Hello again all who may read this!
One of the BEST things about having a large family is the fact that my kids have someone to play with all the time. I am so happy and blessed that my kids all get along very well. They play together nicely and they have great imaginations. They are awesome at setting up shops and they shop at each other's stores. Or they play dress up, or games, or read to each other. Yes, they do fight, but it is usually over someone touching someone else's stuff. Overall, they are just really good at playing together. They don't always play with the same person. One day Molly and Abbie will be "buddies" as they call it and the next day Abbie and Kenadie will be best "buddies". They rotate! Lanie LOVES to play with them now and they even take her up in their rooms with them and include her in their stories! I can only pray that my kids continue to be each other's best friends. I can honestly say that I truly love watching their relationships develop as siblings and friends!
Ok, so anyways, they don't get to have friends over much at all. There is never a lack of anyone to play with here, so we just don't need to do it. I decided yesterday that they could each have a friend over to play for the day. Change it up a little, right? Let the fun begin!
Sadie choose Seth and Jessie...they come as a package deal most of the time! They are neighbors and best buddies! Seth's mom was more than Happy to bring them over! ( I think she even told me she would LOVE to get rid of them for the day cause they were driving her nuts...and it was only 9 in the morning!) Anyways, Sadie only has 2 other girls in her class. For some reason, she has clicked with these two boys since preschool. They are really nice, kind, and polite little boys. She was so happy to have them over. They couldn't decided what to do. They were up, they were down, they were in, they were out. They finally settled down and played a few games of guess who. I heard lots of giggling and talking....! One day I think there might be trouble with them! 2 boys + 1 girl = not a good outcome!
Lanie woke up from her nap as everyone was arriving and I put her in her chair with her token cup and graham cracker to keep her occupied while I got the other settled in!
Abbie and Kenadie had their friends Rylee and Ryanna over to play. They are sisters and the kids get along very well. Abbie and Kenadie had set up a painting station as their first activity for when they arrived. They got right into painting and creating! Gavin and Molly joined along as well. (Molly's friend was coming over right before lunch so she was my helper until her friend came!) Gavin's friend couldn't come over. He was okay, though, because He really likes playing with Sadie's "boy" friends!
While the kids were playing, I told them I would make them some Kool-Aid Play dough. One of my high school friends had posted about this play dough on her blog a few months ago and we have done it once before. I had bought some new colors so I started making the play dough. Very easy and super cheap to make.
Lanie was getting a bit tired of sitting in her seat and just watching all the action. I needed to make the play dough without her being on my hip. So what does every good mom do? I gave her a bag full of cookies to eat. Yup...she sat and ate cookies!
Gavin chose to play with his play dough inside. Not sure why...but he did. He has a cold so I think he just wanted to be close to me!
I made 8 different batches of play dough. Some of the reds and pinks turned out to be similar colors, but still pretty cool. Oh and the play dough smells like the kool-aid too!
Abbie, Rylee, and Ryanna made Rapunzel characters and other fun stuff.
Kenadie joined Sadie's bunch to make food with their play dough. Lots of noodles were made!
By the time I finished with the last batch of play dough....the kids were done playing with it. Oh well....it was so worth it, though. They were able to take home their "awesome" creations to show their moms and dads. ( sorry, parents that got these "awesome" creations! Ha! I love when my kids come home with "stuff" too!) At this point, Lanie was done. The cookies could no longer keep her happy. Bad thing about cookies was now she NEEDED a bath. This was a job I couldn't just wipe up....she needed a good wash! So off to the sink she went.
Lanie played in the sink for a bit while I started on lunch. Grilled cheese, Jell-O, watermelon, carrots, and chips. That was a lot of food to make! The kids were in and out asking when it was going to be ready.....they were very patient with me....and I had to get Lanie out of the sink and get her dressed in between that all too!
Pet shops were created, more games were played, "house" was played, and Tangled was put on for a few. That didn't last very long. Now they all wanted a snack...what? I just got done cleaning up lunch. If it would have been my kids, I would have said "no." But...how can you say no to your kids friends? Right? Rylee and Ryanna brought over pringles and cheese puffs so that was their snack. Cheesy fingers and all!
Probably the best moment was when Sadie and her friends came upstairs dressed up! This is why I LOVE these boys. They truly don't care...they just love to play. I am not sure what they were playing...but they were having fun! And any boy that can put on a dress and play with Sadie is just fine with me. Now I am sure this stage will not last long...but their innocence is just so priceless at this age!
I didn't get a picture of Molly with her friend. They were busy catching butterflies and riding bikes outside most of the time.
The parents came and picked their kids up. I think the kids all had a good time. My kids were sad to see them leave. They have all asked when we can do another play date again.
Good thing Dan and I had a date planned for that night. We, well, I should say I got a babysitter to watch all six kids while we went to dinner. We had a nice time. Our waitress was a bit weird, which was funny. We went to the mall and walked around. We didn't buy anything....after all we had to pay a babysitter! We were only gone 2 1/2 hours. The kids were all happy to see us , but they didn't want to leave. Lanie was actually smiling when we got back and even sat on the Dad's lap and drank her bottle. It was so nice not having to worry that they were ok...we KNEW they were. We didn't even check in at all! Before we went to go back to pick them up, we stopped at the Family Christian bookstore and looked at books on how to be better parents. Dan kept pointing thins out to me from the book "parenting with no regrets" and told me I should buy the book and read it. Nice Dan. Thanks. I guess I will be downloading that book today on my IPAD so I can learn how to be a better parent with no regrets. Dan informed me that he doesn't read books! So glad we got out and had some alone time. We know in a few months things will change with a newborn again. We are cherishing our moments while we can.
Oh and one last picture. Lanie got her first "pony" today. I used to do this with the other girls hair all the time...but Lanie's hair is so different. She screamed while I did it....but it kept the hair out of her eyes. She looks so much like Molly with her hair like this!
I will be posting later tonight with a give away from thirty-one. Yeah for free things! Oh and if anyone wants to take my kids for a playdate....you just let me know!
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