Weekend in Review

Ken was schedule to work at 12:45 on Saturday, so I thought Saturday morning would be a good time to go school supply shopping for the kids.  Henry had already enthusiastically agreed to a backpack we already had; mainly because it matched Frances'.  We headed to Target with our lists and managed to avoid most of the crowds.  There were some people there, but the place didn't look too picked over. A bit surprising, since it was tax-free weekend, but it was also 10 am and maybe other people were still getting going.
Henry didn't have much on his list aside from glue sticks and crayons, so his list was pretty easy.  Frances had a few other things to pick out, but since she is old enough I was able to say, "Go get five plastic folders with pockets." and she could do that on her own.
At one point, Henry was touching everything in sight asking if it was something he would need and Benjamin was throwing a hissy fit because he wanted to push the shopping cart.  Ken looked at me and said, "And you thought this was a good idea, why...?"  and I very sweetly replied, "Because otherwise I would have had to do it by myself!"
We then decided to brave a trip to Kohl's.  The kids don't really need much in the way of clothing, but I thought it would be nice to have a nice new outfit for the first day of school.  I stopped in the Boy's 4-7 department for Henry, because he is 5. Of course all those clothes were too big and we had to go over to the toddler section.  Then I tried the young girls' section for Frances and was not pleased with my choices there. Do they make clothes for young girls that look like clothes for young girls? I guess we are just beginning this battle!  Thankfully, she doesn't ask for any of the clothes I find inappropriate, so we can have that discussion without too many complaints from her. We settled on some new pants for both and a new shirt each.
We didn't do much else on Saturday, but we managed to get some more baskets of stuff put away at the house.  We enjoyed a chicken and rice casserole for dinner that was such a hit that Henry got out of bed after light's out and told me he was still hungry and could he have more chicken and rice!
Sunday morning we  went to church and managed to arrive early enough for Frances to try out being an altar server. She is not actually tall enough to reach the altar or strong enough to carry the cross, but she can still "shadow" the other servers and learn the ropes.  I was so proud watching her walk up with the other two servers. She did a really great job and I watched to make sure she was saying her responses correctly and paying attention.  Plus, she got to ring the bell after Mass, which may or may not be the whole reason she signed up to be an altar server!
Ken had to work again this Sunday, so I ended up at the grocery store by myself with the kiddos. I didn't take a list because I knew I had bought the important stuff the week before. We spent $63, mostly on fresh produce, but also on some round baking pans and other cake decorating items, since I have a baby shower cake to make this week.
When we got home from the store, I brought the groceries into the kitchen and then went to the bathroom.  I walked out to the kids announcing that they had already put all the groceries away!  Awww!
I gave them a quick snack and then said they could watch a Clifford movie. We had a birthday party to go to and I didn't want them falling asleep or getting to wound up. It's a delicate balance I walk!
We got our present all wrapped up and explained again how birthdays work (presents and candles are for the birthday boy, etc.) and headed out.
The kids had a great time at the party. Since little D is only turning one, his big sister "helped" unwrap all of his presents, then L and my kids promptly made off with them to test them out, especially the new beach chairs that he and his sister got!