And the weekend starts on... Thursday?

Paige and Luke headed out this weekend to meet our new nephew Max. Which means she abandoned me… gave me a long weekend of bonding with the other three. So I am babysitting… parenting from now until next Monday. It could be a total disaster… lovely weekend!

All kidding aside, we should have lots of fun. Paige always says I am nuts and I load up all the kids and take them places. Which is true (on both counts.) Tomorrow we are meeting up with Aunt Gina and heading to the Children’s Museum. I have no idea what is in store for the rest of the weekend. But I hope that someday the kids have fond memories of when mom left for the weekend, and dad got to wing it as a single parent.

Now on to some assorted tidbits from the last few days:

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My Uncle Roger and Aunt Alice came over for dinner last night. The kids, after an initial bit of shyness, warmed right up to them. Uncle Roger even volunteered to read them a book, which they loved.

Paige and I both commented just before hitting the pillows that we were stunned at how well our kids behaved at dinner. They sat still (mostly), ate their food without complaining (mostly), even asked to be excused without prompting (mostly.) Of course, Roger and Alice probably drove back home talking about how stunned they were at our kids’ behavior… but not in the good sense. It’s all a matter of perspective I guess.

I wish we could see Roger and Alice more often, as they are more fun than a barrel of monkeys.

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This was how we found Levi and Noah last night. They started out in separate beds. Too cute…

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Paige sent me this in an email today, titled “Where do they learn gender issues?”

Noah: It’s okay for you to cry Ella, you are a girl.
Ella: You can cry too and you're a boy.
Noah: Yeah, I cry when I get spankin’s, and I scream and cry when I go to time out.

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We headed to the grocery story tonight to pick up some supplies for while Paige is gone. Being the nutrition sensitive father that I am, I think we did a good job selecting items from each of the five major food groups…

What? Otter pops, Spaghettios, chicken strips, frozen pizza, and chocolate milk all occupy a significant and important place on any food pyramid…

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Paige somehow railroaded… convinced me to spend our birthday cash on a new (to us) couch. She has been scouring Craigslist for a good deal. So I made arrangements and picked this one up tonight. Our old couches were starting to show their age, and the cotton fabric was not easy to clean, especially with little kids around. The ground in cheerios, old milk stains, dried boogers, and “dad fell asleep on the couch and sweated too much in his sleep” odors had finally reached the tipping point.

Of course, we didn’t get rid of the kids, or the sweaty dad… so hopefully this one cleans up a little better than the last ones.

Paige said that since she spent the money that “she” made selling our possessions at the garage sale (which I argued should be half mine,) she would allow me to sit on the couch and put my feet up. There was also something in there about this being a comfortable couch from which to watch the election results in a few weeks. The woman knows how to motivate me.

I gave it a try tonight, and attempted, for a second time, to watch the presidential debate from last night. I promptly dozed off, again for the second time. What a snoozer of a debate! At least the “dad fell asleep on the couch sweat” appears to have left behind no stain…

On a semi related note, if anyone is in the market for a sofa and loveseat, with only slight normal wear and tear from 8 years of loving use, I know where you could pick some up cheap… ;)

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I took the van to pick up the couch this afternoon. Mysteriously, the radio no longer works. It turns on, but no sound comes out of the speakers. I asked Aunt Angie about it. She was babysitting today. She said it was working fine, then they went over a bump, and it suddenly stopped working. So I played a hunch…

Me: Levi and Noah, did you put any money in the radio?
Levi: No.
Noah: No.
Levi: No, I put dimes in the radio! [emphasis on the ‘dimes’]
Me: So you did put money in the radio?
Levi: No, I put diiiiiiiiiiiimes.

Sheesh. Guess I get to take apart the van radio, again. At least I am getting faster with practice. There is something about combining a CD slot and loose change that is irresistible to little boys.