Probably won't get invited back...

OK, it's been a couple of weeks since the last post. Lots of stuff has been going on, but very little of it is blog worthy. Work is busy, as you would expect after losing almost a week of working time, but still having the same amount of work to get done. Also a little bit of drama around the office (actually sort of stupid crap), but nothing really to blog about. I've also got this rule about blogging either about company business or on company time.

Our Sunday School class at church has been doing "small groups" for about a year now. Basically, several people open up their homes to meet periodically in smaller groups for a more in-depth type bible study and also to build closer friendships with each other than you might be able to in a class of 70-80 people. Nothing is assigned, you just pick the one you want to go to based on location or how often / when they meet and show up.

I've been resisting, because I think we're busy enough. There is also the issue of a 4 yr old and a 5 month old that spend all day in daycare. It seems a little unfair to me to pick them up and immediately leave them with either a sitter or a grandparent. Well, one of the couples that is now hosting a group has an infant and they started a more informal group and they encourage you to bring the kids. So, we went tonight and took the kids. Sounds good, right?

One of the other couples there has 2 boys, I believe they are 5 and 3. Bookends to our 4 yr old, so that part was fine. They played well together and shared toys really well. Our hostess had baked several great desserts for us to enjoy while we were there. One of which was a chocolate cake with sort of gooey icing. There was also an assortment of fresh fruit. All of this was in the kitchen, and we were meeting in the living room.

Once we got things going, the kids went into the kitchen area to play on the floor, while the adults were talking. I went in to check on the kids, and Matthew wanted to eat some fruit, while eyeing the cake on the table. I set him up at the end of the dining table with some grapes on a napkin, and told him he was to either play on the floor with his toys, or eat the grapes at the table, but he was not to touch any of the other desserts. I repeated it and got him to respond to me that he understood.

All was going well for 20 or 30 minutes. Every little while, one of the parents would go in and make sure the kids weren't destroying anything and to settle them down a little, but they were fine for the most part. Then, as we were wrapping up with a prayer time, Shelly leaned to me and said, is that chocolate around Matthew's mouth? Oh, no. The kids were coming into the living room, and not only did Matthew have chocolate around his mouth, he had it all over the front of his shirt. I took him out and made sure there was no mess in the hosts kitchen / dining room, then I got a wipe from Jonathan's diaper bag and cleaned up his face and hands.

No obvious damage done, we returned to the group. Things were wrapping up, and we started visiting amongst ourselves, while the kids played in the living room. Kids are fast, and before I knew it, Matthew climbed on the ottoman in front of the sofa and jumped from the ottoman to the sofa, and back to the ottoman. (the chocolate was kicking in, the kid was starting to bounce off the walls, so it was time to go). I grabbed Matthew, sat him on the ottoman with the order to settle down, and I turned around to get his shoes and socks. Just as I turned back to him, he coughed, sputtered, and chucked what I can only surmise was his last drink of apple juice along with some remnants of chocolate cake onto the hosts ottoman. I wish I could say it was leather... Luckily it was a stain resistant cloth, and brown in color, so it cleaned up really well with a damp cloth.

OK, I'm at my whits end by now. We've got to get out of here. I put Jonathan in his car seat, grab the toys we brought for Matthew and tell Shelly we have to go. As we're going into the kitchen to get Shelly's purse and the diaper bag, the hosts are in there telling everyone goodbye as they leave. They are great folks and tell us that they understand kids are kids, and they hope to see all of us next week. Then I noticed the cake. What was once a cake, perfectly iced and smooth as glass, now had almost zero icing left on it, and the few patches remaining had the marks of little fingers running through them. We're talking half of a cake remaining...

Well, folks, I think that just about does it. No more of these adult get togethers at other people's houses that allow you to bring the kids. I appreciate that they are doing what they can to accommodate those of us with kids, but it just doesn't work. A couple of kids can destroy a house in a short amount of time if you aren't watching them like a hawk. If you are watching them like a hawk, you can't really participate in what's going on with the rest of the adults, meaning, you might as well just stay home.

Next week, we just stay home. (probably much to the relief of our hosts.)