Day 7: Week with the Kids

In case missed yesterday's saga, Day 6: Week with the Kids.

Friday. Today was reserved for another play a little/clean a little day.  We tackled each of the kids rooms, cleaned the bathrooms and took the recylables to the recycling center.

Julie's Room Before

Julie's Room After

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David's Room Before

David's Room After

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Garage Before

Garage After

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In the evening, we met up with my family to finally celebrate my dad's birthday (with all of the kid's parties and holiday, we hadn't been able to celebrate).  We ate at a Mexican restaurant in Blountville and then had cake and ice cream at my parents house.

Day 0: Week with the Kids

Day 1: Week with the Kids

Day 2: Week with the Kids

Day 3: Week with the Kids

Day 4: Week with the Kids

Day 5: Week with the Kids

Day 6: Week with the Kids

Tally for the week:

Number of times that I was told 'Mommy doesn't do it that way': 2
Number of doughnuts eaten: 8
Number of trips to the doctor/ER: 0
Number of times snuggled: 25
Number of times hearing 'Daddy?': 40 (this number is probably too low)
Number of times hearing 'Where's Mommy?': 4
Number of times hearing 'When's Mommy coming home?': 8
Number of times Mommy was missed: 14 (spoken, 1 mazillion unspoken)
Number of fights between kids: 9
Number of hours kids have played computer: 6
Number of hours kids have watched tv: 3
Number of kids movies/shows watched: 5
Number of times eating out: 2
Number of holes of golf played: 0
Number of holes of golf that will be played the week Cathy gets back: 18+

Day 6: Week with the Kids

In case missed yesterday's saga, Day 5: Week with the Kids.

Warning: This blog post may contain graphic images not suitable for mothers!

Thursday. This morning we decided to head to the Car dealership to claim our prize.  We won! We won! We won!  Our prize was $25,000!  However they needed to keep $24,997 to cover their expenses and taxes, so we netted $3.

Our 3 gold coins

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We reserved Thursday as a day of cleaning and playing.  We worked on the Kitchen, the Living Room and Downstairs Den.

Kitchen Before

Kitchen After

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Kitchen Before

Kitchen After

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Living Room Before

Living Room After

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Living Room Before

Living Room After

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Den Before

Den After

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Den Before

Den After

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After dinner, we traveled to Bristol for the ISBC men's softball team tournament game.  If we won our first game, then we played the very next game.  So, in true ISBC fashion, in a game we were supposed to win easily, we won a nail-bitter by 1 run in seven innings.  The next game was a game that we were not expected to win as this was a much better team.  The game was close throughout and then I came up to bat, bottom of the seventh, bases loaded, 2 outs, down by 5 runs.  The scenario every boy dreams of as a kid.  So what do I do, I hit a weak dribbler toward the second baseman.  Fortunately for me, I gave them an opportunity to make an error with the pitcher cutting the ball off and then making a toss to the first baseman which he missed allowing 2 runs to score (I'll still call them RBIs).  Next batter gets a single and then the next hits an inside the park homer to win the game.  I still can't believe we scored 6 runs with 2 outs including a walk-off inside the park home run!

Day 0: Week with the Kids

Day 1: Week with the Kids

Day 2: Week with the Kids

Day 3: Week with the Kids

Day 4: Week with the Kids

Day 5: Week with the Kids

Tally for the week:

Number of times that I was told 'Mommy doesn't do it that way': 2
Number of doughnuts eaten: 8
Number of trips to the doctor/ER: 0
Number of times snuggled: 20
Number of times hearing 'Daddy?': 32 (this number is probably too low)
Number of times hearing 'Where's Mommy?': 4
Number of times hearing 'When's Mommy coming home?': 8
Number of times Mommy was missed: 12 (spoken, 1 mazillion unspoken)
Number of fights between kids: 8
Number of hours kids have played computer: 5
Number of hours kids have watched tv: 3
Number of kids movies/shows watched: 5
Number of times eating out: 2
Number of holes of golf played: 0
Number of holes of golf that will be played the week Cathy gets back: 18+

Day 5: Week with the Kids

In case missed yesterday's saga, Day 4: Week with the Kids.

Wednesday. This morning we decided to venture out to the Y.  Since I hadn't been to the Y in about 4 weeks, I had to spend several minutes convincing them that I was still a member (not really, but I was afraid that it might happen).  While we were there, Julie read an entire Cam Jansen book.

One of the things the kids have been looking forward to all week has been a trip to the library where a Magician was to perform.  He was very entertaining and the kids loved it!

Julie and David waiting anxiously for the magic show.

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A picture of the Magician (it didn't turn out, I guess that's why he said no flash photography).

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The biggest news of the day came after we checked the mail.  We got an ad from a car dealership which had a $25,000 scratch off lottery game.  I got the kids to help me scratch it and low and behold our numbers matched making us a winner (which I'm sure we were the ONLY person receiving the mailing that won).  All we have to do is show up at the dealership to claim our prize.  So, we're all very excited to go claim our prize (I've already prepared the kids that this is a gimmick).

Thanks to some coupons the kids got from VBS, we went to Zaxby's for dinner and had a good time.

When we got home, we were able to video chat with Mommy over Skype.

The kids always love to have a "movie night".  So when it came time to exchange one of our Blockbuster movies, I let the kids choose one.  They chose 'Bolt', since they saw it playing in Blockbuster the other day.  So far it's been a little confusing for the kids to understand that the character Bolt is an actor in a tv show within the movie.  And the plot line goes between showing Bolt as part of the tv show and then outside of the tv show.  Very confusing for someone who really gets into a movie as if it were real and then it isn't.

Day 0: Week with the Kids

Day 1: Week with the Kids

Day 2: Week with the Kids

Day 3: Week with the Kids

Day 4: Week with the Kids

Tally for the week:

Number of times that I was told 'Mommy doesn't do it that way': 2
Number of doughnuts eaten: 8
Number of trips to the doctor/ER: 0
Number of times snuggled: 15
Number of times hearing 'Daddy?': 25 (this number is probably too low)
Number of times hearing 'Where's Mommy?': 4
Number of times hearing 'When's Mommy coming home?': 8
Number of times Mommy was missed: 10 (spoken, 1 mazillion unspoken)
Number of fights between kids: 6
Number of hours kids have played computer: 5
Number of hours kids have watched tv: 3
Number of kids movies/shows watched: 5
Number of times eating out: 2
Number of holes of golf played: 0
Number of holes of golf that will be played the week Cathy gets back: 18+

Day 4: Week with the Kids

In case missed yesterday's saga, Day 3: Week with the Kids.

Tuesday.  We decided to spend the morning at home playing since we've been so busy.  Much Star Wars role playing was played.  I lost several Light Saber duels.  There was also the Mommy/Daddy and Kings/Queens role playing which somehow always included either a hideout or castle or house to be constructed.

In the evening, the Kistners were gracious enough to invite us over to their house for pizza and swimming.  We all had a great time.  David was especially worn out and didn't last long once we got home.  Unfortunately, swimming and cameras don't mix, so I didn't get any pictures.

I've tried to record a short video and post it, so let's see if it works.

Day 0: Week with the Kids

Day 1: Week with the Kids

Day 2: Week with the Kids

Day 3: Week with the Kids

Tally for the week:

Number of times that I was told 'Mommy doesn't do it that way': 2
Number of doughnuts eaten: 8
Number of trips to the doctor/ER: 0
Number of times snuggled: 10
Number of times hearing 'Daddy?': 20 (this number is probably too low)
Number of times hearing 'Where's Mommy?': 4
Number of times hearing 'When's Mommy coming home?': 7
Number of times Mommy was missed: 8 (spoken, 1 mazillion unspoken)
Number of fights between kids: 5
Number of hours kids have played computer: 4
Number of hours kids have watched tv: 2
Number of kids movies/shows watched: 4
Number of times eating out: 1
Number of holes of golf played: 0
Number of holes of golf that will be played the week Cathy gets back: 18+

Day 3: Week with the Kids

In case missed yesterday's saga, Day 2: Week with the Kids.

Monday.  Today started off really weird as David actually slept in longer than Julie, was there a blue moon last night?  This morning Julie had her piano lesson.  While she was practicing, David and I sat outside in the shade and read Thomas the Train: There's a Crack in the Track and Clifford Happy Mother's Day.

After piano, we a little time to play at the house before heading over to Uncle Clay and Aunt Laura's house.  We had a great time there eating burgers and hot dogs and then heading over to their pool for a good long swim.  I didn't actually see much of the swimming, because I was the target of what seemed like a never ending stream of kids jumping into the pool.  There were actually only 2 kids, but my eyes were constantly being splashed with water.  We also got to see Grandma while we were there, so a good time was had by all.

For dinner, I had promised the kids I'd take them to a restaurant of their choice (which I was hoping they wouldn't say McDonald's).  I told them to think it over while I took a quick cat nap (swimming for hours on end can make a daddy very tired).  When they woke me (which I had asked them to do), I asked what they had decided on (the decision had to be unanimous) and they had chosen Cracker Barrel.  David had his usual, pancakes, but this time he asked for 2 instead of his usual 1.  He ended up eating all but a few bites!  Julie had a craving for potatoes, so she got mashed potatoes with her grilled cheese.  She, as usual, ate everything on her plate.  She asked, 'Why don't we have mashed potatoes at home?'.  To which I replied, 'Mommy doesn't like mashed potatoes'.  Then she proceeded to tell me in great detail her plan to prepare mashed potatoes this week while Mommy was gone.

After dinner, we had some car troubles on our way home.  Luckily, we were right in front of a Sonic where we could pull over to investigate.  As it turns out, the it was just a 'Low Milkshake' warning and we were able to fix that straight away and be on our way home.

Sorry, no pictures today, we were just too busy to stop and take any.

Day 0: Week with the Kids
Day 1: Week with the Kids
Day 2: Week with the Kids

Tally for the week:

Number of times that I was told 'Mommy doesn't do it that way': 2
Number of doughnuts eaten: 8
Number of trips to the doctor/ER: 0
Number of times snuggled: 10
Number of times hearing 'Daddy?': 15 (this number is probably too low)
Number of times hearing 'Where's Mommy?': 4
Number of times hearing 'When's Mommy coming home?': 6
Number of times Mommy was missed: 6 (spoken, 1 mazillion unspoken)
Number of fights between kids: 4
Number of hours kids have played computer: 3
Number of times eating out: 1
Number of holes of golf played: 0
Number of holes of golf that will be played the week Cathy gets back: 18+

Day 2: Week with the Kids

In case missed yesterday's saga, Day 1: Week with the Kids.

Happy July 4th!  Sunday. We had a great day starting out with a combined worship service at church, i.e. starting later than usual which gives us more time to get ready in the morning.  Church was good and there was some great news from the Richmond household.  After church, we had a huge outdoor picnic (I do have witnesses that I put sunscreen on the kids) which included an inflatable for the kids, although it was very hot outside.  The BBQ was especially good.

When we got back home, both kids took a bath/shower (so mark that off the to-do list for the week).  The remainder of the afternoon was spent playing around the house.  They played Toy Story 3 Yatzee Jr, Storm Troopers, Webkinz and "Babies".

David as a Storm Trooper making a scary face!

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The Storm Trooper chased me down the hall.

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"Momma" Julie and some of her babies.

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"Daddy" and "Momma" with their babies outside of the bed tent.

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After a much needed rest in the afternoon, we headed over to eat dinner with my family to celebrate the 4th.  We had a lot of good food (a requirement at Mamaw Ruby's) and got to see Baby Chase and Carson.

Here are all the kids, Karson, Julie, Chase, Hallie, and David

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Julie and David playing Cornhole

Day 0: Week with the Kids
Day 1: Week with the Kids

Tally for the week:

Number of times that I was told 'Mommy doesn't do it that way': 1

Number of doughnuts eaten: 7

Number of trips to the doctor/ER: 0

Number of times snuggled: 6 (I'll count the ENTIRE church service as 1)

Number of times hearing 'Daddy?': 10 (this number is probably too low)

Number of times hearing 'Where's Mommy?': 4

Number of times hearing 'When's Mommy coming home?': 5

Number of times Mommy was missed: 5 (spoken, 1 mazillion unspoken)

Number of fights between kids: 2

Number of hours kids have played computer: 2

Number of holes of golf played: 0

Number of holes of golf that will be played the week Cathy gets back: 18+

Day 1: Week with the Kids

In case you missed the intro, Day 0: Week with the Kids.

Saturday.  Also known in our house as 'The Only Day That Daddy Gets to Sleep In'.  Well, Cathy left at 5am and at 5:05 Julie wakes up crying, already missing Mommy.  She apparently woke up, saw her alarm clock said 5am and remembered that Mommy was leaving at 5.  So, I brought her back to my room and we slept until 8.  When David woke up he also missed Mommy, but was more concerned about telling me his BaBa (his blanket that he sleeps with) had fallen back behind his bed.  Then remembering his Mommy was gone, he asked if we could pray for her while she was on her trip.  I said that was a great idea, so we prayed for her right then and there for her safety and that she would be successfull in teaching the children how to use puppets to tell others about Jesus.  After praying Julie asked, 'Mommy can do puppets?'.

This morning was the last T-Ball game for Julie and David.  There actually wasn't a game, but they handed out their trophies.

Juile has just hit one all the way to the grass

David is preparing to hit the ball in the hit and throw contest (look at that focus)

Julie and David get their T-Ball Trophies

In the evening, I let my parents watch the kids while I went to the Casting Crowns concert in Bristol.  One word.  AWESOME!!  The concert wasn't as long as I thought it would be, so after we got home, we went to see the Kingsport fireworks.  The kids seemed to have a good time, however by then it was late and I had two sleepy kids on my hands.

Stay tuned for Day 2!


Day 0: Week with the Kids


Tally for the week:
Number of times that I was told 'Mommy doesn't do it that way': 1
Number of doughnuts eaten: 2
Number of trips to the doctor/ER: 0
Number of times snuggled: 3
Number of times hearing 'Daddy?': 5 (this number is probably too low)
Number of times hearing 'Where's Mommy?': 4
Number of times hearing 'When's Mommy coming home?': 2
Number of times Mommy was missed: 3 (spoken, 1 mazillion unspoken)
Number of fights between kids: 1
Number of hours kids have played computer: 1
Number of hours kids have watched tv: 0 (unless you count the 3 while at Mamaw's)

Day 0: Week with the Kids

Over the course of the next week, my wife is going to be on a mission trip out of the country.  I'll be supporting her by staying home and taking care of our wonderful children.  As a way to keep her updated on how we're doing (and to squelch her fears that I'll just let the kids run around wild, only eating candy, watching movies and staying up late), I've decided to blog about our adventure this week.


As you can tell by the title of this post, I'm writing this entry before she has gone on the trip.  This is partially so that she'll know about it before she leaves and be excited and partially so that I'll have sufficient motivation to see it through until the end.


I'll try to chronicle our days, giving a short summary of exciting events good or bad.  I'll even try to solicit input from the kids to make sure their voice is heard as well.  I'll keep a running tally significant things like number of snuggles, number of times I've heard 'Daddy?', or number of times I've heard 'Where's Mommy?'  I probably won't have too many pictures to post as the camera is going with Cathy, but I'll see what I can do.


I'll probably do most of the posting after hours, since while I've been writing this, I've been asked about 3 times by David if I'm done yet.  If anyone has any suggestions of fun low cost stuff to do, please leave a comment.  Wish me luck!