For the past 7 days, I have been at a family cottage with my husband and daughter. I would like to say that in that time I accumulated LOTS of points. For the first 4 days, my husband and I hosted friends of ours with their son. So we were 6 people. Then for the last 3 days, it was just the three of us. Before going, I was afraid of how the kids would get along. They are 7 months apart and at this age, it’s hard to know how it’s going to go. I am happy to say that the kids loved each other. Well, Meredith had lots of love for her friend. I am not sure of the other way around, but he put up with her. They balanced each other well. I think we only had one occurrence when both kids had a meltdown together. I think that’s pretty impressive. Usually, when one was crying, the other comforted with hugs and kisses or was out of the way.
The only down part of the whole weekend was Meredith’s sleep habit. For some reason, she decided that it would be a good idea to wake up at 5 or 5:30 in the morning and be up for the day. Because we had guests and did not want to wake everybody up, we had to try to keep her quiet for a few hours. We took her to our bed for the first 40 minutes where she lay with us and then took her downstairs. Meredith soon figured out that she could open doors. So, in her excitement to play and love for her friend, she would run into him room and wake him up. I would stop her, but the whole exchange would end with her in a time out.
Meredith also discovered that she can climb out of her pack and play. So, in the morning, she would get out of her crib and come find us. She would also do this at night when putting her down for bed. She quickly learned that we were serious about bed time. She would get out of her crib, and climb down the stairs to where we were. When she saw us, she would run the other way. You could tell that she knew she was doing wrong.
Days were filled with fun times at the beach, watching the kids dance while listening to music, lots and lots of food, games with friends and lots of relaxation. The kids were entertaining and the weather was perfect. All in all it was a fantastic time.
Points for the week:
300 points for packing for the cottage while Meredith “helped” (taking things out of a bag after I had put them in, sitting in our suitcase unwilling to move)
500 points for keeping her safe at the beach and not letting her get hurt (it helped that she was afraid of the water and would not go in further then water at her ankles)
200 points for taking Meredith on a kayak adventure (these points should rely belong to Greg because he was the one paddling while Meredith and I sat in the front and enjoyed the view)
600 points for getting up with Meredith at ungodly hours
-200 points for keeping her quiet with Disney movies
400 points for putting her to bed and making sure she stayed in
300 points for making Meredith my helper with setting the table (I would give her a plate and she would place it on the table)
500 points for cleaning the cottage and packing up with Meredith’s “help”. She loves the broom and feels it her responsibility to use it every time it makes an appearance. I was hoping that her fear of vacuums would extend to the vacuum at the cottage, but sadly this was not the case and she felt the need to “help” with that as well.
I am sure there are other points I accumulated, but I can’t remember them right now.
Total points for the week: 2600!!!!
I think we should spend more time at the cottage!!!
