Actually

This is Nicholas' new favorite word. He has been using "actually" constantly the past couple days. And while his use of the word has been excessive, it has not been incorrect.

So, in honor of Nicholas' new favorite word, here are a few things that made it a very good weekend, actually:

Mike and Melinda came to visit on their way through New England, spending about 4 hours with us. And Nicholas actually did exactly what we hoped and fell asleep in the car on the way home from grocery shopping with Daddy, so that he napped for an hour before they got here instead of through the first 2 1/2 hours of their visit as I had feared.

It was warm enough that we actually went out and played soccer with Mike and Melinda. In February. In New England. Without jackets.

I actually took the holiday off. My university closes for most federal holidays, but they almost all fall on Mondays and Mondays are my prep days so I am usually working in an empty building while Nicholas (whose school is closed) is home with Joe. This semester I am rebelling. I will pay later this week, but today I don't care.

We were all home for the 3 days and I only worked during naps, bedtimes, and Daddy/Nicholas errands (with the exception of a few minutes here and there where I was trying to finish up something I had been in the middle of when he woke up) and yet I actually made great research progress--about 500 more kids added to my database!

We actually cooked a bunch of yummy and (by our recent standards) complex meals, including a sausage tomato sauce, fruit jello, and a squash soup. A delicious weekend and with lots of leftovers.

We played games upon games upon games and had a ton of fun. I got brave enough (and bored enough of the handful we'd been playing) that I taught him Dominoes and attempted Sorry. The last required very significant rule modification, though, so we won't do it again for another year. But Nicholas can now actually play Candyland, Preschool Uno, Hi-ho Cherry-o, Go Fish, Dominoes, and Memory with only a little help or tiny rule modification.

I started using the crazy language and routines from Nicholas' school at home and it is actually working. Apparently he respects school rules in a way he doesn't home rules, so simply by incorporating some of the language from school, he becomes much more manageable.

Nicholas actually slept in on a weekend. Rather than his usual routine of waking up earlier on days we don't have to be up, he slept until at least 6:45 all 3 days!

And, probably most impressive of all, Nicholas actually made it through the entire day using only 2 pull-ups. I actually lost track, but I think he successfully went potty 5 times today!

And, yes, I actually did take some pictures this weekend, although not a ton. There are of course more in the Gallery, but here are just a few:

From 2012 Feb

From 2012 Feb

From 2012 Feb