So, with that, let me share a quick rundown of our July. It was wonderful, even for a July.
We really did up the Fourth this year. Todd took the kids to buy fireworks, and they spent the evening lighting them off. Callista was not convinced by the bottle rockets at first...
...nor was she fully convinced when we pulled out the sparklers later in the evening.
She eventually came around.
The next day, we did a cookout theme for Sabbath Dinner, to keep the party going.
The rest of our July was just so very July-y.
Lots of mowing jobs for Atticus, which was great for him, but I'm starting to really wear thin from having to drive him to every job. He started the summer with three jobs a week; now he's up to seven some weeks, each taking at least an hour. Most houses are far enough away from home that I just sit and wait for him or run errands nearby while he mows, so it makes for a lot of time away from home for me, which is difficult and I don't love it. He has a driving test scheduled for September 5, and I am really, really hoping he passes it.
Finneas has taken over the responsibility of mowing our yard, and Rocco follows behind him with the toy mower. They really are inseparable.
The babies enjoy watching the free mowing show.
Penelope also started working in June or July, babysitting for a family at church a few days a month. It has been really fun for her, and she's enjoyed making money and getting out on her own. But it's another commitment out of the house that I need to drive to. I just took her to retake her permit test yesterday (it expired before she was able to log all her required hours to get her license), and she passed. Hopefully we can get those hours logged so she can also get her license in a few months when she turns 16.
In this regard, it's been a really busy summer. Lots of driving the big kids around, and then coming home long enough to see the babies and hopefully eat something, just to duck back out again. (Not every day, just on the kids' busy work days.) This season of parenting is proving to be complicated! Having young babies and old babies at the same time really feels like being stretched in very different directions. They all have such different needs.
Moving on to kid news, they made some kind of DIY beach situation. I still don't understand exactly what they were doing with this set up, even though I've asked for a clear explanation multiple times.
Penelope painted the younger girls' nails, and they were so excited!
I had been continuing to feel some of the low-level stress and anxiety that I'd been dealing with since the twins were born, and it was really coming out when I felt like things were dirty or messy. I think I've already told you that I started vacuuming and mopping the floors each night, which has also grown to incorporate bleaching the bathroom a few nights a week and wiping down the appliances and main floor windows as well. It has helped so much with my jumbled up feelings. (Todd said, "Here you thought you might be entering perimenopause, but all you needed was cleaner floors. Who knew?") The kids like it, too, because I pay them to help me. (I figure it's cheaper than a house cleaner!) They're actually getting really proficient at it.
And last, we finished up the Hobbit, which was our summer read aloud.
I don't remember what we were looking at on my phone in this photo, but it looks like we were enjoying it, so I'll just leave this here as a send-off into the weekend.
Happy Friday!
2 comments :
this was a really good summer.
that last photo: come on, kids. let's all gather around the family phone. :)
I can relate to so much here: the schlepping around (and the whether-or-not-to-schlep-around); the stress of a full household in a relatively small house so the stuff is on top of itself - maybe the stress about it is a blessing bc everyone enjoys a cleaner house, but maybe not?? Thinking of you, friend!
Post a Comment