Kid-Palooza!

Two weekends back (where does the time go?), we hosted a kid fest...it had started small andbutkept growing, which made it loads of fun! I wasn't sure our little house could handle it, but it was just perfect!  Josh and Eliot arrived first and then Finley and Dan returned from their swim lesson. Henry and Dave drove home to get the rest of their family (Mary and not-so-baby Simon) after saying goodbye to Fin and Dan at the pool before driving to our house.  Finally, Stacy and Kelvin (up from CT) and their kids, Aliza and Levi, made our party complete.  The kids checked out all the toys in the playroom and the books in the family room, while the parents tried to hold thoughtful conversations over the chaos...and I do mean chaos!

I whipped up some chicken nuggets and cooked veggies for the kids and for about ten minutes, everyone under the age of three was at the table eating lunch (or at least thinking about it).  Finley took his role as "head of the table" seriously and kept checking on everyone, "Is Eliot having chicken?" "Does Aliza have a fork like me?" "Where is Henry?"

But before we knew it, they had eaten their fill and started a dance party in the kitchen.  Thanks to the accompaniment of the Fridge Farm, they all busted a serious move.  Our guy, in particular, seems to like to boogie :)

This was pretty entertaining to watch for the grown ups as we all shoved some sandwiches into our mouths, not knowing how much time we'd get to chew!

After lunch, it was time for most people to head out.  We said goodbye and then helped Aliza get settled in the guest room and Levi into the travel crib so they could nap at our place  Once everyone was asleep, Dan tidied up the kitchen while I managed to tip toe into the playroom where every toy we own was on the floor and began putting things away like the good OCD mom that I am.  Stacy, Kelvin, Dan and I had some lovely down time to talk and relax before their kids were up and then we went to the basement to play as Finley continued to snooze.  However, when he got up--we had a little more time to play.  All three kids were posed nicely on the couch for about 30 seconds and I wasn't near my camera but grabbed it in time to catch a few cute ones of Finley and Levi hamming it up together.

Aliza seems to love being read to as much as our bookworm, so I happily read to an eager audience before it was time for the CT crew to head out.

The day was a complete success, in my humble opinion, and it was so wonderful to have everyone over and actually enjoy ourselves at the same time.  Maybe I'm getting this hostess thing yet!