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Not counting today, there are just three, yes three days left of preschool! My daughters are excited because this means they will soon be kindergarteners. They seem to think the minute preschool is over, they will head to the "big building" for kindergarten. If only it were that simple.
I never realize how much I appreciate the downtime provided by school, until my daughters are on a break. I enjoy spending time with them, but things get a lot more hectic when they're not in school. For instance, beginning in June Sue Sue will resume her weekly physical therapy sessions. She was discharged from year 'round therapy, but we like to find areas to focus on during the summer to build her muscle strength. This means on Mondays we'll spend the morning getting all of us there by 10 am, (I'm guessing this means I will not shower before the sessions), keeping the other three entertained during the session, rush home for lunch and then spend the afternoon trying to get in the mindset to go to work. I'm also working to resume our swim lessons with our fantastically wonderful swim instructor. (All winter long my daughters wanted to know why they couldn't go swimming. Ummm... because our neighborhood pool is outside?!)
We have a membership to our local zoo. This comes in handy when we're looking for something to do, but don't have any creative ideas. The zoo is fairly close, so we can go and stay as long or as little as we like. I also found a great deal on a membership to our local butterfly pavilion ($24!! It's normally $65. We saved money on our very first visit since admission without a membership is more than $24 for the six of us). I'm hoping we can swing over there on rainy days.
We live near two local libraries. The one closest to us is less than a year old. It's beautiful. Unfortunately, the free classes for kids fill up fast. The other library is older and has a smaller selection of kid's books, but the classes are easier to get into. (It still seems strange to me that you have to register for story time. What happened to just showing up and joining in the fun?)
We are fortunate to live near numerous subdivisions, all with their own playgrounds. We rotate through the parks so we don't become "bored." (That's their favorite word right now).
I'm actually looking forward to the summer. Yes, we will be busy, but hopefully we'll embark on some great adventures.
**Don't forget, Buried in Laundry is nominated to be on the Top 25 Parents with Multiples List by Circle of Moms. You can vote once every 24 hours through May 30. Please take a moment to visit the list of nominees and vote for Buried in Laundry. Thanks!
At the end of each month, I always wonder how things went by so fast. Then I took at look at our calendar:
It's not that we are overbooked... it's just that we always have something going on. Sue Sue has physical therapy, I have to work, all the girls have swim lessons, we have a birthday party to attend... the list goes on and on. If you look closely, some days are crossed out... but that's only because other things came up that interfered with our original plans.
Next month doesn't appear to be as booked... but appearances can be deceiving. While many days don't have anything written on them, they're still busy because preschool will be starting again soon.
I'm just glad that even though our calendar is chock full of plans, many of them have been fun activities: a mini-vacation, a trip to a new park... we may have had to "book" them on the calendar, but at least that meant we actually did them!
I think I finally understand why some parents can't wait for summer break to be over. We are constantly on the go. Whether it's swim lessons, recreational swimming or day trips, we rarely have a day when we simply stay at home. The only thing that has slowed us down is Tortilla's two ear infections within three weeks of one another (different ears).
In past summers my girls and I spent a lot of time at the pool. This year is a little different. We still head to the pool quite often, but I'm trying to find other things to do. I want to take advantage of having kids who are ready for adventures. We've visited new parks, gone to some of the local tourist destinations and spent plenty of time at the zoo. I've already used an entire bottle of sun screen keeping everyone protected this summer.
We're having a good time. I'll miss this when we're buried in snow this winter! What about you? Are you finding time to enjoy summer, too?
Call me spoiled, I don't care. I love central air. I live in an area where we see upper 80s to mid 90s and beyond all summer long. The nights are typically cooler, but it's not uncommon for the temperature in my house to reach close to 90 degrees.
I could cool down my house if I could sleep with the windows open. Unfortunately, there are several reasons why this is not possible. The first reason is my allergies. If I sleep with the windows open, I am guaranteed to wake up stuffed up and with my eyes matted shut. Another reason is the neighborhood dogs. We are surrounded on all sides by dogs. There are two neighbors in particular who never let their dogs inside. The dogs would prefer to be indoors and they let the entire neighborhood know this all night and all early morning long. The final reason... Cakes and Tortilla's bedroom is at the front of our house. I can't leave their window open because some of our neighbors feel every night is a good night to tap the kegarator, set off fireworks or just be obnoxiously loud. These are not "young" neighbors, mind you. They are adults in their 30s who have young children who apparently are able to sleep through the noise.
Window units are out of the question. Our windows open side to side rather than up and down. Plus window units violate our HOA covenants.
When we lived in Michigan we did not have central air in our house. When we built the house we were looking for ways to cut costs and central air didn't seem like a priority in Michigan. There were maybe two weeks each summer when we lamented not having air, but we could manage to survive those two weeks. And then I spent a summer on bed rest. I vowed I will never ever ever go without central air again. You try being in bed all summer long with fans blowing on you from all directions and yet you still feel no relief.
Don't get me wrong. I don't flip on the AC at the first sign of heat. Last week we had record setting heat and I tried to hold out. I finally turned it on at 8:30 pm when the temperature in the house was still 89 and the girls were sleeping in pools of sweat. I turned off the air as soon as I woke up the next morning and we haven't had it on since... I'm sure it will be on again in the next few weeks.
Today is the last day of preschool. Tomorrow we begin summer break. This is a good thing because our calendar will clear up. This is a bad thing because.... our calendar will clear up.
My daughters are under the impression that they should be entertained every waking minute. They don't believe in down time. They don't believe in resting. They don't believe in naps. They believe in going, going, going until you drop.
We have a zoo membership and I plan to put it to good use this summer. I've actually managed one solo trip with them and it went well. They listened. They stayed with me. When it was time to go no one threw a fit. They've figured out that we have a "special ticket" which allows us to go to the zoo any time we want, so we don't have to see every single animal in one trip.
We also are fortunate enough to have a neighborhood pool. I have decided to take it upon myself to teach them how to swim. I know... I'm crazy. I really wanted to enroll them in swim lessons. Unfortunately, the weekday lessons are only offered in the evenings, which isn't doable for us. The weekend lessons are only offered in the mornings, when I have to work. I took every level of swim class my local pool offered growing up and I passed a Red Cross lifeguard class, so I think (I hope) I'm up for the challenge of teaching them how to swim. I just want them to get the basics this summer and this seems like the only way it's going to happen.
Remember when I said our calendar was going to clear up when school ended? I guess I was wrong!
The countdown is on for the first day of preschool. When school ended in May I wondered how we would make it through the summer. Now I'm wondering where the time went.
We have had countless days of swimming, our first movie outing, trips to the zoo and, oh yeah, an afternoon with The Wiggles. Some days, though, it feels as though we just didn't do as much as I wanted.
We have just over a week before school starts. In that time we need to buy snacks to share with classmates and stock up on school supplies. No, I did not procrastinate. This year the teacher decided to hand out the school supply list at next week's "Meet the Teacher" event... which means I'll be scrambling to buy everything times four. I even asked for the list in advance, but received a vague reply. Oh well.
The first week of school will likely be exhausting. Not only will my girls need to get back in the habit of rising by 6:30 a.m., we'll also have family visiting from out of town. So when my daughters aren't in school, we'll be wearing them out with other fun activities.
I know they're excited to return to school. Yesterday we drove by the school and they all waved to the building. While it will be nice to have some "me time" when they're back in school, I'm going to miss the leisurely summer days we spent together.
