Throwing... a successful birthday bash for our three June boys last weekend. They each invited five friends, plus three of their cousins, so we had a house full of happy kids! We kept it simple with three stations- a drawing/art station; an outside (mostly trampoline jumping!) station; and a Lego building station. They all enjoyed the party and I loved seeing them celebrate with their friends from school. It also made me happy to be hosting their first birthday party at our first home.
Enjoying... long, slow mornings in our pajamas. Hooray for summer! We roll out of bed, eat some breakfast, I drink some coffee and the kids do their daily journals + school work. It's just the best!
Working... on a little schoolwork (less than an hour per day) to keep the kids' skills up over summer. The twins typically do a 4th grade prep page; a math page; a reading page and a daily journal entry (picture + sentences). In the evenings while I'm laying Carly and Wyatt down, they go over multiplication and division with Josh; and throughout the day all three boys are expected to get in (at least) 20 minutes of silent reading and read aloud one book to a parent or sibling. Wyatt does a reading & math page, plus reads me sight word flashcards. All in all, their attitudes about this have been pretty good and I've been impressed with what I'm seeing! I joke that it's too bad their dad's a teacher, because he's seen the amount of academic progress that can be lost over summer, so they'll be doing "summer school" all their lives!
Hosting... "brother sleepovers" as we let the kids sleep in the laundry room and each other's beds this first week of summer. Wyatt was thrilled to sleep in his brothers' room because it meant he got to finally sleep with the kitties.
Scaling back... my reading now that the kids are home for summer. I am still slowly working through The Identicals by Elin Hildebrand (and loving it!), and I finished Everything, Everything. I love reading so many books, but it's also kind of nice taking my time. They're both currently on sale**!
(**links take you to my amazon site, and I receive a small kickback for any purchases made. thanks for supporting my blog in this way!)
Getting... lots checked off our to do list this week so we can really settle into being present for the summer as it unfolds. We grocery shopped, saw the orthodontist, picked up Rx's, and ran to the bank. Next week there's nothing on the calendar until the weekend. Wahoo!
Eating... burgers & french fries outside! The boys and I get so excited to eat outside, and Carly enjoys the bumpy arrival from the dining room to the picnic table in her high chair.
Gardening... with a dragonfly. It's hard to see in the picture I posted here, but there was a dragonfly working with me as I weeded our little raised garden this week. I got the bed looking really good and I can't wait until it starts producing! We have watermelon, pumpkin, peas, green beans, zucchini, corn, and tomatoes!
Spending... a lot of time at the water park this week. We got season passes and I'm so grateful. All four kids enjoy their time there, and I find parenting there is way easier than at home because they're so happy in the water! (Plus they fall asleep at bedtime SO EASILY! Win-win!)
Loving... Carly's little tiny swimsuits. I think she has five (!!!) and they're all so adorable! (I bought one, my mom bought two, and I had two others given as hand-me-downs.)
Learning... to love my body in a swimsuit. Something about having a daughter has me suddenly looking at my body in a totally different light. Whereas before I was really harsh about the extra pounds, the lumps or bumps, now I find that I want to love my body. It has given me four beautiful children. It runs on little sleep and even less nutrition. It keeps up with those crazy kids, and does anything I ask of it. I am hoping this journey of self acceptance leads to treating my body better (eating more nutritionally & exercising), and that it will set the example I want for Carly as she grows into a woman.
***
"We must love the people
we have become.
Because no matter where
we look, or how hard we
try to see,
we will never find the
people, that we once
used to be."
-Ariana
