Summer fun

Today playgroup was at Avonmore playground. It is a great park as there is a lot of things to play on and there is a wading pool too. We arrived at about 10:30 and stayed until about 2:30. The kids all had a great time. Brendan had a book with him and was reading quite a bit - it is sad to see that playgroup does not hold the same fascination as it used to for him, but at age 11 he is starting to grow up. He did have fun playing a bit though. The girls all had a great time - there was a big group of kids there from a daycare and the girls made some new friends. Other than Rebecca face-planting in the sand it was a fairly stress-free day. Thank goodness for playgroup days!! Sarah tried out the sand and the water on her toes and she seemed to enjoy that too. I took the kids over to Dairy Queen for an ice cream cone after we left ($8.50 for 5 kids cones - gag!!), and other than Becky being covered in ice cream (totally expected) they enjoyed those too! Brendan decided that Sarah needed some too - I asked him if he gave her some and he said "Only little bits". Oh well, there's no turning back now - she will be destined to love ice cream as much as all the others!!

A day in the life of the Hatch Family

I guess I will get things started by sharing a typical day in our home. I wake up early (6am) and feed the baby and then go out for my run. I have been running for 2 1/2 months now and this morning I ran 3.5km out of a total 5km distance. Since I couldn't run 4 blocks when I started, I think I am making some progress. Matt left for work at 8:30am - just as the rain started (great - an inside day!) Our kids are already "enjoying" each others company and so the day begins. Brendan (11yrs) almost forgets to come for breakfast because he is trying to solve a rubics cube, though he knows if he misses the prayer, he has to wait until everybody else is done, so he slips into his chair just as the amen is being said. Grace (almost 6yrs) has managed to get herself dressed, but brushing her hair is another matter - it looks like I used a mixer instead of a comb. Anna (4yrs) is still in her pajamas and will be until the last possible second she can. It takes about 5 requests and finally she is threatened that she will be left behind that she finally starts to decide what she wants to wear - oh and no brush for her! Rebecca (2 1/2yrs) is screaming (unfortunately this happens quite regularly) for something, though we have no idea what it is she wants as her language skills are not quite in understandable English. She wants her breakfast in front of her, nobody can eat it, but she will invariably drink her "milky sippy cuppy" and leave the food on her plate. Sarah (5 months) is my sweet little angel and is just sitting in her swing observing the chaos around her. Most likely she is taking notes on how best to frazzle her already totally frazzled mother!! Today we have the fun task of getting an oil change done for the van. One hour at Wal-Mart with five kids is enough to drive anybody over the edge, but I was quite proud of myself - I was in control!! OOOPS!! Wrong turn - right down the TOY aisle!! Gotta love having a screaming 2-year-old in the middle of Wal-Mart. Luckily for me, bribery works! All it took was gum - which she swallowed after about 30 seconds and wanted another piece. Being a good mom I said no, and then ran for the nearest exit! We all eventually got out of there and we are all still alive. I am now enjoying having the TV take over for a little while so I can regroup and keep going. When does dad get home????

Waiting for Dad to get home..........

I think 5pm -6pm should be banned from the day. I would gladly give up this hour and not be sad one bit. Kids are hungry, I am tired and going through the never-ending "what do we have for dinner" mode. Today Matt called at about 5:20 saying he was just leaving work. He gets off at 5pm, but as he is the director on call this week, everything falls on his shoulders to take care of. I can handle this - the traffic is starting to let up a bit by then and he should be home by 6pm which is when we plan to have dinner anyway. 5:50pm - ring, ring.........guess who?!?!? Yup, my wonderful husband has offered to help out with a pick-up so the other transfer guy can go ahead with his plans he has with his wife for date night (what the heck is that anyway?). So we eat our dinner without him, though I do get a compliment from Brendan saying that dinner was good without any prompting at all........maybe some things do stick in that brain of his. I wonder if the kids will notice if I just hide in my room all night..........