Another Busy Weekend

Where do I even start? I guess Friday morning would be as good a place as any. Kelton didn't have school on Friday but we did have the housecleaning service scheduled which meant we had to be out of the house around 9:30 because the service had a window of time from 9:30 to 11:00 in which they could arrive. That worked out well anyway as I needed to take my car to the shop to have them do a quick look to be sure there was nothing "wrong" with the engine. It had made a weird noise a month ago, and then again on Thursday, but because it was so irregular they didn't think there was anything they could do until it became more regular. They could, however, check to be sure nothing obvious was going on. So - the kids and I went out into an all out rainstorm (which I love, love, love!) and headed over to the shop. This is a new shop as I wasn't impressed with the last visit to the place we had been going. We piled into the waiting area and in no time at all my car was in and out of the garage. A missing fan clip was replaced for free and we were on our way.

Next stop was Fred Meyer to look at Halloween decorations and to pick up a few grocery items. We had a really good time there and by noon we were heading home. We had big plans for decorating the house for Halloween and the kids were beside themselves with excitement! One look in the driveway though told us our plans would have to be put on hold for a bit. The cleaning crew was still there - and to make it worse, they had *just* arrived. Kelton melted into a puddle of disappointment that it would be about an hour before we could start unpacking the decoration boxes.

Finally the cleaning crew was on their way and we headed out to the garage to find the orange and black storage boxes. Oh the excitement that took place and the utter chaos! I have to say, decorating for holidays is so much fun with kids. :) I took care of all the breakable things and they went to town on the window clings. Oh my! Our windows and slider glass doors are a sight! :) But hey - they had a great time and that's what it's all about.

Around dinner time Dakota arrived home. We decided to head over to the mall so that we could all have whatever we wanted for dinner. You just have to love food courts for that - the kids wanted McDonalds and neither Dakota nor I were in the mood. We picked up sandwiches from American Deli and then the four of us sat and had dinner together. At the next table was a teacher from our school district and she struck up a conversation with us - it was fun! And we learned lots and lots of things - and had quite a few things validated for us. It was nice. :)

Then we were off to look for a Halloween costume for Kelton, Kaylen is planning to be a Care Bear but Kelton was still undecided. He looked at Super Hero's, Power Rangers and Pirates but nothing grabbed his attention for long but then he spotted it - clown hair, shoes, a horn and a big red nose - and he was sold! Of course Kaylen couldn't be left out of the fun so we ended up getting some stuff for her as well. Aren't they the cutest clowns ever???





Dakota needed to study for a few hours on Saturday so the kids and I decided it was a good day to scrub down the kitchen floor. Yes, we had a cleaning team in the day before and yet, they have never once *scrubbed* the floor. They would wet mop it but the dirt managed to accumulate in the divots and it was in need of a good "hands and knees" scrubbing. We cleaned out the room and got busy. The kids wanted to help but....well....we all know how that went. Finally they got bored of sliding around on their tummies and moved on to watch tv and play. Our kitchen area is not small. The cooking area itself isn't big but the area where the kitchen table and computer hutch is fairly good sized and it took me almost three hours (with breaks to help the kids) on my hands and knees to scrub the floor. OUCH! I am sore today but the floor looks great! :)

I was just finishing up with putting everything back in its place when Dakota arrived home. We all had lunch and then headed out to go car seat shopping for Kaylen. No, she hadn't outgrown her seat but for months and months now she cries more often then not when she is in her seat. According to her, it was too tight and too uncomfortable. And I have to say that the crotch strap/buckle thing was indeed way too close for her to be comfortable. To get her comfortable, we'd often have the straps too loose for our comfort level. All in all, it was a miserable fit. The seat in Dakota's car was better for her so last week, after listening to a tantrum every time she had to be in her seat in my car, I switched them out. Friday night we had taken Dakota's car which was the first time Dakota witnessed Kaylen's new level of anxiety with that particular car seat. We both knew we had to do *something*. We went to Target and tried Kaylen in the Britax Marathon but the crotch strap was just as close in that one as in the one we currently had. And she had a melt down in the store aisle (which was sad because she was sooo excited to get a new seat and the fact that it was pink made her crazy happy. But then, we buckled her in and it was a no go. Poor girl.).


We had only one real option after that; the Britax Regent. It's the same seat the Kelton has. It's huge and you can 5pt harness to 80 pounds. I knew of only one place in the area that carried the Britax Regent so off we went for a 40 minute drive. The Regent does come in a girly pattern which we figured she would want but nope - she choose the brown suede. A choice that left both Dakota and I scratching our heads. But whatever. She was loving the seat!! We handed over our money *gulp* and had the tech install the seat. Once we had Kaylen all buckled into her new seat, I said "So? What do you think?" She gave me the biggest smile and said "It's so comfy!" This was the first time EVER that she has been happy about being in her car seat. The crotch strap is out far enough *and* it has a place it can move to down the road should we need to though I am doubtful we will need toas Kelton's crotch strap is in the same place as Kaylen's and he is totally comfortable in his seat.

The seat is sooo big and Kaylen looks so tiny in it. It's really very sweet. And she is so, so proud sitting in her new seat.

Today I went out and got my hair cut and picked up a few grocery items. When I arrived home, no one was here and since it was raining cats and dogs, there was only one logical assumption as to where my family was - out on a rain walk! I grabbed an umbrella and headed out to join them. By the time we got back to the house we were all soaked. We just love rain walks! :)

And with a rainy days comes a great excuse to stay in and enjoy the pitter pat of raindrops and some good quality family time. :)