We had two people working full time outside of the home this week. The short story? We made it.
Here’s a bit longer version:
This is the seventh summer in a row that I am teaching summer school. I choose to stay home with the boys (2 and 4 months), but I do miss teaching. The summer school program I teach for is a really awesome one, and it helps me stay in the game teaching-wise. Plus I think it is good for my sons to see me being successful and happy doing something I love (besides care for them).
But it is not something I would want to year round. The boys are with my parents (thanks mom and dad!) so I don’t have to worry about them during the day. But I still miss them. By the time I got home, cleaned/sterilized the bottles, cooked and got everyone fed, and repacked the bags for the next day, I had only one hour or so with my boys before bed time. That meant that I couldn’t do any chores or anything for myself if I wanted to see them. Needless to say…the house got pretty messy. And dinners got pretty simple.
I’m not trying to complain or anything. I guess I’m just trying to say…I don’t know how people who work full time do it. I’m so thankful for this opportunity to teach summer school each year, but I also am always reassured in my decision to stay home with my boys during the rest of the year.
The whole week I just kept telling myself “I will survive.” And I did.
This morning, Nathan and I spent a couple hours getting everything back in order around here. In the evening, we went out to enjoy the weather at a nearby park. We had a few fun events. First, Simon tried out the swing!
While Simon tried out the red swing, Daddy and Elias went on the blue one!
Then Elias wanted to try the “big boy” swing by himself. We’ve been trying to get him to try it for awhile now, and he finally worked up the courage. He kept saying, “I’m doing it!”
At the end of the evening, I was sitting with Simon in the grass watching Nathan and Elias play together on the play structure and swings. Simon has been working on sitting up. I still wouldn’t say that he can “sit up” on his own. But I prop him up with his legs wide apart and both arms on the ground, and he can sort of hold himself up. It’s pretty cute.
As you can see, though, he sinks closer and closer to the ground and slowly bends himself in half:
It was a wonderful finish to our Saturday!