Two Kid Weekend

Right now I'm waiting for two kids to fall asleep so I can enjoy my Skinny Cow ice cream bar in peace. I've been holding onto the idea of that Skinny Cow for a while, so I'm really hopeful that these little eyes will close very soon. But I'm not holding my breath.

Caleb's friend Lillian is hanging out with us this weekend. Lillian is, for all intents and purposes, Caleb's oldest friend. In fact, Lily met Caleb before Tommy met Caleb, due to his deployment at the time. They've been buddies since before Caleb could walk or talk. And although I know it's a short time we're measuring here (he's only 2!), Lily really has been a consistent part of Caleb's early landscape.

Anyway, Lily's parents are in London for the day and seeing Dave Matthews Band at the O2 arena tonight, so Lil is chilling with us for today and part of tomorrow. I eagerly agreed to watch Lil, because I know how well Caleb gets on with her. But I was a bit nervous in the days leading up to this weekend. I've watched her before, but never overnight. In fact, I've never had two kids for longer than a few hours...ever.

But it's been a total breeze! Other than a few sibling-like moments where they bicker over a toy or who sits in what chair, it's really been painless. We hit the zoo this morning for the first time in about four months. We have a membership to the small zoo about 20 minutes from our house, but the weather has been phenomenally grody for ages. This week has been inexplicably awesome, so in spite of the fact that it was still pretty cold outside, we took advantage of the sun.

Lily led Caleb through the petting zoo/barn area.

These short-legged cows actually terrified poor Caleb. In his defense, they were mooing really loudly. And it was approximately nap time. All the same, my husband was shaking his head. The tigers? The leopards? Neither bothered Caleb. The mooing cow? Left him crying and begging to be picked up and whisked away. Lily wasn't bothered.

Here the kids are checking out the kangaroos. They really enjoyed identifying all the animals and demonstrating their "sounds."

I really can't tell you how many self-portraits I have with Lil. Quite a few. I should make a montage of them to see just how much she's grown in the couple of years I've known her.

Checking out the penguins and eating pretzels.

Caleb's favorite part of the zoo: the land train. The sun disappeared for a bit while we were on the train, and we were freezing! Luckily we had already been there about an hour and a half, which is all you need at Banham Zoo, so we took our cold selves home.

On the way out of the zoo, holding hands. They really do get on fantastically.

We ate lunch when we came home and watched Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, one of Caleb's current faves. It really is a cute movie. Or maybe I'm just enamoured with the idea of burgers falling from heaven.

Then we headed out to the playground near our house. Again, it was quite cold, but when you haven't seen the sun in what seems like a decade, temperature is a secondary consideration. The kids spent about an hour and half chasing each other, swinging, climbing, and pretending I was a child-eating crocodile. Of course, I had to play the part.

Well, the good news is that since I started this post, both kiddos have fallen fast asleep, and I've had a chance to enjoy my Skinny Cow! Yummy. I have to admit, I'm tempted to grab a second one, but I think that defeats the purpose. Do two Skinny Cows make a Fat Cow? I think so.

Anyway, we have Lily for a short time tomorrow, in which I'm hoping to make blueberry pancakes and possibly braid her hair. Hey, Tommy won't let me braid Calebs! Gotta get my girl fix where I can! Hopefully our morning goes as well as today did, which was great! Maybe this two kid gig isn't so bad after all!