Summer Schedule

This was Spencer's first week of Summer since preschool ended last week. He and I both love a good routine so I thought I'd put one up on the fridge for us to follow. I'm learning, though (now that I've been a mom for almost 6 years...) that nothing ever goes as planned with kids. :) I like to get out of the house as early as we can in the morning just to force us to all be ready so I thought it would be good to go for a walk. Most of our walks ended in tears this week, though. The first morning we walked too far and it was really hot so the kids wanted to be home, another morning Gavin cried because he thought the walk was too short and he didn't want to go home. Then another morning Spencer got in trouble because he walked way too far ahead of us. Basically, it's already been a long morning by the time we're back from our walk around 9 so I don't know if this is the best way to start the day.   

Another thing I try to do every day is 'Mommy School'. This week our theme was bugs so we did a few bug activities and checked out some bug books at the library. For the picture above I hid plastic bugs around the living room and the boys found them and then matched them to the right color. There are so many bugs outside in Texas, though, that I could probably just send them in the backyard to play this game too. :) We also made little bugs out of play dough. For some reason when it comes to doing crafts I always picture the boys smiling and calmly playing at the table for long periods of time. With the play dough there was lots of complaining about the bug not being perfect (my 5 year old is a bit of a perfectionist, not sure where he gets it :) ) and a huge mess made by my 2 year old. Plus, I think it was a total of 5 minutes we spent actually sitting at the table. I have to keep reminding myself that it's worth it. It's helping them learn and grow, right? 

We spent one morning at the library where they had a fire truck, police cars, and even a helicopter in the parking lot. A little boy's dream, especially Spencer who wants to be a police officer with a helicopter when he grows up. 

One thing I failed to put in our daily plan was a 'get out of the house!' time. A walk doesn't count for me, I like to go somewhere with people and not just fire ants. A Panera opened in College Station last year and I am in love with their chocolate chip bagels and their water cups. Brant makes fun of me for that last one, but really, water tastes better in their cups. The boys like their cinnamon crunch bagels so we're all happy there. 

We went to the College Station Zoo (also known as PetSmart) to look at some local wildlife. 

Here's Spencer passed out on the couch, something he did twice this week so at least I'm wearing them out. This is how Gavin typically looks after he wakes up from his nap. It takes him a while to snap out of his grumpiness. 

 We take turns cuddling with the boys each night. I cuddle with Spencer while Brant cuddles with Gavin and then we switch. The boys usually get more riled up since there's a lot of tickling going on, but they fall asleep eventually.

Here's our little Tyler in Brant's outfit from when he was a baby. We have a picture of Brant and all of the boys in this outfit so far. I'll have to put a little collage together someday. 

The only other picture I had on my computer is of Gavin as a baby. I forgot how much of a chunker he was. It's amazing how fast these little guys are growing up!