our dinner guests really "measure up"

We are at a great family stage where having guests for dinner is tons of fun, and usually amounts to less stress for me! I love when the guests show up early enough to entertain the girls during the pre-dinner crunch (5:30 to 6pm seems to be the fussing/whining/crying/irritability peak around our house). Guests who want to sit and play with the girls = the perfect way to fill the final 30 minutes before dinner.

After dinner, the fun continues (I never thought I would count it a privilege to sweep the dining room floor in peace and quiet while the girls are otherwise occupied, but two little ones in the house have taught me to appreciate the little things in life!)

Julianna and Lydia both love to play with measuring tapes. Julianna "measures" anything - people, objects, you name it. She'll walk up to me, pull the tape out, stretch it over my knee and say, "mommy, you are twenty three". Or, she'll measure Lydia's foot and declare "sixty-two eleven".

Imagine her delight when she discovered a dinner guest who joined in all the measuring fun. Together they measured almost everything in our living room.



He was SO patient with her and even let her measure his neck - with a metal measuring tape!



The girls LOVE guests. If the phone rings in the afternoon Julianna loves to ask, "who is that??? Are they coming to eat dinner with us???"

If any of you would like to join us one evening, we'd be glad to have you! Just let me know when to expect you - we'll meet you at the airport :)


PS - Julianna just found two safety pins laying on the window sill and came running to me saying, "oh mommy, look at your earrings!".