more stuff to show and tell!

I think I am going to continue with the birthday party. First, I told Nikki before we went down there that I was really nervous about taking the kids to a birthday party. It isn't that big of a deal - especially had my husband with me to even the parent to child ratio, but not having JR with me was stressing me out. I knew that Logan would be the oldest kid there and I wanted to be on the look out for him with all the smaller kids, but at the same time Landry is a wild woman and I knew I also had to keep a close eye on her. My idea was to keep them close together, that way I ould keep an eye on both of them at the same time. It partially worked. Logan was really good with the smaller kids. In fact, he was more gentle that Landry. I guess being a big brother pays off a bit. I was really proud of him. Of course, when we went inside for Aiden to open gifts, my panic meter rose a bit...this was the part I was REALLY stressed about. While Logan doesn't play rough, and he is usually good playing with others - His eyes light up when he sees something new. I had already discussed this with Nikki (Aiden's mom), because I wanted her to know that there was a chance he might share all too well once new toys popped into the picture. Anyway, when the presents started being opened, Logan wanted to help Aiden open the gifts....but NO WAY was I even stepping in to that pile! LOL Unfortunately, Landry got side tracked and I was dealing with her when I hear someone get on to Logan - I didn't see what happened - but hey, I know my kid, and I knew Nikki and Travis were right there, and I trust them to discipline my kid. My immediate response was to get Logan by me...the minute I turned my head to look, I saw a train in his hand...and I KNEW exactly what happened, without having seen it. Aiden opened a gift, Logan liked it, Logan grabbed it from Aiden! I got on to Logan and told him that we dont take toys from people...but then it was over and done with, Logan gave back the train. I turned back to Landry who was annoying the hell out of Alexey (who was just so sweet to her), I heard Aiden getting in trouble for not sharing, and the next thing I knew he was in time out! My heart broke for the little guy. I wished Logan could have understood that it was his new toy and he should step away and let Aiden play with it by himself for a while, before trying to play with him. I was wishing he had the concept of knowing how to back off and let someone else enjoy the moment. ANyway...the point of all of this is that while talking to Nikki later that night, it finally hit me...sometimes I think my kids are the only ones that act up - and then I feel like I am a bad mom or like I am not doing them justice. Sometimes I expect so much out of my kids...I want them to behave, and use manners, and sit still, and act like an adult - but that's just it. They are kids, and while my kids are pretty good about using manners - the idea that they can sit still and stay quiet is unrealistic. Nikki helped me to realize that Logan taking a toy from Aiden is normal behavior. Logan was gotten on to and he gave back the toy. Kids are going to do things like that, I can't expect my kids to be adults - when my kids are 4 and almost 2...they aren't mentally capable of being adults. Kids are going to throw toys, they are going to take toys from other kids, heck they are even going to hit each other here and there...it is up to the parents to keep an eye on them, so that if my kids takes a toy from someone else - I can be there to get on to him. Luckily, even though I was there - my attention was focused on Landry - but Nikki and Travis (who are probably the most patient people I know) were able to handle the situation in a loving way instead of over reacting! So if you haven't gotten what I am saying....THANK YOU NIKKI AND TRAVIS FOR BEING SO AMAZING! THANK YOU FOR HOSTING AN AMAZING PARTY, FOR BEING BRAVE ENOUGH TO ALLOW SO MANY LITTLE TOTS AROUND YOUR HOUSE. THANK YOU FOR TEACHING ME TO RELAX AND REMEMBER THAT KIDS WILL BE KIDS. THANK YOU FOR JUST BEING AWESOME PEOPLE AND MAGNIFICENT PARENTS!
SUNDAY -
The kids got up and we headed home, by the time we got home JR and his friends were floating the river, so we were still on our own for the rest of the day. I was so exhausted, all I wanted to do was sleep, unfortunately - I had two kids that I had to watch, so sleeping wasn't an option. When JR and his friends got home, we ended up going to dinner and coming home to play some card games. I didn't go to bed until 4 in the morning...it was ROUGH!
MONDAY -
We all got up around 10 and headed for the river. I forot my camera, so I dont have any pictures to share...but honestly I dont know if I would have had the energy to lift my arms to take the photos. Afterwards we came home for showers then headed to Trudy's for some famous Mexican Martinis. We were in bed by 10:00. Oh yeah, and we watched some fire works!
TUESDAY -
I overslept...and luckily so did the kids...we slept until 9:15. I was SHOCKED!The problem was that I was supposed to meet Dana at 11:00 to go float the river...I had to push back the time 45 minutes, because there was no way I could get everything loaded up in time. Dana's boyfriend, Edgar and his daughter Katie came down so we all went to float the river! Katie turned two in June...so she and Landry are the same age difference that Dana and I are. Anyway, Logan was on his best behavior - and I guess because Katie and he had never met, they decided to bond. When Katie put on a life jacket...Logan put on one as well - When Logan sat down to wait patiently for us to finish blowing up tubes...Katie sat next to him. Landry was a little hellion as usual...LOL But we all had a good time, and the kids really had fun!