It gave us the opportunity to be loud and play without worrying about offending people at the hotel. I was able to get all of our laundry washed too. I washed a load of blankets for my parents, and did their dishes. #2 washed their windows, and #3 and #4 worked together to vacuum the dog fur off the stairs so the house would look nice for when they return tomorrow.
#3 worked on stacking cards. She's getting pretty good at it!
No news on either house. Looks like the clean up crew is going to come in on Monday, but Tony isn't sure if he can get the day off or not yet. Nothing like last minute. We seem to be doing a lot of last minute things lately.
Tonight I was actually able to cook a simple meal (stir-fried teriyaki chicken and white rice). It was delicious, and the kids ate all of the chicken, leaving just two ziplock bags of rice for leftovers. It felt so good to cook a meal, and it felt good to fill our bellies without emptying our wallets. Eating out every day with seven mouths to feed is expensive.
The other day #3 asked me about growing lemongrass. Someone told her it was an excellent mosquito repellent plant. I told her so is basil, and I know how to cook with basil. Wouldn't you know, today while browsing a magazine at my parents' house I came upon a little blurb about lemongrass with six simple recipes, complete with details on how to prepare lemongrass for eating. I snapped a photo of the page with my phone. Since I have lemongrass seeds in my collection already, perhaps next year we can grow some.