This is one of those weeks where I'm testing the theory of whether or not you can actually have it all. Can you work, feed your family (including nursing a baby), get everyone to Bible School from 6-8 each night, get the kids cleaned up and in bed obviously with some help from Daddy and get up to start it all over again the next day?
The answer so far is yes....you can do it. But it isn't pretty! So, I've been well intentioned about getting an update on the blog, but to this point, it hasn't gone further than that. So, here you go...the recap of the last few days.
The weekend was a great one. Daddy is in super study-mode gearing up for his big exam on Monday. I know we haven't been making it easy for him. It's certainly not on purpose, but there is a definite limit on how quiet we can be with a 3 year old and an 8 month old and the yelling that is necessary to keep said children from killing themselves or each other. I really feel for Jason and how he's having to stop and start with his studying. I know I couldn't be doing what he is doing by working the hours that he is and then having to come home and stuff his brain full of information to pass the test. It'll soon be over, and I know he's looking forward to a well deserved break and more time to play with the kids and do some of the little trips we want to do this summer. So, to assist in the small way I could, I took the kids (yes, both of them) to the mall on Saturday. Joshua wanted to ride the carousel and it was too stinking hot to do anything outside. Our maiden voyage to the mall as a threesome went relatively well. Lauren seems to enjoy the stroller now, and she even travelled well both to and from. This is progress!
Sunday we went to church while Jason studied and then spent the afternoon at home doing house things that needed to be done. Joshua learned the joy of squirt guns and, I believe, shot everything both living and dead on our property at least three times. I know this because of the number of times we filled up the water gun. Somewhere mid-afternoon as the heat and humidity reached unbearable levels, we noticed that the house was warm. Our thermostat is usually set to 73. It was 75. But the heat pump wasn't running. 75 quickly turned into 78, then 82, then 85, and finally reached 90 (in the cool part of the house) when I stopped looking. Clearly, something was wrong. So, we all spent the rest of the day crabby and sweating. It was grand. Sleeping on Sunday night was icky at best and flashed me back to the hot summer nights that I tried unsuccessfully to sleep at Edgewood Place with no a/c. Sorry Dad, but I let the kids have fans on them through the night, lest we had concern of heat stroke. Monday brought the arrival of the air conditioning man, Brian, and his magic tools. It was a cool (actually felt chilly) 72 when I got home Monday after work. The best $134.60 I've spent in a long time.
This is the view we get most of the time. Below is the view I like the most!
Monday evening started the annual adventure that is Bible School. Things are going much better this year than they did last year. It's amazing what the difference between age 2 and age 3 makes in terms of behavior, listening skills and ability to not make me lose my mind. It's a good thing because Lauren has been in my arms for the entirety of the Bible School experience so far. This year, I've gotten the recipes for the Bible School snacks ahead of time and have been making the same thing for Joshua to eat with the other kids rather than bringing him fruit snacks or cookies that are safe for him during snack time. It's been a lot of extra work, but it does my heart good to see him sitting down to eat a snack that looks JUST like the ones that everyone else has. The ladies that are working with the snacks have been so kind and helpful and I'm beyond grateful to them.
Last night, I was asked to help teach the 4-6 year old class and had a blast doing it. Let's just say that it's not my calling to be a teacher, but it was super fun to do it for a short period. Jason came along last night to occupy Lauren for the 20 minutes of our lesson time and did an awesome job. He had walked her until she fell asleep for a much needed cat nap. When she awoke, she spent the remaining hour eating puffs (which she can now get from pincher grasp to her little mouth with ease) and smiling at everyone.
We'll be back at it again tonight, and tomorrow and Friday. Joshua is having a really good time, so whatever amount of rearranging and juggling is necessary is totally worth it, in my opinion. I definitely remember Bible School as a kid. I remember the fun we had and the songs we sang. I don't remember the work that went on behind the scenes by my mom and the other people at the church who made it all happen, but now that I'm doing it, I realize that it must have been the same for them. I hope all Joshua remembers is the fun he had and the things he learned! I'll try to remember my camera tonight to take some pictures.
No comments:
Post a Comment