Yesterday morning we met Miss Julie, Jude & Kate at the Hands On House. And we had fun playing!
The first stop was some car thing that didn't work out so well...too advanced for Mommy. So, we ended up going into the face painting area. Joshua did NOT want his face painted, and wiped off the red paint that Miss Julie put on his cheeks, making him look like he had blush on. She put a pumpkin on herself (she's much more talented than I am at such things) and Caleb ended up with an orange dot on his cheek that I cleaned off before we left that area.
The next stop was sorting eggs...a big hit with the Bean! The chickens lay the eggs, and as they come down you put the good ones in the carton and the bad ones (the plastic ones that had a marker making a crack) into the hole for 'bad eggs.' I think Joshua could have stayed there most of the day, but his friend Jude was off and running the grocery store!
Next we followed Jude into the grocery store. Jude & Joshua both cracked me up in there. Jude was running the cash register. Since he's not used to manually entering the numbers, he held any item up that was given to him to the register itself and said "Beep!" like he's heard at the checkouts. So sharp! 
Joshua immediately went and stocked his basket full of bread and desserts...hmmm...what does that say about our diet???
He added healthier items later. The cool thing is that this place has fun things for older kids (there's a grocery shopping list they can try and the items are priced so they can add things up, etc.) but it was just as fun for the little kids to go shopping, make sandwiches and run the register. For Jude, everything was $2.
Next, we left to go to the Land of Make Believe. There were tons of dress up costumes, finger puppets, and much more to look at! A little girl gave Julie & me fake flowers to smell - she was adorable. We all got dressed up, except for Caleb who was napping.
Joshua was a dinosaur. Julie put the costume on him, and he left it on until I helped him remove it. I was impressed! Jude was a firefighter, I was some sort of dragon, Julie was a court jester??? and I forget what hat little Kate put on.
Jude & Joshua enjoyed the puppet show put on by Miss Julie.
Next, Jude put together blocks for his daddy, the architect. Joshua & I went back to that station later so he could put them together. He wasn't thrilled when his building collapsed.
He did find a toy that reminded me of my little "Light Bright" when I was little. He loved putting these sticks in the holes that glowed. Again, I think he could have stayed there for hours. But we pressed on to see what else was around the corner.
Next we went to the land of recycling. This was a little over the Bean's head, but he enjoyed some of the different things the toys did.
His one true passion there was the germs. This little machine explained why it's important to scrub your hands, and you hit the buttons to make the soap knock out the germs. He did a great job, and literally threw a fit when I made him leave this station. Thus, it was time to go.
From there, we went to Grandma's house for lunch. She had just returned from vacation and Jen & her four kids stopped in, too. We had pizza, french fries and chocolate chip cookies...the lunch of champions! It was a great day! Thanks for inviting us to a fun day at the "Hands House," Julie! Thanks for lunch, Grandma! Hooray!
I remember the Bible verse, "Do not love sleep or you will become weary." However, these days I think both Shawn & I are craving just a little more. I'll be honest, though, I took a nap today. For the past couple of nights, or should I say weeks, Joshua has not slept through the night. Two nights ago, I think he needed a breathing treatment. He woke up Monday with a yucky cough and then that night he seemed out of sorts. Since he was coughing, he didn't want to sleep laying down. The next day was the same for his nap, but I caught him with his blankey on the couch after I had changed Caleb's diaper. He was so exhausted he found a way to pass out that was on his terms. My little buddy is stubborn like his momma!
Thankfully, whatever the cough was seems to have disappeared as quickly as it came. I'm praying he makes it through the whole night tonight. He's already in bed (9:30 pm) so I'm heading there soon myself. Last night he came in and climbed up with us around 1 am. I didn't even realize it at first. We must get a king size bed or start putting him back in his own room until he learns he can't climb up with us, no matter how cute (or how sick). He loves to sleep nose-to-nose with Daddy and says 'more sleepies Daddy' meaning that he wants them to lay down together. With me, he likes to lay with his back in my chest and me snuggling with him. It's so darn cute...that gets us every time.
Caleb, on the other hand, is on his third night of sleeping through the night in a row. I'm so proud of him! He hasn't been eating well the last few days, though. He'll eat for a couple minutes and then give up. His diapers are still wet and soiled, so I guess he's getting enough. Hopefully this passes or I get used to it and learn not to worry. Both boys were pretty happy today, but Caleb slept a lot of the day away. I've been loving the warmer weather and hope it continues to stay nice; although, they say tomorrow is only supposed to get up into the 60's. We'll see! Good night!
I started out early and picked up Jen since she isn't able to drive since her seizures started. Then we met at Squire Side for lunch. We talked about children, ministry, churches (we all attend somewhere different now), husbands and life in general. It was great to catch up! Cheryl is currently pregnant with her fourth child and Michelle had her third since I last saw her!
Soon it was time to go since Aunt Missy had to work and Cheryl needed to relieve her babysitter. I invited all the gals back to our house for dessert since I had some leftovers. :) Michelle picked up her kiddos and came back, and meanwhile Kris & Jen rode with me home. Joshua enjoyed playing with Michelle's kiddos outside. It was 81 degrees! 
