On summer...

I started to type this post long ago, but only made it as far as the title, and now it is September.  Which seems fitting, as that is how our summer went.  it was there for a moment, then it was gone. 

I feel like this summer we finally broke the surface of our drowning in littles and took some big gulps of air.  We still flounder and drop below the surface once in a while, but we're now treading water instead of drowning.  We've found a babysitter we trust as another option besides my mother who we trust to feed and put to bed all three kiddos on her own. We've gotten some (very brief!) time away.  Life is still chaotic and messy and I'm forever behind on projects (my closet will just always be a disaster, I'm afraid) but it feels more manageable.

So, I failed miserably at getting my kids signed up for any "summer activities."  Since I'm a procrastinator, literally everything was full by the time I started trying to register them.  Then I had an "aha" moment.  My kids are in a wonderful daycare center where they get to play outside all day and learn through play, and my work schedule meant any activities would be in the evenings or on weekends.  The activities I was looking at registering (swimming lessons, gymnastics, dance, sports sampler) were all indoors.  Why, for the life of me, would I put my kids indoors in the middle of our relatively short Midwest summer?  So, I viewed my procrastination failure as a blessing in disguise and instead focused on getting outdoors for walks, bike rides, and the playground.  We set up our tiny pool and took full advantage of the neighbor's quick-set pool, ran through sprinklers, drank out of the hose, and enjoyed summer.

And we blinked, and summer was over.   I sent my kids to daycare today in pants and sweatshirts.  Sure, it's getting up to 65 today, but the morning was chilly.  Which I love - I love this time of year, with crisp mornings followed by warm, sunny days.  But it means we are getting closer to the tipping point - the time when my kiddos will be closer to four than three, and closer to two than one.  How is that possible already?  SB and BW have moved to the next preschool room (already?) They just moved from the toddler room a few months ago, and Nugget moved to the toddler room.  She's still bald except for her mullet-in-training in the back, so she still looks like a baby, at least.