Bad Weather and Single-Parenting

Angela here!  Hope everyone had a great weekend.  We ended last week fairly disheveled and out of sorts.  TERRIBLE weather struck Springboro on Wednesday night.  Hurricane winds, torrential downpour; it was frightening.  And my kids slept through it all!  Trees fell left and right...you would have thought a wood-wacker just pummeled our neighborhood.  Luckily, our house and trees currently remain standing.  But we lost power for 18 hours and daycare was even closed Thursday.  So I took a half day to help LollyPop watch the clan.  Hudson discovered Claire's princess clothes and enjoyed showing off his new "slippers."

And who doesn't enjoy an icy cold popsicle in sweltering heat?... 

  I am currently in single-parent-mode as Chris is traveling for the next week.  He left Saturday and poor Hud has taken it the worst.  Whenever the garage door opens, he asks, "Is that you Daddy?  Here Adley, hold her.  I need mama."  His "cuddle time" with his mama has been drastically reduced and he is not happy about it.  But I am confident he still misses his daddy, as he looks to me to wrestle and fling him across the room.  But he is definitely a mama's boy, and I'm not complaining one bit.

We payed a visit to the pool and Hudson validated his love for his baby sister.  He is so protective over her (that is, when he is not body-slamming her with love). There was a moment when Adley was walking towards the pool and Hud went into overdrive.  He flailed his arms and screamed, "Nooo Baby Adley, too close to water!  You can't swim!"  I was so proud!  And then I caught her before she landed in the water.

And Miss Adley is fearless of the water, just as she is with walking.  She would dunk her head and even push her way through the waterfall.  I'm not sure how I produced brassy and bold children....everywhere I look in this world I see danger...but maybe that's what happens when you become a mama...

Saturday afternoon was Hudson's final soccer game of the season.  He scored FOUR goals!!  But he was most excited about the stickers that the coach gave out and the special treats at the end.  Each kid received a medal as well.  Hud continues to want to wear it when he goes to bed. 

 When Hudson woke up from his nap, he saw me working with my strength bands.  My workout time at the YMCA has basically been nixed since Chris is out of town.  So I had to get creative in order to keep working on those delts and triceps.  Hudson thought I was hilarious as I demonstrated how to use them.  And of course it was soon "My turn mama, my try!"

Adley thought they were a chew toy so her exposure time was limited...

With Chris traveling, I'm on a mission to stay in Super-Mom-mode as much as possible.  I took them to the pool twice, read almost every single book in the house and still managed to do the laundry AND clean the stove (!!!).  I will admit, however, that mac-n-cheese has been Hudson's lunch and dinner all weekend, per his request so I didn't argue.  And I did switch up the vegetables, so that made me feel more positive about my parenting skills.  But when I can't be Wonder Woman, I resort to the fabulous TV.  A new study came out showing that kids who watch Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood are more compassionate and develop better social skills.  This redeeming quality about the telly made me feel better as they glued themselves to the screen....

Hope everyone has a great week in store.  We get a special visit from the Wilson crew next weekend before they head off to Germany to embark on a 2-3 year adventure (can't wait to visit!).  And we get to celebrate all the July birthday boys as well.  Hudson and I have been reading The Elf on the Shelf, A Birthday Tradition.  Apparently, you have to write a letter to Santa asking for permission for your elf to leave the North Pole.  He visits for 24 hours, wears a cupcake suit and decorates a chair for you.  Geez!  Why do I sign myself up for these things?!  But Hudson is very excited for Damien the Elf to return so I'm anxious to see his reaction.  Stay tuned!

Walking Girl and Tons of Cousin-Time

Hope everyone had a great Father's Day and weekend!  It's been a busy couple weeks for the Kemp crew.  Adley is walking and on the move!  She is always in motion and knows how to maneuver around the house by pushing chairs or flinging to furniture.  She can take about a dozen steps before needing to grab onto something.  This 10 month old is on a roll!

https://youtu.be/rd__GaSM1j4

Daycare had Dads and Donuts on Friday to celebrate Father's Day.  Uncle Drew was out of town, so Pop gladly stepped in and ate donuts, bagels and fruit with the kiddos.  Baby Adley was already in her classroom and missed all the fun...maybe next year...

After school last week, I picked the kids up and headed to the park with LollyPop.  I snapped this adorable pic of a boy and his dog...

Saturday was jam-packed and Hudson got a lot of mommy-time.  The entire crew first hit up the YMCA for a nice morning sweat.  Then we cheered Hudson and Anderson on at their soccer games.  Hudson scored a goal, woop woop!!  Next up, Hud and I went to Dorothy Lane Market to make a cookie cake for dad.  The grocery store sets up tables and step stools and the kids get endless amounts of icing and sprinkles to decorate a cake.  I carefully instructed Hudson that one can never have too much icing.

Then Hudson and I hit up the neighborhood pool while Adley was sleeping and Chris was working on his podcast (stay tuned for an Italian Renaissance masterpiece).  Hudson is my water guppy and always wants to go swimming.  He starts swim lessons this week and I'm excited to get him properly trained.  When he's not in the shallow end, he just sinks to the bottom.  This kid needs to learn his backstroke quick! 

On Saturday evening we watched cousin Claire, as the Bockelmans had a wedding to attend.  These two are just the cutest.  They are only six months apart and play awesome together when it's just the two of them.  Here is them getting ready for dinner...

Then we had TV night.  Chris introduced them to the old school Mister Rodger's Neighborhood.  They were surprisingly captivated... 

While the older kiddos were watching TV, Adley just couldn't keep those little feet still.  She pushed a chair all through the house and showed off her big-girl skills to everyone.

 Next up, bath time.  After a thorough wash down and playing with water markers, we all snuggled into the "big bed" and watched The Cat in the Hat... 

On Sunday we started off the morning properly with a dose of chocolate chips waffles.  A weekend tradition for Chris and Hudson...

After church and another round of sun-bathing at the pool, we headed to LollyPops house to celebrate Father's Day.  All the water toys were out and Adley played like the big girl she now is.  Whenever she walks, I always tell her; "You think you're soooo big now, don't you?!"  Then she whips her head around, looks me straight in the eye and giggles.  Not being biased at all when I say she is the most adorable baby ever.  She definitely likes being mobile and on the go.  And she still has those baby blue eyes!

Adley even attempted to climb up the water slide after seeing Hudson do so... 

 A delicious dinner and yummy dessert followed and these kids could not have been happier.  They were on their best behavior for what Hudson calls "Dad's Day."

Hope everyone has a great week in store.  Both my children decided they wanted to catch an ailment today/tonight.  Adley stayed home from school and when I picked Hud up this afternoon, he said; "I'm sick.  Call the doctor, a-choo!"  I couldn't help but to laugh out loud.  I'm hoping he just didn't want to feel left out.  And Chris heads off to Pittsburgh soon for work so keep me in your prayers as I fly solo with two youngsters!