Part of being home with the kids is balancing the out of the house activity with in house activity, and quite time with active time. Also, I have to make sure Porter gets a nap, and that Seamus and Gilbert take a little down time. Dinner needs cooking and laundry runs constantly. How to get it all done?
This week:
Monday was Harlan’s appointment. I hired the girl next door to babysit the three older boys while I took him in. I had to wait 45 minutes in the little room. I tried to be philosophical and say, well it could be worse. I could have four kids in this room for 45 minutes! It was a painless appointment. He’s growing well and I even squeezed in a trip to to the grocery. (Honestly, that’s the hardest part of being home with everyone. I cannot face taking all of them to the store.) In the afternoon, we wanted to swim, but it came up a big thunderstorm. Patrick’s dad came over, and I picked Patrick and our CSA goods up from the metro.
Tuesday we did a day trip to Baltimore.
Wednesday, we ended up going to the zoo in the morning. It was really fun, until Gilbert and Seamus got in a fight over the binoculars. So I fussed at them and got them free lemonade with our zoo member coupons. Note to self, must get to the zoo before 10 am, because the parking is gone at 11. We did have a pretty enjoyable day. I’ve been making a lot of unscheduled stops so small children can pee out of the door of the van. I made them go at the zoo before we got in the van, and they weren’t quite sure which building was the bathroom. I pointed it out, reluctant to walk up the hill pushing the stroller again. Seamus got very serious and told me I was not allowed to move from the spot I was in because we’ve had a few snafus lately where he hasn’t been able to find me and he panics. Another treat at the zoo–we ran into friends! They weren’t able to join us as they were on a school field trip, but it was nice to see them!
Also on Wednesday, our neighbors came over for a playdate. Sometimes I figure the only way to get through the day is to have more kids around, so we added their four to our four, and I was able to make dinner for Wednesday night and Thursday night while the kids were playing with each other. All I had to do was cut a watermelon for them. I also didn’t insist they go outside (it was so hot), but they did anyway. Then when they came in, it was fine.
Thursday we went to meet my parents at Union Station. We treated the boys to lunch in the food court while we waited. They were pretty thrilled with their crepes. Union Station is kind of fun. Lots of escalators, big ceilings. We swam and visited and had a great time.
Also–Porter calls Gilbert BoopBoop, Seamus Maymus, and Harlan Harnin. He watched me give Harlan a wipe down the other day and said, Hot dee–which is what he calls the washcloth we use to clean Porter up after meals.
Honestly, the time goes so fast!
Academic Leigh Speaking 