A Day in the Life of...

Thank God for 'normal' days! I haven't had a day without illness, injury and/or chaos for several weeks now. Today was quite a blessing, in all it's normalness. Although, we don't really know what normal is right now, as we're still settling into new routines. Andrew started his 2nd week of First Grade today. Matthew and I get quite a bit of time together during the day. The last two school days, Matthew has requested that we pick his brother up from school early - he misses him. It's so bittersweet to see him miss his big brother.

I really appreciate the one on one time I get with Matthew these days. I love sharing my Tic Tacs in the car with him, toting around his Wonder Pets in my purse as we run errands, and listening to his tiny voice over the radio and sounds in the car. He's so precious...just an incredible little guy. He's growing up fast - he knows things like how the "giraffe-es have mouf-es because dey eat da twees!" He was a great errand running buddy today - I really enjoyed watching his face as we walked through the Halloween decorations at the craft store today. He was in total awe - and when I told him he could pick something small out to share with his brother, he was so grateful. EVERY time I give him something, I get a genuine, enthusiastic 'thank you, Mommy!!!' Gah! I LOVE him!

We drove to pick Andrew up after school (we've GOT to start walking - the exercise would be perfect for us - Matthew will beg for me to carry him, though -and my back is still hurting enough that I need to wait a few more days). Also, still waiting to see if the bus will drop him off at home - or at least near home. He's in the walking area, yes - I understand - but he's SIX years old...not nearly old enough to travel on his own to school on a very busy road. No way. I don't mind getting him to and from school so much - Yes, while I am jealous of the parents who can stay in their pajamas as they wave their children off to the bus, my true struggle is that Matthew still really needs a nap. I have to leave around 2 to pick Andrew up from school. That's naptime! If the bus could bring Andrew home, Matthew could nap. Oh well...we'll deal. Maybe Matthew will adjust to having no naptime anymore. It won't be the end of the world.

So we get to the school and we wait in the car for Andrew to be released. I hand Matthew his Gatorade container from earlier in the day and tell him he can finish it...there's only a sip left. He says, "NO, Mom! I'm saving that fo' my bwodeh!" And, he did. He handed Andrew the tiny sip of warm, backwashed Gatorade with such pride it about made my heart burst! How did I get not one, but TWO amazing children? I am a lucky girl.

I love the half hour after Andrew gets home from school. He looks and sounds like such a big kid! When did that happen? He's still my baby! While I get snack together, I ask him about his day, check his homework folder for notes and handouts (and homework! Yes, in first grade!) - and we talk about what he ate at school. I'm big on teaching the boys about nutrition - about making good choices, and enjoying yourself in moderation. I believe it empowers them to be able to sound nutrition decisions for themselves. My boys know that certain foods will give them energy, while others will make them feel icky. Learning good nutrition has made a huge difference for me in general - it's got hardly anything to do with weight loss or management and everything to do with how well I function. When my nutrition is in check, I have less headaches, less heartburn, less anxiety. I have more energy during the day, I sleep better at night and I just feel good overall. If that's how it works for me, I'll betcha it works the same for my kiddos. THAT is why I'm a bit of a nutrition fanatic with my boys.

Speaking of enjoying yourself...snack today was a treat! Frozen chocolate covered bananas - YUM! I was thrilled to get them to eat fruit with such enthusiasm...although both of them will actually eat an entire banana without issue any day of the week. These were special, though. Fun to make, fun to eat, fun to watch them eat, even fun to look at! See?

After snack, I encouraged bike rides. First, they needed a little rest and a little snuggle. :)

The part of our day that seems to need some reshaping is from about 4 pm to 6 pm. Matthew desperately wants a nap. Andrew is exhausted and gets a little edgy. The combonation creates a need for cartoons, lots of whining and a few tears. I get pretty wiped out during this time, too. There are wrestling matches to referee, arguements to settle, owiees to ice, drinks and a second snack demanded...and after all that, I get to make dinner. During this time, I offered many activities - stickers, coloring, crafts, reading, outside time...and all they wanted to do was sit in front of the tv, bicker, whine and wrestle. Hmmm....maybe a scheduled quiet hour isn't a bad idea after all?

Dinner was uneventful - afterwards, the boys went out back to jump on the trampoline and I cleaned the kitchen. When they came in, we had enough time to start a puzzle, play a few rounds of Connect Four and then off to bath at 8. By 9, the boys were squeaky clean, teeth were brushed, jammies were on and they were ready for their 2 bedtime stories. I found a new book today - Dr. Seuss's "Oh! The Places You'll Go" - what an awesome book! I can't believe I've never read it before now. Before bed, we also go over Andrew's school breakfast and lunch menus so we can decide together what he's doing for meals the next day. He voted for both meals at school tomorrow - score! That means I get 15 extra minutes of sleep in the morning. :)

The little guys were so, so tired at the end of the 'perfectly normal' day that I had NO problem getting them to sleep after 2 books. Two books is our standard. Once, I was really exhausted and started nodding off while reading a story - Andrew said, "It's okay, Mom. You can go to bed now." Awwwwww. :)

So, the boys were in bed and asleep by 9:30. I had enough time to shower AND shave my legs. Perfectly normal. Works for me!