sleep-in

miracle of miracles today -- everyone stayed asleep until 9:52 am. ruskin and i can't remember when we did that last! certainly it was not in the last two years as K is one of the most consistent early risers in the house.

we decided a late morning deserved pastries. we practiced saying P-A-S-T-R-Y around him to see if he would pick it up. eventually he did. due to our late start the bakery was packed and trays were empty. so we had to travel around and look for a pastry that would be to R's liking. luckily one was found at a cafe and everyone came home to talk, eat pastries and sausage, and engage in general sunday morning recovery. k was feeling particularly naughty -- when is she not -- and tested as many limits as her two year old brain could think of. she is 2 going on 16. she is all resistance and pushing limits. ruskin got her this morning. as she was yelling, he asked her to yell louder. she tried but it certainly puzzled her. i think as the youngest child and the toddler, she is quite inventive in getting our attention. most of her pushing back is kind of funny, but the throwing of food and other nearby objects is her showcase maneuver. she got a nasty look from me yesterday when she threw something heavy and wooden on my foot.

since ruskin and i had had no thursday night planning session, the weekend has been rather ad hoc. if ruskin does not get time to get anything accomplished around the house, it makes him feel very unproductive and behind (as there is a long to do list always). we have been trying to clean up inside and out. but there is never a chance to quite catch up. the downstairs floors did get cleaned and a great deal of laundry has been done in the last week or two 10-14 loads as the kids have been ill and new clothes have been arriving. but an old house needs work. so ruskin painted and i minded the children.

things went as you would expect. k and r almost played together and did struggle. k landed herself a time-out for her bullying her brother. that spunky monkey sure gets my goat.

both asked for lunch about an hour and a half after their pastry meal. so i broke out lunch. then took k up for a nap. she was a little ornery but settled down. i fell asleep briefly with her and then woke up and read as long as i could with her. by 4 om i needed a break from the kids and gave her to ruskin while i cleaned the kitchen and dining room. ruskin had cooked the night before and there were pastry crumbs and sausage that needed attention. then it was time to wake R up. his late nap 4-6 did not bode well for an early bedtime but we hope it means he will be less exhausted and prone to tantrums.

he woke up and was happy rather quickly -- the promise of a party for daddy was quite enticing. masee and uncle tom arrived as soon as we came downstairs. the kids were thrilled. k had been asking for masee-tom all day long. masee-tom come soon. masee phone.

R and K ate pizza. R managed to eat despite his proximity to uncle tom. k tried to get her way with masee. it was a battle of wills that was interesting to watch. ruskin got to eat some of his birthday dinner in peace. we had cake and ice cream that both kids enjoyed. apparently ruskin did not remember how old he is. but that's ok we celebrated all the years that there are!
as uncle tom says, old dudes are cool!