Summer, week 6!

Monday: Today was one of those off days.  I read an article recently about how moms put so much pressure on themselves to entertain/teach/love on/play with their children all day long, and when that doesn't happen, we beat ourselves up.  I'm glad I read that, because I just had to shrug today off my shoulders and call it done.  I had big plans originally for the morning... berry picking (place was closed today); Chuck E Cheese (new opening time: 11 AM.  Not great with our schedule); Athens Botanical Gardens (closed Mondays).  So, we just hung out around the house all morning.  The girls had slept in until about 8:30 AM.  I was so sleepy when I laid Parker down for nap time, that I asked the girls to play together quietly while I took an hour nap.  When I woke up, they had woken up Parker an hour early by yelling, and had drawn all over their faces and arms with pen.  When I asked them to get (baby) wipes to clean it all off, they used Lysol wipes.  GRRR.  I threw them in the shower to get all the disinfectant off.  We were going to go to a park and then Parker's gymnastics class, but Taylor was having a complete meltdown.  Plus I knew Parker would not make it through gymnastics with his short nap (we wouldn't get home until 7:45).  So, I decided to just put them in the car... instant relief!  I didn't know where we were going- I had nixed gymnastics by now- but I knew that being buckled in the car in the AC would calm them down and give them some space from each other.  We ended up going to an awesome park in Lawrenceville/Grayson for about an hour, then came home, ate dinner, and did the nighttime routine.  Whew.  Take 2, tomorrow.

Can you tell he has big sisters?

Tuesday: So... I was determined to make up for yesterday.  And that I did.  What a day!  Stephen was flying out to Dallas this morning, but I got up early, ran, and then did a workout video before he left.  (I know, I'm crazy.  But had to mention so you can see how exhausted I am tonight).  Then, the kids and I headed to Watkinsville to pick blueberries.  The kids were excited about it for the first 20 minutes, and then they were done.  Of course, along our journey, there was a little tug of war with the bucket that Sydney was holding, resulting in the 1/3 of the bucket of blueberries we had picked falling on the ground.  Back to the drawing board!  We managed to get about 3/4 of a bucket full and they were completely done.  Next, we headed to the Athens Botanical Gardens.  The kids weren't so excited about it (and I wasn't even sure what we'd see there- I've only been to the chapel there for a wedding, not the gardens).  Wow- it was a hit, and kind of by a fluke!  There were all these paths that went through the forest, and the sprinklers were on... the girls were having a ball getting wet!  I'm telling you, they didn't want to leave!  But, alas, we needed to... and we then headed to downtown Athens.  We parked downtown and then strolled along North Campus, all the way to the stadium/bookstore.  Two very expensive Georgia shirts later (gotta represent the Dawgs in our household), and two tired girls, we walked back uphill to downtown.  (Oh, to be Parker, being pushed in his stroller!)  We ate some lunch, and then got back in the car.  Parker was out within minutes, and the girls were entertained by Frozen while I drove around Oconee County looking at neighborhoods (no, we're not moving... just keeping my eye out for different areas in case we ever do!).  Then, we headed home.  I was exhausted.  This evening, we went to a friend's house who was having a Jamberry party (those sticky things that stick on your nails for weeks at a time).  I originally wasn't going to go since Stephen was out of town, but she told me to feel free to bring the kids.  They were entertained and I got some fun, sticky nail thingies.  We'll see how they work.  Now, the girls are having a sleepover in Taylor's room, and I still hear them giggling.  How do they have so much energy?!

This is pre-the bucket disaster.

Botanical Gardens.

Sydney said, "Mommy, I want to go to UGA!"  Woot!

Wednesday: The babysitter was back in town!  Yay!  I ran at the park, ran a couple of errands, and then came home to take the girls to swim lessons.  This was a new session, and everyone else in their class had either changed the time or cancelled, so they are having "private lessons".  The time of the class is now only 25 minutes instead of 45.  That's less time to entertain Parker and making sure he doesn't jump in the pool!  The girls did well, and after the lesson, we went to the library for story hour.  Parker made it through all but the last 5 minutes of it, when he started to SCREAM- so we made a fast exit.  The kids were so whiny/tired/cranky that we ate lunch and I made them separate for an hour.  Parker went to sleep, the girls played quietly in their rooms, and I totally sat my bottom down on the couch and caught up on my Ellen episodes.  Stephen came back in town, we had church dinner/group tonight, and we called it a day!

Parker and his homies... aka, the instructor's kids.

Taylor and her baby are listening intently.

Thursday: The babysitter came again- same morning routine.  The maid came, so I'm sure she was happy when we left the house for swimming lessons.  We came home and tried to stay out of the maid's way as much as possible.  Lunch, naps, games, crafts, books... we entertained ourselves as best as we could today.  I made dinner and blueberry crumb cake for friends of ours who just had a baby.  I managed to start organizing my closet, only to realize how much ironing I have to do before going back to school.  I'm really going to miss wearing my running shorts, t-shirts, pony tail and no make up every day!

Taylor and Parker's masterpiece.

Gotta love that their papers are covering up the fact that they only have underwear on!

Real nap or fake nap?  You decide.

Friday:  Babysitter came, and I went to the park and to the grocery store.  Swim lessons were cancelled- some pump in the pool broke, and the chemical levels were too high.  Stephen worked from home, so I ran some errands while the kids were napping/resting, and then Stephen went to hit some golf balls when I got home.  We went to our friends' house in Oconee County.  They adopted a little girl from China in March, and then they had a baby in June!  They already had a 7 year-old girl.  They went from 1 child to 3 children in a span of 3 months. So, we brought them dinner and got to see all the girls.  We got home pretty late, and the kids went right to bed!

Saturday: Ahhh... a Saturday at home...!  With no plans!  We all slept in until about 8 AM today.  We went to a park this morning, and the kids played while Stephen and I took turns running.  We came home and got stuff done around the house (converting Parker's crib to a toddler bed; putting together his new little bike; vacuumed cars; laundry) and Sydney and Stephen went swimming at a friend's pool.  We cooked a yummy dinner and chilled the rest of the night!

Sunday:  We woke up and headed to church this morning.  The youth group was doing "Wash while you Worship" (car washes) to raise money for an upcoming mission trip, so we happily got our two (gross, disgusting) cars washed.  We came home and hung out the rest of the afternoon.  I did some school supply shopping (gasp) this afternoon, and then I went to a baby shower for a friend from church, who is adopting a little girl from China.  They are leaving this Friday!!!  So exciting.  I came home, we ate dinner, and I am SO tired that I'm going to sit on the couch for the rest of the evening. :)  

Napping in his "big boy" bed.

Here's to week 7!