Introducing: Babysitters Steph and Tim:
Well, Rob and Melanie are off, so you've got me! I'm Steph, half of Stim. Here's our picture (because I think I look goofy in most of the ones Mel has posted of me!)
'm counting today as day 2, even though yesterday was only a half day. I'll preface this by saying I'm no where near as funny or as enjoyable to read as Melanie, but this is a way I can keep her & you all up to date on the Odettelettes, so here ya go.
We dropped Rob and Mel off at the airport around 1:00 yesterday & headed to run a couple errands. First stop was the petstore for dog food & to look at all the critters. All three kids really enjoyed the chinchilla and the fish. We spent a LOOONG time looking at the fish. They have like 400 kinds of goldfish, and the kids kept asking, "What is this one called? How about this one? And this one? Steph what's this one?" And they were all GOLDFISH. I never realized there was such a variation or that they actually come in several colors. We did see a few cool ones, I especially liked Tequilla Sunrise Guppies. They were bright yellow with an orange rim on their fanned tails. (But $4.00 a piece & you need 3, according to the sign.) The kids got a kick out of the "sharks" and the snails. Chloe was convinced there was something wrong with a crab that wouldn't move & Jack enjoyed the frogs.
After PetSmart we went to the dry cleaners but my comforter wasn't back yet (I just heard from them & it is in today, thanks to me fussing at the owner.) so we went to McDonald's for my lunch and a snack for the kids, who'd already had Happy Meals for lunch. Around about then, Mel called and talked with the kidlets.
After that we went home & cleaned and played until Tim got home. We got all the toys in the living room sorted & put away. I checked out the luggage for the kids & gathered some things Mel didn't pack. (Sippy cups, the "special kid" silverware, some small bowls, the kids' animal bath towels & shoes) When Tim showed up, I had already started dinner (I really can be a good wifey) and we ate so we could hurry to the pool for Family Night. We had chicken, fish sticks, scalloped potatoes and corn. I thought it was a good meal & everybody ate except Jack, of course. (He did eat some, I had to convince Tim not to watch him.)
Side note here: Tim is a big softie & will let the kids do whatever they want. He sat down and fed Jack so that he would eat & then while I was in the bathroom he let him get down from the table w/o eating 3/4 of his food.
After dinner we donned swimsuits & headed to the pool. Jack decided he wanted to take a nap instead of go to the pool, so I brought his blanket with us, he didn't ever nap though. Chloe is pretty scared of the pool, if you let her, but I convinced her to relax, close her eyes and listen to me "sing" to her while she kicked around the pool. She did pretty good, we made about 3 laps back and forth from the "safe" 3 ft. to the "very scary" 5 feet sections. Sophia isn't really scared at all. She was pretty good at holding on to my back while I swam under water & we even practiced bouncing up and down in the water too. I'd count one, two, three, and she'd puff out her cheeks and squeeze her eyes closed to go under. She didn't really "like" it but she didn't dislike it, either. When we got done with that, Tim asked her if she had fun, and she said yes with a big smile, so it couldn't have been that bad.
We left the pool around 8:15 & loaded up the van & the pick up with the kids' stuff. (3 suitcases, a toy box, a wagon, a chair from the kitchen, a children's chair, Lily's crate, groceries, blankets, 2 booster seats, and 2 car seats) and headed home. Jack rode in the truck with Tim, and boy was he tickled at that. (Both the truck & the one-on-one time with Tim.) Both girls fell asleep in the van with me. Tim babyproofed the guest room & I unpacked the kids' things before saying goodnight somewhere around 10. I didn't take any pictures on the "real" camera, but I'll see if Tim can get the pics off of the cell phone.
So far today we have gotten up, played, I've cleaned a bit, we headed off to Wally World for some groceries, and the kids have had lunch and are supposed to be napping. This evening's plans are for Tim to cut the grass with Jack's help with the Bubble Mower and to play the Monkey Balancing Game "as a family" as Chloe puts it.
Another side note, I don't know the prompt for the umlaut in Chloe's name, so forgive me.
-Fin
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