what to do while it's in the 100s outside...

it's been kinda hot, so we've been playing outside for just a short while in the morning, and then relocating to play inside, and then head back out after naps (because 95 feels much better than 100...).  one of our cars also broke down, and since everything i do, including grocery shopping, is within walking distance, we decided david would take the other car to work.  the boys and i have been hanging around at home, entertaining ourselves with:

1. recorder lessons.  max is getting really good at it!  he understands blowing, whether it's a recorder or bubbles.  if i even say the word bubbles, he starts blowing.  max loves all things musical--recorders, drums, piano, xylophone.  he's also starting to catch on to some signing, which is fun--he'll do the signs for "all done" and "please" when he hears the words, and then he starts grinning and laughing because he knows he did something correct--he's the little character!

2. turning the playhouse into a swimming hole.  this has been the number one game since it's been hot.  pace loves water time with the hose.  he cleans the playhouse, the concrete, waters the plants, sprays max (much to max's dismay), etc.  the little inflatable pool we have has a leak somewhere, and doesn't stay inflated very well, so using the playhouse as a feet-splashing pool works out great.  

oh, and why not make a mailbox waterfall?!

explain this to me, max--you hate getting splashed from the hose, but you love splashing in the tub.  you hate large bodies of water, like the public pool, but you love the little pools we have at home.  

3. giving pace a haircut.  every time we'd go out to play, this little boy with his moptop hair would get so, so hot.  i finally gave in and cut off the last remnants of his babyhood...and--poof!--here's our little boy after his haircut!  he was very uncertain about the clippers i used, and cried at first, but sitting on daddy's lap while watching curious george helped a bit.  pace eventually got that the clippers were ticklish, not painful, and at the end of his haircut he actually asked for another one.

this morning, all ready for church.  we gave max a little elvis curl so he wouldn't feel left out after we gave pace a faux hawk...

max's most recent independent assertion:  must walk to church.  pace helps.

snuggles

progress

 

mama time

david's recovery from deviated septum surgery was...exhausting...to say it nicely.  poor david was so uncomfortable--not the best way to spend your vacation week, huh?!  between bringing david his medicine every 4-6 hours, meals, changing movies, changing nosepads, sticking with the normal household chores, training for my half marathon, painting here and there, keeping the boys entertained all by myself for 14 hours, meal time, etc. etc., i hit the sack every night wishing i could sleep longer than 6 hours.  after the first few days i realized it was really hard on the boys, too, not having their normal daddy time.  once that realization hit me, we started doing a really fun thing once a day they could look forward to and talk about. 

one day it was having a pretend snack in the playhouse, and then having our real lunch out there, too!  max loves the doorbell.

another night we went to the mall to ride the elevator (pace's new favorite thing, but not max's), and ended up walking by the bear factory.  i thought it would be fun to stop in and pick out some bears for the boys, who love all things soft and cuddly.  pace was not very sure about the noises from the fluffer machine, and the blower machine, but he loved picking out an outfit for his bear.  pace chose a black bear with a fireman outfit and we chose a brown bear with little worried eyebrows for max (just like max's worried eyebrows!), and i figure we'll go back in a couple years when max knows what he likes to get his bear an outfit.  

and then we ended the night getting our picture taken in the photo booth at the mall!

unfortunately no photos, but another night we went to the riverwoods outdoor shopping center with the intention of playing in the splash pad.  just as we left the house, though, it got very windy and a storm started to blow in.  it got too cold to splash in the water, so we ended up having our picnic dinner while watching other brave kids play in the water.  there's an indoor carousel right next to the splash pad, so we rode that once, and then when the rain started we picked out a treat at the treat store!  that was a pretty special night!

of course new trucks were involved, and lots of digging in the zen garden dig site, making new roads and bridges, and some bike time.  my birthday also fell during recovery week...needless to say, i treated myself to an ice cream cake, a few items off my wishlist, and getting my hair trimmed at the mall.

and once david was feeling better--a week after his surgery--he decided it was time to tackle the garage and build all the storage shelves.  i have to admit, building shelves was not the first thing on my list post-recovery...it was more along the lines of napping, soaking in a tub, getting a massage...but pace sure was excited to help build shelves!

a couple weeks later, and we've got pretty much a finished product and a much more organized garage!

oh yeah, and a glad-you're-feeling-better new bike present!  david's in heaven!