Weekend Wrap up

Saturday started late, hooray, it was nearly 8:15 a.m. when the cats and I finally made our way out of the bedroom. I'm not sure why they let me sleep that late but I was certainly grateful.  After they were fed and I'd made a pot of coffee, I puttered around the house picking things up and putting some of them away.  Do you have things in your home that don't have a place?  I do, lately most of them are items I brought home from work, but there are things that belong to my daughter (mail and odds and ends I picked up for her), and other items that stymie me. 

One is my camera bag which normally would be in my closet, but I wanted it handy as Eli and his mom came for a three night visit on Saturday.  It was sitting on the table, but I cleared the table to start the decorating (it's a slow process!)  I've covered the pictures that were hanging there with wrapping paper (will add ribbon later), and hung the new advent calendar I found at Michaels for 50% off last week.  I like this one....no candies or little toys, it's merely a calendar.  I suspect it will sit on December 4 until I return from my trip; it's likely C won't change it.  I do have a Merry Christmas banner that I may put up as well.  At some point, I'll change out the tablecloth for a more Christmas'y one.

So the camera bag will stay on the island where it was moved, until I finish packing on Tuesday.  The flowers that are in the photo were also moved to the island because someone little likes to climb.  Guess who?  Two hints, it is not Saku or Sasha.  Also on the island are a beach scene (complete with sand), a book for D, a bag of little people for Eli, nail polish to match the color I had put on Friday (in case i break a nail on vacation) and....well, you get the picture.  I never seem to be able to put everything away, there is always a bit of clutter.

D and Eli arrived just around lunchtime.  I had already eaten, Eli had a small bowl of chili, and my daughter made a taco wrap.  When lunch was done it was off to the stores for a bit of shopping. First up was Walmart for milk, a Christmas outfit for Eli...he'll be meeting Santa on Monday), and a few other odds and ends.  From there we stopped at Co-op for the gift card I'd forgotten the day before, and then we headed over to Save-on Foods for a few more groceries.  By this point, Eli was done with shopping so back to G'ma's house we went.  

Eli had a nap in the car on the way to Regina, so spent the rest of the afternoon running up and down the stairs to visit Uncle C, occasionally stopping to watch hockey on the television, and distributing his toys throughout the house.  Since he had no nap, dinner was an early and simple meal of pancakes and breakfast sausage.  Not long after the dishes were cleared up, it was time for his bath.

This kid is a little water baby!  He loves the bath and his mom says he really enjoyed swimming when they went to the pool a week or so ago.  Once the bath was over, his mom lathered him with lotion (the poor kid suffers from eczema in the winter), and got him ready for bed.  She had been up at 4 a.m. so the two of them were tucked in bed, watching Paw Patrol, by 6:30 p.m. Thankfully, Eli has gotten much better at sleeping, and I only heard him once in the night. D said he had turned sideways and she tried moving him...he was having none of it.

I slept on the couch in the living room; it's quite comfortable however Saku decided about 4 a.m. that it was time to play.  I listened to him run and scratch at the base of the couch for nearly an hour.  I kept trying to convince him to jump up but a cuddle was not what he wanted.  We were all up by shortly after 6 a.m.  Well, except for my son C who can sleep through anything.  

Sunday morning was spent mostly relaxing and enjoying watching Eli zip around the house.  He may not have a lot of words, but he certainly can convey his wants and needs to his mom.  He has mastered up (which can mean up or down), peash (for please), and all done.  He loves to climb, onto my bed, the couch, or the cat tree.  Paw Patrol is still his favorite television program...I've been PVR'ing them and have 70 episodes...we're covered.  For the uninitiated, it is the story of several pups who are called into action by their human friend Ryder in every episode to save someone or something.  Chase (the police officer) and Marshall (firefighter) are two of Eli's faves.  I even enjoy watching an episode or two and the music isn't annoying either!

I made up a pot of soup for he and I to enjoy, a macaroni/hamburger with diced tomato and mixed vegetables.  Because I put so much into it, the soup is more of a stew and he can manage it on his own.  Best of all, he loves it (as do I).  Dinner was also a simple affair, with grilled chicken breast, mashed potatoes, peas, and homemade buns. No bath for Eli last night due to his eczema, but I did get a few photos of him getting ready for bed. 

This was the last one and I think he'd had enough of the flashy box (sounds familiar doesn't it).  He asked nicely for the camera, peash, so I let him play with it for a bit.  He quickly figured out how to make the flash go off and that became a bit of a game. To get it away from him, I handed him something else and he didn't fuss.  He can, however, through a bit of a fit when he wants something and we don't understand what it is.  I'm afraid the typical two year old is well on his way.  

Monday (today) is another busy day.  D has two doctor's appointments, so Eli will be hanging out with G'ma. I don't expect I'll get much done, but I'm sure we'll get some cuddles in and a few more episodes of Paw Patrol. 

I did wake up to an annoyance.  When I opened the dishwasher to grab the cat dishes, I discovered the floor of the machine was full of water...it hadn't drained properly.  After it was emptied, I tried running another short cycle, thinking it might clear itself.  Nope. I even tried Google...only to discover that I was only willing to try one of the three options for clearing a blockage.  One is to check the filter, two and three have one removing the toe kick plate, pulling off a hose and blowing through it, and testing a valve bracket (assuming there is one of the latter).  I'll leave that to the experts.  We bailed most of the water out, used paper towel to soak up the rest, then I took out the filter ...ewwww gross....and took out a screw holding a little plastic piece above the drainage hole (I'm sure that's not the technical term).  More water was then cleared from there.  My goal was merely to get rid of as much water as possible as I won't be able to get a plumber in until I return from my trip.  I cleaned up the parts I'd removed and put everything back in the machine for the time being.  Sigh...there is always something.

Later today we'll be celebrating my daughter's 37th birthday.  That means no more cooking, hooray for Skip the Dishes!  We'll be ordering in from a local restaurant.  Eli gave mommy a picture frame for her birthday, with the words "I love mom" on it.  I'm sure D has a photo she can add to it, and if not, I'm sure Christmas will provide lots of opportunity to get a good photo.  Speaking of which, we are taking Eli to visit Santa and/or the Grinch this afternoon at a nearby mall.  I'm told the Grinch is especially good with small children so if he happens to be there, we'll get to test that theory.

Tomorrow, I'll finish packing and wash the kitchen and living floors after D and Eli leave for Melville.  A 21 month old child is a walking, talking, disaster in action.  It doesn't help that G'ma doesn't own a highchair or booster seat and his mother didn't bring his along. In any event, I've got my work cut out for me tomorrow.  AND then with an early night, I'm off to New Orleans!  I'm soooo excited.  As a result, I won't be posting for a couple of weeks but you can be assured that I'll be sharing photos and experiences when I return.  

Have a wonderful couple of weeks!