Busy Little Bees

A cold bug had our whole family feeling pretty awful for a few days last week, but we were all on the mend until Liam had a feverish relapse after the pumpkin patch. So we cleared our calendar for today in favor of naps, cartoons and chicken soup....but let's get real. It was a warm sunny day and bored kids are cranky kids. So I looked for some low key fun to keep them sedated. I mean, happy.
Project #1: Mow the Lawn. Fresh air and exercise make for a good afternoon nap! Sarah's being pulled down that hill by the mower, but we all know what comes next: what goes down, must come up! Child labour or Nap-happy mom? You decide.

She called for assistance when she ran into some technical difficulties...


But if you really want something done, you have to do it yourself!


Project #2: Rake the Leaves. Liam had this one covered.



Project #3: Walk The Dog.


Wait....who's got the dog?!

Project #4: Kiss injured knee. This one was my job. Sarah got a little too much momentum going down the hill. Boo boo on display for sympathy here....


Project #5: Imagine all sorts of scenarios why there's a cement truck in the neighborhood. I'm pretty sure they're not building a hockey rink on our street, but don't tell Liam.


Project #6: Keep Mojo company while he eats. I had another motive here, since Sarah was still napping and keeping Loud Liam far away from Sleeping Sarah (ie. in the basement) is good for everyone. Also, for some reason the dog will not touch his food unless he's got a buddy around. Liam was happy to oblige...and refill the dish. Mojo is a well-fed pup with Liam on the job!


Project #6.5: Somewhere in there we went to the library. The kids ran amok and Liam shouted his face off. We made a hasty exit. No pictures. :)

Project #7: Okay, this was a make-work project. But sometimes that's in order when you need some time to put together some healing chicken soup! This little activity (finding all the googly eyes I hid within a ball of play-doh) was good for about 3 minutes! Then Sarah grabbed a handful of Liam's dough, Liam grabbed a bigger handful of hers, and the gloves were off. Luckily, Matt called in on Skype around this time and was able to offer some "virtual babysitting" for a few minutes while I finished making the soup. (It was tasty!)




But truth be told, by the time the kids had splashed their hands around in the soup and bickered over hockey sticks, a toy cash register, a bowl of grapes, and an elaborate McDonald's drive thru that Liam had fashioned out of chairs, a garbage truck and cardboard, I was ready to put them to bed. It was 5:30. Even I thought that was a little early, so it was time to prepare for...

Project #8: Bathtime. They are "hiding"....but at least they can agree on something!


So here we are. It is not quite 7:30. The kids are in bed. Time for Project #9: Mommy Time. Good night!