Another weekend come and gone.

There went another weekend.  I always find myself with a spinning head on Monday mornings as I think about everything that we managed to squeeze into the weekend.  But it was another great one.

I ended up home with the kiddos on Friday, which I enjoyed very much.  I had a huge list of things to get done, and somehow managed to strike the balance between crossing things off of the list and spending some fun time with the kids.  Lauren and I did some baking in the morning, and Mara and I squeezed in some giggle time with her ball popper amidst putting away 6 baskets full of clothes upstairs.  Then we washed some more laundry, made some yummy chicken noodle soup in the crock pot for supper and played some more before we went to get Joshua at school.  The afternoon was much of the same, but I counted it a huge victory that I managed to get Mara down for a 2 hour nap.  Her naps have been elusive at best when I am at home, so this time was a real blessing.  Friday night the girls and I ran to the mall and to Target while Joshua and Jason were at the church for basketball practice.  Going to the mall with two children is such a piece of cake compared to three, and we enjoyed some girl time together.  The highlight of the whole evening was allowing them to ride the carousel at the mall.  Mara literally giggled the entire time we rode it.  It made me very anxious to see her sweet little self on the rides at Disney in May.

On Saturday, we were blessed with a great cheering section for Joshua's basketball game.  Grandma, Nana, Pap and Danaca were on hand to cheer on our Cobras.  Joshua was beside himself knowing that there were people there to cheer for him.  Mostly, he was distracted by the fact that we were all there, so he didn't have his best first half.  But, the bright spot of the day was a steal that he had where he dribbled all the way to the other end of the court and made a basket.  The look of pride on his face was priceless.  I continue to be amazed at how much fun he is having with Upward.  He and his Daddy declare that we are going to install a basketball hoop in our driveway this spring so that he can keep practicing.

We spent the rest of the afternoon at home with Danaca.  She had driven in to spend time with us from the Philadelphia area, and we were so grateful for her doing so.  All I can tell you is that the kids absolutely adore her.  And they played her OUT!  The crowning moment was when Mara walked up to her and raised her little arms to sit in her lap.  And that, my friends, is what we call a miracle.  Mara warms up to no one, so this was impressive.  We made a yummy supper to share together, and then Joshua and Lauren attempted to lock her in our house so she couldn't leave.  Luckily we are a little craftier than the munchkins and she got to get on the road around 7:00.  What a fun time we had with her.

 For whatever reason, Mara decided to wear a winter hat and put a bink in her mouth while she was playing in her kitchen on Saturday night.  I had no idea why.  She hasn't had a bink other than to fall asleep once in a great while in ages.  No shortage of personality here, folks.  She appears very quiet and reserved, but she is such a clown.  Always trying to get a laugh out of you.

Sunday morning we headed out to church and then got home in barely enough time to run back out the door again for the annual Plumber's Bowling event.  The Plumbers are a group of guys that Jason golfs with during the spring and summer.  Since the guys don't get to see each other during the winter, they hold a bowling event (called the Toilet Bowl-A-Thon.....get it....the Plumbers?) and invite spouses to participate.  Let me tell you, I officially embarassed myself yet again, but we had a great time.  Our team even won the pot of money, so that didn't hurt.  Grandma and Grandpa came to hang out with the kids while we were bowling, and then we all met up for dinner at Ciro's.  And you'll never hear a complaint out of me when it comes to that.  We had some delicious bruschetta and pasta, and although it likely shot my points allowance for the week, I didn't care.  My only diet victory was resisting the urge to order some tiramisu.  But I am proud to say I did not give in to that temptation.  I figured I had already done enough damage with the two pieces of bruschetta I had eaten.  If I am to make my weight loss goal of 40 pounds before we leave for Disney World in May, I still have 16.6 to lose.  There's no room for too many extra treats like Sunday night between now and then. 

And so, after that weekend, we find ourselves back in the saddle for another week.  Hopefully I can find some time to blog a bit more frequently this week and to take some cute pictures of the kids.