Summer So Far

(Last day of school photo! I can't believe Eloise is done with preschool forever!)

We are three weeks into summer and so far everyone's having a great time. The girls just finished up three weeks of camp at their school, which they loved and I am feeling smart for signing them up for because this will be the first year we're cruising into July without me feeling like I've already exhausted all my ideas (and energy) for the summer!

George is still insistent on his 2-2.5 hour morning nap, and then around 3pm I put him down for about another hour or so, although more often than not he just plays in his crib while the girls watch their daily show and I put my feet up and eat something.

In between all that there's been lots of food prep—honestly all I really do is make food and feed people all day!—and outside time and free play. The girls have anointed their outside playhouse "the clinic" and they pretend Eloise is the doctor and Mimi is the nurse, and they spend HOURS out there "fixing" broken toys and sewing up holes in stuffed animals.

It's my first peek into what life with older kids is like, not that they're very old at all, and it's great! Although they are constantly around now, what we lose in babies being down for naps we gain in their independence and ability to self-entertain. They play together all day long. God bless siblings.

My biggest challenge is all the talking. So much talking and so many questions!

Our schedule has been loosely:

Girls wake at the holy crack of dawn (6am). I've given up entirely on containing them in their room until their clock turns green (we had a good 4-year run of it!) and instead we let them come downstairs and play quietly while Nick and I have our coffee and morning conversation in another room or on the front porch. We've stopped feeding them breakfast immediately upon their waking because it's too early/we're not ready to deal with it, and we also stopped allowing them to get their own breakfast because they'd eat a box of cereal in two days. They know they'll get breakfast once we're ready to get it for them!

Then the girls eat breakfast and Nick and I float about as he gets ready for work and I prep for the day.

George the sleeping prince awakens 1.5-2 hours later despite a LOUD household, around 7:30 and then usually plays in his crib until 8. He's eventually joined in the crib by one if not two sisters, and they occupy him while I clean up the kitchen, head upstairs and get myself dressed and ready / make beds / tidy up.

Then comes my second iteration of feeding, as George eats his breakfast and I pack the girls' lunches for camp. They play until 8:45 when we do the camp drop-off.

When George and I get home, we play outside on the street for about an hour and chat with neighbors.

He naps from 10-12/12:30, and I use this glorious time to do whatever I want and need to do!

Then George and I eat lunch, I prep dinner, and if we have any quick tasks or errands we do these before picking the girls up at 2.

Everyone gets a snack (and on special occasions we go for ice cream) and the kids play until 3. 3-4 is quiet time, and then 4-6 we play around the house / outside while I cook/assemble dinner, we receive the dreaded ETA text from Nick (which 90% of the time is that he's running late), and then we eat around 6, clean up dinner, put kids to bed by 7.

Most times I'm way too tired to fully clean up the house after everyone is in bed, so a lot of house picking-up has been happening in the morning. Who am I becoming? A relaxed mom?

It's been a lovely, relaxed schedule and I am feeling rested and not frazzled. I had a reiki session at my neighbor's one night this week and I feel newly energized and refreshed to begin our summer with everyone at home.

This schedule will shift as we now enter two weeks without camp/activities. I'm resisting the urge to place a big Amazon order to plus up our craft supplies, because although I did organize our craft drawers before summer began, I'm feeling like the girls should use up what's in there first before adding more. (I have a lot more to say on this principle but am still forming my thoughts!)

I see the next two weeks being spent swimming, making hot-weather treats (ice cream, popsicles, etc), and mostly just having lots of unstructured free play around the house/neighborhood.

How is your summer so far?