Playing Catch-Up

Where have the last two weeks gone? Between the school, the gym, looking for a new place to live,  celebrating friends' upcoming weddings, and of course, Charley, I've been pretty busy. I didn't even realize that it's been two weeks since I blogged until I glanced at my page this morning. Let's see, where do I start?

Last weekend was great. Charley had swimming lessons Saturday morning, and we went straight to the gym from there. NBGC was having a little open house because the gym finally got approval to open, and we wanted to give gymnasts the chance to come check it out. I'd planned to go to a friend's bridal shower, but my babysitter backed out at the last minute, so I spent much of my day searching for a replacement sitter. Fortunately for me, Charley invited herself over to my boss' house, and my boss was happy to have her, so we worked out a plan for Charley to spend the evening at her house. We spent the afternoon shopping for a bridal shower gift, and Charley was disappointed when I would not purchase a teddy bear. Her reasoning? "We need to get a teddy bear for the baby!" she insisted. "Charley, there's no baby yet," I replied. "They are getting married. Then she will have a baby in her tummy. So the baby needs a teddy bear." It was pretty cute, but I didn't want to start any rumors at the shower!

In the late afternoon, Charley went to my boss' house, while I went to the shower. "We just had the best time," Charley said later, describing her evening. I had a great time, too. The bridal shower was for one of my oldest friends, and there were so many of my favorite people there. There's a core group from high school that I still keep in contact with, and when we get together, I laugh harder than I laugh with anybody else. We all told stories about my friend, told long-standing inside jokes, and celebrated the fact that my friend found a man that is absolutely perfect for her. I was sad to leave, but I had quite a drive ahead of me so I had to call it a night a little bit earlier than I would've liked.

Sunday was Mother's Day, so Charley and I went down to brunch with my mom and step-dad, which was nice. Charley was very sweet, consistently saying how much she loves me and how, in her words, I'm, "So sweet and thoughtful!" I just love that girl to pieces. When we got home, I spent most of the afternoon cleaning. My landlord had mentioned wanting to show the town house, so I wanted to make sure it looked as nice as possible. The school week flew by for me. The gym officially opened on Monday, so I started coaching again on Monday night. It was so much fun to see the girls and get back into the swing of things. Tuesday, Charley had dance class. The girls in her class are so cute and watching them get ready for their recital is actually a lot of fun. On Wednesday, Charley and I went to look at a possible home in a nearby suburb. It was awful. Basically, the unit was in a four-plex, and three of the units were occupied by the landlord, his brother, and his mother. Ummm....that could make for an awkward living situation! Plus, they didn't do a very good job of preparing the unit to show. It clearly hadn't been cleaned since the last tenant moved out. As soon as the landlord's mother mentioned, "It's a nice, quiet place and we're all in bed by 9 o'clock," I knew it was time for us to go. Yikes! I forgot how much I hate house hunting... Ha!

Thursday, we went back to the gym in the evening. Charley came with me this time, and kept herself busy while I worked. She did pretty well for the first hour and a half or so, but she definitely became less tolerant after that! I can't say I blame her, though. We were there for a long time. Charley slept like a rock on Thursday night, though! Friday, we went to her friend Aurora's house in the evening. Aurora's mom needed a little bit of kid-free time, so Charley and I hung out with the kids for awhile, while she took a break. She hadn't been gone for 5 minutes before the kids got into her red lipstick. Later in the evening, Aurora's brother disappeared for less than a minute, and returned...missing his diaper. "Where's your diaper?" I asked, perplexed. "In my room," he stated, matter-of-factly. Then, he turned around, revealing the fact that he had pooped...and left a trail on the floor. Eeew! It was such a boy thing to do. "Why did you take off your diaper?" I asked. "I don't know," he said, "I'm a big boy."Ha! I got him cleaned up as well as the little bit of a mess he'd made, and laughed to myself. I can teach kids all day long, but it was very clear to me at that point that I was a way better babysitter when I was a teenager....

On Saturday, Charley's friend Aurora and her family actually came out to our house for a visit. They came up in the morning and we walked to the park. We were there for about 20 minutes before it started to rain. Figures. I'd straightened my hair, and when curly hair is straightened...then gets wet? It's not a pretty sight! So, we raced home as quickly as we could. Charley and her friends played upstairs, while their mom and I chatted downstairs for awhile and caught up, which we've needed to do for quite some time. We heard lots of running, stomping, and the occasional argument, but the kids had a really fun time. After that, we all went to a "Secret Target," which is basically a thrift store that carries primarily unused Target clothing. It was a good find, in terms of a store, but three kids in a store was definitely a challenge. By the time we parted ways, I think we were all exhausted. We left the store, and went directly to my dads' house, where we visited for awhile. By the time we got home, Charley and I were both hungry and tired. We went to bed early and slept late. Amazing! We've spent most of today lounging around the house. Charley threw her first big tantrum in awhile, and what was it about? Nail polish. My little diva is obsessed with having her nails painted. I touched up one of her nails, but she accidentally wiped off some of the polish, which was devastating to her. I let her  she calm herself down, then she got over it, and I helped her fix her polish...again. Ha! I never would've thought MY child would be such a girlie-girl. We were supposed to go somewhere early this afternoon, but we can't seem to get ourselves put together and out of the house. It's just a typical Sunday. Ha! Anyway, with that, I'm going to get back to amusing Charley. Have a great week!