After the actual Christmas Day celebrations, we had a nice, relatively stress-free, relaxing break. We didn't travel anywhere, although my parents came for a couple of days. However, having my parents stay with us for a few days does not increase our stress :)
The slide and gym equipment provided much entertainment and activity for all three of the kids, plus the grown-ups. Of course Matt and I use the slide whenever it is set up, and a few other adults have tried it, too, my mom included.
My brother and his wife (ah! It's still hard to believe that he's married!) added to the gym equipment by gifting the kids a lycra swing.
For those who don't know, these types of swings are made from the same material as swimsuits, but can be suspended from the ceiling at the four corners.
They are often used for kids who have different sensory needs, but both Kate and Ethan learned over the summer and fall that they are just a lot of fun to play in. A local fabric store had green and gold lycra in stock so the kids think that Uncle Adam and Aunt Jess gave them a Packers swing :)
After the new swing was mounted, Matt also added in a mini-zipline down there. Two years ago, who would have thought that we would have anything like this in our basement? But, you gotta do what you gotta do, and giving Anna (and the other two) easy access to all these physical outlets is only going to help.
Once my parents left, we had a handful of things throughout the week. A playdate for Kate, an impromptu get-together one morning at church so kids could interact and run around, friends coming over for dinner (and sliding down the slide, of course), a bowling playdate with one of Anna's classmates, and a dinner out with grown-ups for Matt and me. Plus playing in the snow, playing games, coloring, crafting, and goofing off.
Since we knew we would be around home for much of our time, we began Operation Potty Train Ethan. He has taken very well to the idea of peeing on the potty, but we haven't yet found the right motivation for getting the #2s where they need to be. Hopefully that happens sooner rather than later.
Sprinkled in the mix was a tumble down the slide for Ethan one afternoon. Of course it would happen sooner or later. He didn't tumble the whole way, and we think he was trying to do something fancy instead of just sitting on his bottom. After all of our medical experiences, we weren't too worried, although he still talks about his arm being a little sore every once in a while.
The next day, another one of our children got a bloody nose about 5 minutes after Melissa, our babysitter, showed up. Nothing serious, but it meant that the 20 or so minutes before we left for dinner were not as relaxing as they were supposed to be. Oh, well. Life is always exciting here at the Mischnick home.
January is typically the time in our home when I can get a lot of random things accomplished. We'll see if that still holds up now that the 3 year old doesn't nap.
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