The Busyness of the Start of a Semester

Samantha: 51 Months, Week 2

Aedan: 15 Months, Week 5 (Week 70)

This past week we were blessed with beautiful weather.  We had our windows open all day and all night.  I love having the air conditioning turned off, hearing the birds and crickets outside, and feeling a breeze blow through our windows.  I am getting used to the peaceful quietness of the country and think I will have a hard time moving back into more of a city some day.  Tuesday morning after breakfast, the landscapers came to mow the lawn of our townhouse area.  Watching the lawnmowers is always a highlight of the week, so both Samantha and Aedan watched out the front window.  I love how Aedan is just the right height to look out the window.

It was free week at the REC, so I had plans to take the kids swimming again.  We planned to meet up with Maggie, Stephanie and Isaac, and I posted it on the PATS Facebook group as well in case anyone else would want to come as well.  It's definitely easier going with Ben to help me out, but the kids were pretty good.  Samantha enjoyed swimming and playing with Isaac, especially since I remembered Samantha's Puddle Jumper floatie so that way she could swim anywhere in the pool by herself.  I put a life vest on Aedan to see if that would help him in the water so that he could walk around by himself more, but it didn't help with the fact that he would just go into the water face first when he fell.  Both kids were pretty respectful, giving me a chance to talk with Maggie and Stephanie as well.  There was only one time that Samantha was trying to climb over a wall after I had told her not to, but I was dealing with Aedan and didn't notice right away.  The lifeguard had to tell her to get down.  I gave her a time out for that, and she didn't freak out or cry hard when I told her to have a time out, which was good and unexpected.  Then, I had her apologize to the lifeguard for not listening.  She responded very well to that and didn't do anything else disrespectful.  I feel like her moments of meltdowns are decreasing, which I am perfectly okay with.

When Aedan was starting to get cold and tired, I made the idea of leaving sound more appealing by saying we could go outside and sit on a bench on campus to eat a snack.  I brought a banana for each kid.  Aedan loves bananas, and Samantha was going through an anti-banana phase, but now she likes them again because she always says, "I want whatever Aedan is eating."  So, she likes to eat bananas now because he likes to eat bananas.  After we were done with our snack, we started walking back to the car.  Aedan got going too quickly on the sidewalk and tripped and fell to the ground.  He caught himself with his hands, but then his forehead still hit the ground, giving him a nice scratch and bruise.  This little boy is so funny, always with a new scratch and bruise on his head somewhere.

After having lunch and nap time, Daddy got home in enough time to get the kids ready to go back out again.  We were invited to a birthday party for Olivia at the community park before the softball game.  They were providing dinner and cupcakes, and Samantha was excited to give her the princess present she had picked out.  Olivia's older brother is Daniel, and he gets along really well with Samantha.  He is a year older than Samantha and is now in Kindergarten, so we won't see as much of him anymore now that the school year has started.  Apparently his parents joke that Daniel has a girlfriend out by the golf course, referring to Samantha, so they definitely enjoy each other's friendship.  We have become pretty good friends with the Kidd family and were glad to celebrate Olivia turning 3.  After dinner, the kids played on the playground while Daddy went to warm-up for his softball game.  Samantha played with Daniel, and we even went on a hike on the trail that leads around the woods near the park.  The kids had fun finding the right path, rolling down a huge hill, and noticing all the tall trees.

We brought Samantha's bike with us to the park so that she could ride around on the paths.  I pushed Aedan in the stroller while Samantha biked over to the little playground next to the softball fields.  We played over there for quite awhile, watched the game for a few minutes, and when Aedan started to get cranky and tired, we decided to head out.  Samantha did a much better job this week of being respectful and not throwing a fit when it was time to leave.  Ben and I made sure to tell her how much we appreciated it, and how she proved to us that we can allow her to come to the park for softball games again next time.

Tuesday nights are always a bit hectic with softball games because I have to take the kids back home, get them ready for bed, and put them both to bed by myself.  I think it was close to 9:00 by the time I got Samantha in bed.  I am glad that Ben is getting this chance to play softball again, though, and to meet other guys.  I know he really enjoys playing organized sports as a way to exercise, so I'm so glad he had this chance to participate.

On Wednesday morning, it was my turn to take Bennett for the babysitting swap.  I had Aedan ride in Samantha's car seat since she is still using the five point harness, and Bennett rode in Aedan's car seat.  I figured that was an easier solution for right now, rather than taking Samantha's car seat in and out, so I will just continue that arrangement until Samantha moves from the five point harness to the seat belt.

Aedan and Bennett had a good time playing together.  You could tell Bennett was a little unsure at first, being in a new place without his mom, but I'm sure he'll warm up to our arrangement as he comes over each week.  It was a pretty cool morning outside, so I let the boys play inside for awhile first.  I figured they would both be off playing in opposite areas with different toys, but they really played together most of the time, even playing and taking turns with the same toy.

After awhile of playing, I decided it was snack time.  I pulled out Samantha's old booster seat and attached the straps back on so that Aedan could have a seat and Bennett could sit in the high chair.  Here are the boys enjoying their bananas and water for snack that morning.

The tricky part about having two boys close to the same age is what to do with them when I need to go upstairs.  Like for example, Aedan's diaper leaked so I needed to change his diaper and get him dry pants.  However, I didn't want to just leave Bennett alone, so I figured out how to hold one on my hip and then pick the other one up as well, taking them both upstairs to Aedan's room with me.

From there we got socks and shoes on so that we could play outside for awhile.  The boys enjoyed the sandbox together, playing basketball together, as well as taking turns going in and out of the play house.  It was fun to see how their movements and behavior were so similar to each other.

The morning went by pretty quickly with the boys, I got dinner ready in the crock pot, and then it was time to go back to the TRI to drop off Bennett and pick up Samantha.  When Samantha gets home from preschool, there's always a lot of wrestling and tickling that happens.  I think Samantha and Aedan miss each other when she's gone all morning at school.  This video is just great of Samantha tickling and roughhousing with Aedan.  The fun and the laughter between the two of them is priceless. :)

Wednesday nights are just as busy as Tuesday nights with Samantha's soccer practice.  Since Ben's semester started this week, he now has class until 5:20 on Mondays and Wednesdays.  We planned to meet at the soccer fields for Samantha's practice and then go home to have dinner together afterwards.  I didn't think it would work very well for me to try to feed them dinner, get everything cleaned up, and still get to soccer practice by 5:30.  We decided to try dinner afterwards and see how that would work this week.  Plus, sometimes Aedan will nap until close to 5:00, making it difficult to have dinner ahead of time anyways.  Samantha was excited about her second soccer practice, and I came armed with snacks to occupy Aedan and try to keep him off the field.  Here are some videos from practice that evening.

After awhile I cut Aedan off from snacks so that he'd still be hungry for dinner, but then he got tired of sitting in the stroller and wanted to get out and play with all the other kids on the field.  He wouldn't stop trying to go out on the field and got angry every time I tried to move him away, so I decided to just take him on a little walk instead.  Aedan walked up and down a hill, and then we explored the fence surrounding one of the softball fields.  He picked up rocks and stuck them through the holes in the fence, and he also enjoyed pulling needles off the evergreen trees.  

I took this next picture to show Aedan's marks from this week.  The bruise/scratch on his forehead is from tripping on the sidewalk after swimming on Tuesday.  Then, the scratch on his nose is from falling at home and hitting his nose on the table leg when he fell.  He certainly gets hurt a lot more than Samantha did at his age.  He's much more adventurous in exploring his world, whereas she was much more cautious.

I found that I can get Aedan to look at the camera and smile a lot better if I turn the camera toward him so he can see himself in my phone.  That's how I got this picture below.  He thinks it's pretty cool to see himself, and I get better pictures, so it's a win for both of us!

After Samantha's practice was over, we made it back home and had tortilla soup that was ready and waiting in the crock pot.  It was a little strange eating dinner at almost 7:00 because our normal dinner time is right around 5:30, but the kids really were doing pretty well.  In fact, Samantha ate much better that evening than she does on most days, maybe because it was later or maybe because she had worked up an appetite running around and playing soccer.  Nevertheless, eating after practice worked out just fine, and it allowed us to eat together as a family, which I always enjoy, so I think we will continue that and eat later next week as well.

We had a busy week of being out and running around doing various activities.  I thought about taking the kids swimming again on Thursday morning since the REC pool is free, but I just felt like we needed a day at home to rest and play together without leaving the house.  Samantha actually played by herself in her room for quite awhile that morning while I folded and put away laundry.  I think she needed some down, introverted time as well.  The weather was wonderful again, so we played outside in the sandbox, with the play house, and also with the basketball hoop.  We always have a good time together no matter what we do.

Earlier in the morning Aedan was acting pretty fussy and sleepy, so I tried to lay him down for a nap.  However, he was apparently not interested and just played and talked in his bed for half an hour.  This resulted in a very tired Aedan right before lunchtime.  I was making mac and cheese, both of their favorite lunch choice, but Aedan was so tired he just kept laying down on the rug by the kitchen sink.

Then, both kids wanted me to take pictures of the two of them so they could see themselves in the camera.  Here are the two little cuties that I get to spend my days with.

It's hard to get pictures of Samantha and Aedan together with them both looking at the camera.  Samantha usually will smile for us, but sometimes it's a silly, forced smile, not a genuine smile.  The following pictures are so precious to me because it not only shows the love between sister and brother, but Samantha's face is just priceless.

Thursday night Ben and I just felt like relaxing.  It had been a long, busy, first week of the semester, and we felt like we just needed a break.  One way we like to relax is by going out to eat.  There is a fairly decent Mexican restaurant Uptown, and we know we can always count on the kids to eat well there because they love quesadillas, rice, and beans.  The weekly concert in the park was happening for the last time of the season, so we wanted to experience that Oxford tradition one more time as well.  However, we didn't know that it was their annual pig roast and the park was packed with people!  There were vendors set up all over giving away free merchandise.  We listened to the music for a little while as we ate our free ice cream (or frozen lemonade for Samantha), then we walked around the booths.  Samantha noticed a face painting booth and wanted to wait in line for it.  Daddy took Aedan to walk around while she and I waited, and this was not your average face painting.  Samantha got a rainbow colored butterfly painted on her cheek, and it was rather beautiful.  She even got glitter sprinkled on it!  I made sure to take a picture of it so that Samantha could see herself and since we would have to wash it off before bed that night.

We met back up with Daddy and Aedan over by the fire truck, where the kids were able to sit in the driver's seat.  Aedan thought that huge wheel was pretty awesome.  And is it just me, or does Samantha look really big to you?  Her legs look long, and she looks so grown-up holding her little brother on her lap.

Sometimes Ben and I will remark to each other that we can never stop being an adult.  There are always things to do, errands to run, and Friday was one of those days.  Ben took Samantha to preschool, so that was one less thing that I had to do.  Aedan and I went grocery shopping together, then back home to unload and put away the groceries, before meeting Daddy back on campus so that I could go to Zumba and he could pick up Samantha from preschool.  I had a doctor's appointment that afternoon with my primary care physician to complete the last step for the Healthy Miami Discount Program, so Ben just took the kids back home for lunch and planned to work at home for the afternoon.  I got home from Zumba, took a shower, ate lunch, and then was off to my doctor's appointment.  It was a busy day, but we had a relaxing evening at home together as a family with nowhere to be.  We played outside, gave the kids baths, and put them in bed at their normal time, giving Ben and I time to hang out together and watch a movie.  It's been hard not having as much time together since Ben is now gone all day every day on campus and working in the evenings some.  Plus, with softball on Tuesdays and soccer on Wednesdays, our weeks just fly by sometimes with Ben and I just passing by each other at times.

Because of our busy week, I was really looking forward to our plans on Saturday.  Ben's parents volunteered to come to Oxford for the day, arriving around 9:15 a.m., so that Ben and I could go to King's Island together. It was my birthday present, but we were just waiting for a convenient time to go.  When I was growing up, I loved going on roller coasters, they were probably one of my favorite things.  Ben and I even had season passes one year to the Six Flags in Dallas when we lived in Waco, Texas.  However, we really have not been on roller coasters since then, but especially since having babies.  Ben and I are thinking about having baby #3 sometime, so we wanted to make a trip to King's Island before I might possibly get pregnant and can no longer ride roller coasters.  Upland Grandpa and Grandma stayed with Samantha and Aedan for us, playing with them, taking them to the park, making and feeding them lunch, putting them down for their naps, and even taking them out for dinner at Chipotle.

Meanwhile, Ben and I had a great time at King's Island.  It was a fairly warm day, but nothing intolerable.  It was fun to do something "kid-like" again.  However, I could feel my age, and I don't know if it's simply getting older or also maybe related to my body changing from having babies, but I could not handle the roller coasters as well as I did in the past.  Many of them made me feel nauseous, so much so that I had to sit down and rest more between rides.  No more going on the same ride with multiple inversions 7 times in a row.  I also blacked out a few times on rides where the g-forces push you down into your seat.  I really had a fun day, especially since Ben and I rarely get an opportunity to go to an amusement park for the day; however, I don't know how eager I will be to go to another amusement park in the near future.

The next day we had a typical Sunday morning going to church together.  We decided to make sure we got to the 9:00 service since our kids are up between 7:00 and 7:30 anyways.  Ben and I just have to make sure that we are up and showered before they wake up.  Plus, with the Miami students back in Oxford, the church gets really full at the 10:45 service.  When we arrived at church, Samantha's VBS crew leader found her and was so excited to talk to her and show her these tiny strawberries from his home.  He is such a sweet, older man, and Samantha loved being a part of his group.  I especially like that he is continuing their relationship by connecting with her whenever he sees her at church.  The other nice part of going to the early service is that we can then feel comfortable letting our kids play on the playground for awhile without having to leave right away to get home for lunch and nap time.  We had extra time at home to get lunch ready and were able to get the kids down at a normal time, so it was a good morning.  In fact, Ben and I felt tired too, so we also took a nap at the same time as the kids.  Back in the day, before kids, we would often take Sunday afternoon naps together.  We don't do that as much anymore because we're busy doing other things or need to use nap time to work, but it was nice to just have the afternoon to relax, rest, and get rejuvenated for the coming week.

Sunday night we had an early dinner so that we could go swimming at the REC one more time.  It was the last night of free week, and we wanted to take advantage of it.  We met some other friends from OBF there: Stephanie, Jim, and Isaac, as well as Kristyn, Jason, and their two boys.  Samantha had a great time swimming around, playing shark, and jumping off the side of the pool into the deep water.  Aedan was in a little better mood in the water that evening, so he played water basketball with Daddy for awhile, and then when I had him, he walked along the grate as part of the wall, but then would stop and step right off into my arms into the water.  Then, I would sit him back down on the wall, he would get up, and do the same thing over again.  We swam for quite awhile, and I think the kids would have stayed in a little longer, but it was already 7:45, and I wanted to help Daddy get the kids out of their wet bathing suits before going off to Beth's free Zumba class at 8:00.  Daddy took the kids back home to put them to bed, while I stayed at the REC to exercise.  It was a fun night, but I came home feeling exhausted and ready for a good night's sleep.

Monday morning always comes sooner than I would like it to.  Now that the semester is in full swing, it seems like our weeks just fly by and one runs into the other.  I even commented to Ben the other day that I miss the more relaxed pace of the summer.  It will take a few weeks to get adjusted.  However, I also know that we need to be careful not to over-commit ourselves.  We tend to say yes to everything, which then fills our calendar with things to do, leaving little downtime.

Monday morning was preschool, so I dropped Samantha off at school and Andrea took Aedan to her house for our babysitting swap.  Ben and I had a meeting scheduled that morning with the new pastor of OBF.  I won't go into any details on the blog, but we wanted to bring an issue to his attention and see what his opinion was about our concerns.  So, I went back to campus to pick up Ben, we got Starbucks coffee in Kroger while we waited, and then went over to our appointment at 10:00.  After our meeting, I ran a couple errands and then went back to the TRI to pick up Samantha and Aedan.  My "morning off" was definitely not as relaxing as last week when I just had time to myself at home.

On Mondays Ben has class until 5:20, and neither kid napped as long as they probably should have, so I had to try to entertain them somehow while I attempted to make dinner and have it ready for when Ben got home.  Samantha wanted to color, which was a great idea, but Aedan wanted to color, too.  He always wants to mimic his sister, no matter what she is doing.  So I decided to let him give it a try.  I put him in his high chair so that way I could make sure he wouldn't try to color on the floor or the walls.  Samantha handed him crayons whenever he asked for one, and they both enjoyed it for quite awhile.  However, Aedan's attention span is only so long and it was getting close to dinner, so once he started eating the crayons and coloring on his tray, I decided it was time for him to be done coloring.  It was a solid first attempt though!  (In case you're wondering about Samantha's outfit, she decided to get her dress-up clothes out and came downstairs wearing the butterfly costume instead of a shirt.  Then, she wanted me to tie the hat on her head.  She wore this outfit for quite awhile that evening, only taking it off because she didn't want to get her pizza on it at dinnertime.  I love how little kids don't care at all what they look like.  It's completely normal to sit at the table coloring dressed as a butterfly!)

(Blog about August 25-31, 2015)