Little troopers

We have had a busy week. Over the course of 7 days, I spent 18 hours in the car with my children. They were such little troopers. I had dreaded driving that much with them, because I saw the trips taking even longer as I had to stop the car to find lost toys and to comfort crying children, but that didn't happen. In 18 hours there was probably a total of 15 minutes of fussing between the two of them. What an unexpected blessing!

We had two fun trips. First we went to a friend's surprise birthday party. I wasn't sure if the 6 hour trip would be worth it, but we had a great time. It was wonderful to see friends that I haven't seen in a while. The boys had a great time playing with other kids at the party, and they got a surprise after the party: a trip down the road to see a dairy farm. They loved it. We swam at the hotel pool, which was fun for them, although not very relaxing for me. Sammy fell in the hot tub. It didn't upset him at all. He wanted to do it again.

Next we drove to my mother's house so that we could spend a day with a high school friend who is living in China. It was great to see her and her son. The boys had fun playing together. The highlight was playing in Grandma's "indoor sandbox," an under the bed box filled with rice and beans. She keeps it in the garage, and it has provided hours of entertainment for the grandchildren.

The one thing that amused all of the friends that I saw this week was the fact that Kiran calls me "Daddy." I am used to it, although I usually correct him. He has never called me "Mommy" or "Mama" or even "Ma." It is a bit frustrating. When Sammy was this age, he wouldn't say "Mommy" either. I would ask him to say "Mommy" and he would get a little grin on his face and say "Daddy!" He never actually called me "Daddy," though. I'm not sure what it means that I have two children who have done this. I guess it is amusing, but I am looking forward to the day that he decides to call me "Mommy."