Summer Week 1

We have a week of summer vacation under our belts. And overall, I'd say it was a good week. Hopefully the girls would say the same thing. :)
Monday began Analise's responsibility chart, and the girls started filling a glass with small stones. I will detail in another post.
Monday also brought the weekly grocery shopping trip with all three girls. It went well until checkout time. That is always the most stressful part of the trip. I am in constant "manage the girls" mode while trying to put groceries in the cart, take care of coupons and check items as they are scanned. All while the girls are irritable and doing things they shouldn't be doing. Almost stresses me out thinking about it. :) Monday night was our last night of CMA. Analise has learned so much this year. I am thankful we have the opportunity to do it, and thankful for parents who help support it, too.
Tuesday we went to the library. We got all signed up for the summer reading program. Honestly, I am not real excited with the changes this year. I think they've made it too hard for young kids. However, we will still read, so I am accomplishing the main goal. I allowed each girl one movie and 5 books. I figured keeping track of 15 books was plenty.
Wednesday was one of those days where I wish I could ship the kids to my mom. I have a day like this about once a month, and today was it. I had one whining, one complaining, and one hitting. Add that to my irritable mood, and now you know why I wanted Grandmom to have them. :) We needed to go to Target, so we got that done...pretty well, I might add. It was a gorgeous day. Warm, slight breeze...the park was calling my name. Though deep down I didn't think the girls "earned" a trip to the park, I figured since God grants me grace, I will grant them grace. So at the last minute I called up Brandon and asked him if he could take an earlier lunch. The girls and I drove through for fast food, and we met Brandon at the park for a picnic and some playtime. I am glad we did; the fresh air and fun activity was good for us all. I also used this as the prize for the girls filling the glass with stones. In the afternoon I got out Sadie's new water table for the girls to play with outside. Lesson learned - put them in swimsuits first! They were so dirty and wet that I gave Sadie and Maisie a bath before supper! After dinner I had a meeting at church that I was more than willing to attend. :)
Thursday morning was fun at the park with friends. I don't know who has more fun - the girls or me. :) The afternoon got a little crazy. I was making dinner for my bro in law coming over for dinner, and while I was at it, I was taking some of it to our neighbors who just had a baby. It was going to work perfectly! I had bread dough going in the bread maker, Analise and I made chocolate chip cookies, and I was on the right time frame...until Maisie work up with pink, mattery eyes. I called and talked with the nurse. Since we already had drops I started her on those. However, since Maisie was running a slight temp, the nurse wanted me to bring her in. Augh! So, I scrambled...as soon as the cookies were done, I put the bread in the oven, I cooked the noodles and meat, etc. Now if only you could have seen my kitchen; talk about needing more counter space and what a mess! We flew out the door last minute to get Maisie to the clinic. Thankfully we were only there 15 minutes. We got home in time for me to make the fruit salad and get dinner delivered to them on time. Poor D had to see my house a wreck when he came over for dinner.
Last night we finally got the room finished! Well, finished enough to move furniture back to where it belongs. What a good feeling!
I've been trying hard to get up before the girls each morning to exercise. As much as I want to lay in bed and sleep another 25 minutes, I actually find myself in a better mood if I am up and exercised before they get up. They then play the Wii while I shower. Let's see how long I can keep this up. :)
A couple of funnies:
I asked Maisie the other day if she wanted a pbj sandwich. She said she didn't because I was going to use the PB with crumbs in it. (She doesn't like crunchy PB.)
I asked Analise if she wanted graham crackers for a snack. Later I heard her call them gran crappers.
For some reason, Analise can't say fly swatter. I've heard her call it "fly smacker" and "sly watter."
And a sweet memory...Weds. night I got home after the girls had been in bed for a bit. I checked on Sadie, rubbed her cheek, and she woke up and said, "mommy! and gave me the biggest hug." When I checked on Maisie, she gave me a huge hug, too. I don't have to be gone long, and the girls are so excited to see me back home. Even after a day like Weds. I want to treasure those moments.