoes back on after the beach. People were staring, but I frankly didn't care. I got the kids put back in the car, poured Abby's pee in a bush in the parking lot, and off we went again. The baby resumed crying, but eventually fell asleep just as we were getting off the exit to go home. Of course when one child is being good, the other is causing trouble. Abigail got her hands on the cooler bag full of refrigerated stuff, emptied it & then threw the bag at my head while I was driving.
When we got home, the baby was sleeping so I unpacked the car, with Abby's "help". Just as I was almost done, Abby was standing in the driver's seat of the car & said, "uh oh! I had an accident!" She had peed all over my seat. And while I was cleaning that up, the baby woke up and started crying. Honestly, that car ride was the most exhausting part of the entire trip. Brandon came home and very nicely entertained Abby for the rest of the afternoon. She was so hyper! I had to take a video cause she is such a nut. I'll leave you with this. She danced around the bed for a while, and then suddenly crashed. She asked Brandon to snuggle with her & she passed out at 6:30pm, sleeping straight through to 6am. Again, thank you, Jesus!