Pumpkins and Kids

I spent my Friday night with the Martinelli kids - Isabella, Lucca, Anteo, and Sofia. Mom and Dad are enjoying a much deserved mini-vacation in paradise. Now, I'm the oldest of 5. I teach Sunday School. I grew up baby-sitting and dust off these skills periodically for friends with kids. My resume sounds fairly impressive. All signs indicate that an overnight with the kids should be no problem for this skilled individual, right? I successfully navigated the evening, but man, I'm exhausted. Kudos to all of you with kids. How do you do it every day?

It was a fun time. Friday afternoon Teo taught me how to play Super Mario Brothers on the Wii. He was patient, but I could tell my absolute failure to stay alive very long disappointed him. We tried again this morning. Bella and I played another round. Lucca was impressed by my "skills." Had to give all the credit to my mentor, Anteo Martinelli :o)

Friday evening we went to Miss Daina's house for a Pumpkin Carving Party. I think the last time I carved a pumpkin was when we lived in Oceanside. MANY MANY moons ago. I helped Anteo. Confession. I wasn't a good helper. But, I blame the pumpkin. Everyone else's tops carved out easily. It took me 20 minutes and in the process I broke a child-proof knife. Once I got the da*n thing cut open, I recognized the problem. His pumpkin had a 6-8 inch THICK "crust" whereas all the other pumpkins were more like 1-2 inches. I practically sawed the thing open. Phew! Bella and Lucca used creativity and better pumpkins to achieve great pumpkin carving success! Once I figure out how to download from my new camera to the MacBook, I will update this post with pictures.

Adventure for the weekend. The mini-van wouldn't start. Dead battery. Fortunately, there were helpful handymen around who happily hauled out their jumper cables and charger to get the van up and running. Took a while, but eventually the battery recognized it was juiced up and came back to life. We opted for the long route home in order to fully recharge. Grammy was picking up the kids on Saturday and would be using the mini-van. I figured it wouldn't be good to pass off the kids and a dead van.

Bedtime. Is this always so complicated? Showers and baths. Teo and Sofia tried the water wash version of bath-time. I won the debate in regards to whether or not they needed to climb back into the bath and actually use soap. I think teeth were brushed in 10 seconds flat. I chose not to do the math in terms of how many teeth probably got missed. The bedtime story was 2 pages out of Lucca's insect book - The Hawk Wasp. Uhm. Let's just say what the baby hawk wasp/ larvae does to a spider (specifically Tarantula) is horrific and not a pleasant way to die. Glad I'm not a Tarantula. I'd never sleep.

Where was I? Right, Bedtime. Baths done. Teeth (or at least most of them) brushed. Sofia in bed with bear, baby, and her water. Anteo in bed. Lucca in bed. Bella reads to me out of her chapter book and then to bed. Deep breath. Wait. Wait. Wait. VICTORY! They stay in bed. Sleep takes possession of their bodies. Rest wins out over their active minds. And then bed for me.

Amazingly enough, I actually sleep. I get up with time to spare (kids still sleeping) and achieve my one morning objective - a shower! By the time I get out, Bella, Lucca and Anteo are awake. Playing Wii. They all think it is funny that I take a shower in the morning. :o) We play some Wii (see above mention about my "mad skills" and my mentor Anteo). Breakfast - Cereal, Fruit and Breakfast bar for the boys. Pancakes for Sofia, Bella and Miss Emily. I need to celebrate a moment here. For those of you who know Sofia, all know she is a PICKY eater. Case in point - No amount of arguing about the tastiness of a hot dog or quesadilla at the party last night would convince her to eat anything other than chips. (David and Diane - I tried really hard. She did drink water, so I made sure she was hydrated adequately.) Anyway, this morning, I am pleased to report Sofia ate - 2 pancakes, banana, AND a yogurt. Woohoo!

Grammy arrived about 11am. We successfully transitioned responsibility of the Martinelli kids from her to me. Once relieved of duty, I headed out for a cup of coffee and time with my book. Gorgeous morning - Warm sun, blue skies, and everything sparkly clean from the rain.

All in all, the weekend of pumpkins and kids surprised me by being delightful. Oh, and in case you wondered, the van did start up again this morning. Battery still charged.

P.S. Is it something to do with watching multiple kids that makes you forget their names? I kept calling Anteo "Lucca." Good grief. Is that a sign of parenting brain?