I can't believe that in just 2 days, we will be making another trek down I-95 to pick up my stepdaughter! It seems like it was just yesterday that we dropped her off...not that I am complaining. Just surprised at the speed of time sometimes!
Her last visit was a short one. Picked her up Thursday evening and took her back Sunday afternoon. But, we managed to pack A LOT of non-stop action into that short time! OK...I was in bed by 8pm every night...but we still did a good amount of schtuff!
And, now that I say that...I am thinking..."what did we do"? So, I may have forgotten a lot in the last week. Ha.
My husband went off to work on Friday leaving us alone (and we all know how well I do alone with a child). Said child had been advised that there would be no TV, which meant extra work and no TV for stepmom too. Sigh. So much for that parenting strategy. LOL. We walked the dog, visited the playground and oh yeah...made smoothies, which contained blended pieces of a silicone spatula because I didn't heed the warning "Do not place objects in moving blades." Oops.
I did allow her some time on the wii while I made some calls, cleaned the silicone mess out of the kitchen and got myself in order. Then....RAKING! I am so excited about this part because...as is my experience...trying to get a child to do something that is actually productive is like...umm...impossible. But, I learned that the prospect of a) leaf-diving and b) post-leaf-diving-hot-cocoa, make a child a magician with a rake! And it ended up being fun for me too...kinda. I mean...the "old me" would have been far too serious to take a running leap into a pile of dirty leaves. But, the me who just came face to face with her own mortality/"life is short, make it count" attitude...said..."what the heck" and ran full force into the mess. (Hmm...that could be an excellent metaphor for life right there).
After lunch and hot cocoa...we had a play date with my one and only local friend and her same-age daughter! Thank goodness for tag-teaming and well...8 year-olds that can entertain themselves. About 10 minutes after arriving, the electricity went out. What?! Are you serious?! This adds a whole new dimension to the art of self-entertainment. Sigh.
Thankfully, some neighbor kids invited the girls out to play in the street. (Ha ha..."Girls...go play in the street!") Seriously though, it was a cul de sac, so safe from traffic. The "funny" part of this is that well...we know how flustered I get with one kid...my friend, while way less flustered than me...can also feel overwhelmed when multitasking kids...and somehow, the 2 of us ended up alone...in the cul de sac...being encircled like a school of sharks by 6 kids using 2 pogo-sticks, 3 bikes, 4 scooters and I don't know what other physically dangerous contraptions...but I was scared. Scared, I tell you! Thankfully...no one lost an eye or a finger. There wasn't even any blood. Phew...after that was pizza and bed. I thought about having about a gallon of wine with my pizza, but I was too tired to lift the glass.
Saturday, we embarked as a family on a metro ride and visit to the Air and Space museum! Despite the fact that this was a popular Saturday destination, it was decidedly an excellent and fun choice. We did drop a load (I can hear my husband saying "heh. you said load.") on the simulator rides that were a little...umm...BOHRING. But, oh well...live and learn. We also dropped a load at the museum cafeteria where they were not-so-subtly pushing McDonald's food. Hmph.
Anyway...later at home we watched How to Train Your Dragon (no...not How to "Drain" Your Dragon as one of my friends suggested) and Diary of a Wimpy Kid (which I loved so so so much). This movie really brought back middle school memories. Things that horrified me in the 6th grade that I can kinda sorta laugh at now. Kinda. Sorta. Note to self: Must re-watch this with my bestie.
All in all, it was a really good visit. I survived. She survived. Mind you...I spent a week in the hospital after the visit, but I mean...who's keeping score?
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