Giustino and Mario

Last Friday, I got the pleasure of baby-sitting my two little cousins, Giustino and Mario, while their parents went to the Penguins playoff hockey game. I arrived at Joe and Heather's house just in time for dinner. I had already eaten before I showed up, so it was just the boys. The three of us sat around the little red plastic table and chairs. Man did I feel like a giant. I barely fit. Giustino had chicken nuggets, french fries, and chocolate milk (a favorite of the Racchini house), while Mario had fish sticks, french fries, and juice. The boys ate really well for me, and I even got to "taste test" their french fries, with their permission of course!

After dinner I got the boys set up in the TV room to watch a movie and I cleaned up the kitchen. I had to clean up fast because Giustino was worried that I would miss an important part of the movie. We watched Alvin and the Chipmunks, The Squeakuel. It is a really cute movie for little kids! Giustino sat in the chair and occasionally got up to dance every time the chipmunks sang a song. Mario watch (with Puppy in hand) and sat on the couch with me.

Once the movie was over, we got out the memory games. Giustino asked if they could have some more chocolate milk because they were really good during the movie. I agreed, so I poured them each a half glass of chocolate milk. Giustino gulped his down before I could put the milk back in the fridge. Mario had a few sips and asked to save it for later. Then he announced that he had to go potty. He is close to being potty trained, so I was really excited that he told me he had to go. Off to the potty we went, and while we were in there, Giustino was a little sneaky.

Giustino got back into the fridge and decided it was okay is he drank the rest of Mario's chocolate milk. Mario discovered that his chocolate milk was gone, and Giustino told me he drank it because it was just sitting there. I replaced Mario's chocolate milk, and of course, Giustino got mad. I told him that he couldn't have any more because he already had plenty.

The three of us finished playing memory and it was time for bed. The boys prolong bedtime like it is their job. Giustino took twenty minutes to put his pajamas on because he was too busy trying to tell me how the clouds make rain. Mario was spinning in circles in Giustino's room because he thought it was fun. With both boys finally dressed for bed, they each picked out a book to read.

Giustino picked a Mickey Mouse book. He read it to Mario and me. Since he can't read yet, he makes up stories from the pictures. He actually made sense, and it was funny to watch his facial expressions as he was formulating his story. Mario then read us the book that he chose. It was a cute little book called "Whose Nose and Toes." We went around the room and answered the question. This ended quickly however. Mario went out of order once, and Giustino threw a fit because it wasn't the right way. Once I got them settled, I tucked each other them into bed, and went back downstairs to clean up the mess.

I watched the rest of the hockey game on TV while I waited for Joe and Heather to get home. They arrived around 11:00pm. I shared the night's events with them, and back to the apartment I went. I didn't realized how tired I was until I got back to my apartment. Those boys wore me out, but it was still a fun night. Giustino and Mario told Grandma and Grandpa all about their night that Sunday at church, so I guess they had a good time too!