Nicole Marica: End of the Week Roundup- Nephew Edition

I had my two nephews, who are two and three, this past weekend. Todays' EOTWR focuses on the time Dave and I spent with the boys.

We picked them up Friday night and then we dropped them off Sunday afternoon. Not to state the obvious or anything, but kids are a lot of work. I don't know how parents do it everyday, day in and day out. Dave and I barely made it 12 hours before every bone and muscle in our body ached and we fell asleep the minute we sat down on the couch or a chair. Having the boys this weekend was a really fun time, but I was definitely missing my independent, quiet life.

1. On Saturday we went to Strasburg Railroad, which the boys were pretty excited about:

It was such a fun time. The boys got to ride the big train and then they had a smaller "Pufferbelly" one that you could sit in.

Lucas enjoying the Pufferbelly train

There were also "cranky cars" that moved when you cranked a handle. It was tough getting Jacob off the cars, he had a meltdown every time he had to get off, which is to be expected from a two year old, but it definitely humbled me and made me respect parents who have to deal with meltdowns on a regular basis even more.

Jacob (L) and Lucas (R) loving the Cranky Cars

2. As exhausting as it was, I loved watching Dave interact with the boys. When it comes time for me to stop being selfish and for us to start a family, I know he will make an incredible dad. He was patient and kind to the boys, I started calling him Uncle Softie because those boys had him wrapped around their finger.

Every time I see this, it warms my heart

3 .We both read to them, Dave grabbed a book I already had in my "library" and I bought a book Friday that I knew was going to be a hit, "Press Here". I'll go into more detail about that awesome book in another post but for now, I'll let the pictures do the rest of the "talking" here:

Engrossed in Uncle Dave's story

Jacob: "Whoa the bubbles moved!"

4. I really like my neighbors, but I never knew how much I LOVE my one neighbor until she came to my rescue this weekend. What didn't this woman do? She came over Saturday with her son, who is three, and made PB&J for the boys and let Lucas and Jacob play on her son's swing set. When I ran out of juice she came over with a new bottle of apple juice so we didn't have to run out; when Lucas wouldn't eat she suggested some ideas and even brought over soup and crackers for him to eat. The boys have allergies really bad so they had runny noses, she brought over a nose sucker and a Vicks dehumidifier for the boys. But she didn't stop there, she even rubbed their chests with Vicks baby rub so they could sleep comfortably. This woman was a God-send this past weekend. I'll never be able to thank her enough or show my appreciation for her kindness.

5. When Jacob gets sad he sticks his lower lip out, it's the cutest thing in the world, partially due to the fact that Dave does that to me when he wants something. I taught Jacob how to do the face when he's in a good mood (he has no idea that the does this when he cries) and bribed him to give me the face every time he wanted something from me. Lucas jumped in and started doing it too when he saw how much I loved it when they did it. Here is a pic of them being goofy and giving me the "face":

Giving me the "look"

*Bonus*

6. I was super tired on Sunday after we gave the boys back to their mom, and I couldn't wait to get home and clean up all the crushed crackers on my couch and floor and revel in the peace and quiet. Then I walked into my quiet house and I kinda missed the chaos. Don't get me wrong, I'm good not having babies for a little while but this whole weekend I questioned whether I would want to deal with all this on a regular basis and the constant answer was "I don't think so", but then when it was all said and done, I missed the boys and the craziness of the weekend.