My Summertime Life

 I'm a little late to the "Day in the Life" game - but here's what summer days are looking like. 

I get up at 5:15 every other day. 

Ew. Gross. Yuck. 

I get up that early so I can go run before Paul leaves for work. Exercise is not my favorite thing - in fact, I try to talk myself out of it the entire way out the door and most of the way down the street. 

I picked running back up this summer. I've been an off-and-on runner for the past 15 years. I've intermittently come back to running since having babies, but the guilt always got the better of me and I would stop. I felt guilty for being away from my kids - for not being there to do IT ALL. When I would ask Paul if it was ok if I left to run, he would tell me it was 'fine.' Now when a girl says something is 'fine' she means 'if you really think that is the best idea, but it's really not, and should you make this choice you will pay for it for-ev-er.' 

Turns out, ladies, that when I guy says something is fine - it really is fine. Weird! 

So I've been running this summer.

 a lot. 

Chances are you can run faster and farther than me - and I'm cool with that. I'm trying really hard to only be competitive with myself. Because I know I'll never run a marathon - I'll probably never run a half marathon. But the time spent alone is good for me - one hour to myself every other day is all the incentive I need to keep going. 

But if you see me out (look for the neon shoes) give me a shout because that's always motivating too!

 Here's the other cool part - watching the sunrise is not a bad way to start your day:

 

 SO by 6:45, I'm home. I take a fast shower and tag team Paul so he can leave for work. By now the kids have been up for 30-45 minutes. Oh yeah - Emma doesn't understand sleeping in. So even on the mornings I don't get up and run I'm up by 6 anyway (especially since Paul runs those mornings, so his 5:15 alarm wakes me up). 

They eat breakfast for what feels like 2 hours most days - they kind of combine breakfast and second breakfast (these kids eat like hobbits!). I drink a lot of iced coffee and play on pinterest or Zulily while they eat. Sometimes I bug Paul at work with things like this: 

 Can you even believe he declined those amazing anchor TOMS? They came in his size! They have anchors! He sails! He said no. I'm still confused by this poor life choice. 

Most mornings we try to have an outing around 9 a.m. We've been on a zoo/park/errand schedule lately. 

What's that you say? Minnie Mouse ears aren't everyday wear? 

 

Emma plays with my phone a lot when we run errands - If she's called you I'm sorry. I've tried telling her to stop using the phone while driving (the car carts at Dillons).

Home - then lunch - then Emma naps. During naps I usually try to tackle a project of some kind - baking, school stuff (oh yeah - teachers still do prep work in the summers), Pinterest projects - and the daily laundry and cleaning - you know the FUN things in life! 

 Yesterday, one of my projects was homemade jam-filled-cornbread muffins. They weren't everything I had ever hoped and wished and dreamed about - but I mean, I still totally ate two. 

Not a complete fail.

When Emma wakes up (cranky) from her nap, it's just play time. Sometimes it's coloring, sometimes dress up, usually it's destroy the house and be totally ridiculous time.

 

  playing on Mom's phone

 A rare moment of these two getting along

Yesterday, Lexi tried to teach Emma to sing "Ring Around the Rosie." The only part Em really caught on to was "Ashes, Ashes" and then falling down. HOWEVER, when she says "ASHES" it sounds a bit more like . . . well "Oh $#!%"

We're going to work on the pronunciation of this song . . . as soon as I stop laughing.

The real fun starts at 4:45! I start making dinner while this is happening:

 "Mommy . . . Mommy . . . pick up please, Mommy . . . pick Emma up!"

If we are lucky, Paul is home by 5:15 and dinner is at 5:30. 

 Parmesan tilapia, rice, green beans

This seems early, right? Well here is the deal - Lexi (my lovely, sweet turtle) is the slowest eater on the planet. She takes about an hour to eat a dinner she LIKES. Two hours if she has to eat things she doesn't.

 poor thing. 

But I have someone to talk to while I do the dishes.

Oh to the MY to the GOODNESS! 

The dishes! 

I run our dishwasher twice a day and somehow the sink seems to always look like this! 

Must be those sneaky hobbitses!

Before bath time (7:30) the girls get ice cream if they ate all (or most) of their dinner. 

Baths at 7:30, Story time at 7:45, prayers and bed by 8:00. I know this seems early, but remember they get up at 6 a.m.!!!

After the girls go to bed, Paul and I usually watch something together on our life sized TV in the basement. 

Unless, it's Bachelorette Monday and then we part ways. He doesn't understand the important cultural significance . . . 

Bed by 10 - repeat next day.

Sadly this schedule - which is amazing! - is only temporary. The other 10 months of the year I leave the house at 6:30 a.m. and get home at 5:00. If we are lucky, there isn't dance/basketball/soccer/faculty meetings to work around. Evenings are filled with grading/work and parent emails/lesson prep and probably homework since Lexi is going to be in Kindergarten next year.

So I'm enjoying every minute of the summer time slow down. Sunrises to ice cream evenings - -it's a lot to be thankful for.