Weekend Update

Sing-A-Long from Cathi Lindsey on Vimeo.

Above: "Quiet time" on a typical "fun Friday". 
(Music: Dreams by Beck.)

Last weekend started out with absolutely glorious weather. William George and I had our usual fun Friday and after picking up the girls from school, we went to the library and for ice cream. When we arrived home, Skip, having checked the weather forecast (rain was imminent for the next five days), had gotten the bikes out, and we went for a ride through the neighborhood. We stumbled upon one of the girls' classmates who had a friend sleeping over, and another classmate had dropped by as well. Basically, we had an impromptu block party, complete with Pixie, who had ridden with William George in the bike carrier.

We played until it was dark, and then we had to pry the children away. Only the promise of finally getting to put our bicycle lights to use at night was encouragement enough to get them to peddle home. We had a nice dinner, courtesy of some braised pork chops that were simmering in the crock pot. Friday was one of those happy accidents/perfectly planned days.

The next morning was busy by comparison. We had a longstanding appointment for family portraits, not having had them since the girls were one, which, of course, pre-dates George. George is almost five, and we have not had family photos. We were long overdue, and I meant for everyone to be dressed appropriately with hair in place, etc. In fact, my waking thought Saturday morning was that I couldn't believe I had allowed bicycle riding and was even more incredulous that no one sustained any facial scraping/bruising to have on display for the portraits. We got ready... the girls were dressed/styled... George was wrangled into some clothes, and we went through the process of getting everyone out the door. I had estimated that our sitting time would take thirty minutes at most, but the entire experience took about an hour and a half. The children were not amused, but the results are good.

Afterward, we came back home for a quick change and then had lunch out as a treat. By now it was 2:00pm, and Lauren's meager breakfast had worn off. We ate at Jim 'N Nick's, a trio favorite, and Lauren isn't big on the cheese biscuits the edge had not been taken off her hunger. In a cruel twist, everyone's food was delivered with the exception of mine and Lauren's, and when I looked over at her, I realized she had burst into tears. Real, hunger-induced tears were streaming down her face, and her mouth was agape at the injustice of having to watch her siblings eat their entrees after having watched them enjoy hot biscuits. Gracie quickly shared her fries, and her food appeared moments later (and quickly disappeared). Her hunger level (along with George's and Grace's) confirmed my suspicion that, for whatever reason, the photo session had been exhausting. Skip and I were certainly drained. Why was it so difficult to be dressed up and on best behavior?

Hunger abated, we went shopping. The trio had collected some of their gift money/gift cards they have been saving. Lauren splurged on a much wanted backpack purse, while Gracie generously purchased two stuffed Bichon puppies for Pixie. George nabbed a Dodge Daytona to serve as a companion to his Superbird collection. These are things I never knew existed until George joined our family.

After church Sunday, the trio visited with Skip's parents, while we grabbed lunch and made some stops at the Apple store, Trader Joe's and a few others. By now our city was resembling Seattle with the rain, and I took the opportunity to bust out my Valentine's present (except I nabbed them on eBay for about half the price). Still, it's a splurge but makes rainy days a little more bearable.

This week is shaping up to be busy and exciting in the most normal of ways, and I hope yours is as well.