We are settling in to the days of summer. And I love it! Boomer proclaims that he loves "Summer Lindsey" too! Over the last two weeks, we have developed a routine that seems to be working for our crew. There is a rhythm to the days during the week and then adventures during the weekends. A typical weekday looks like this:
6:30AM - 9:30AM: Eli is usually my alarm clock in the morning. I faintly hear Boomer's phone go off at 6:15AM, but I doze until I hear Eli making his noises in the nursery. He greets me with the sweetest smiles, and I nurse him in the rocking chair in his room. Then I bring him down the hall to our bedroom while I pump. I am still pumping twice a day, once in the morning and once before bed. I generally get 3-5 extra ounces with each pumping, which I then use throughout the day for rice cereal or an extra bottle. After I am done pumping, sometimes Eli and I will snuggle a little bit in Mommy and Daddy's bed until we hear big sister Emmy making noises in her room. It is around 8AM, and it is time to get on with the day. After everyone is dressed, we head downstairs for Emmy to have her breakfast while Eli jumps in his exersaucer. I have both kids in sight while I am either at the sink washing up my pump parts or at the counter packing our lunches for the day. Eli will generally still be full from eating earlier, but I will nurse him again around 9:30AM before we head out the door for the day's adventure.
10:00AM - 12:30PM: I have found that 10AM is a good time for scheduling an activity or meeting up with friends. While I am sure Eli prefers the days that we are at home and he can peacefully nap in his crib, he is usually flexible for having his morning nap in the car or in the stroller. Last Monday, our outing was a visit to Great Grandma's. Emmy asks "Are we going inside or seeing her at her window?" to which the answer is still "at her window." I am not sure how much longer restrictions will be in place at senior communities and nursing homes, but we continue to be cautious. Luckily Great Grandma has a first-floor apartment, so we talk to her on the phone while standing outside of the window. The weather this past week was in the mid-80s, and we enjoyed other outings to the park. We met Katie, Grant, Elle, Emily, Sawyer, and Carrie at Reynolda on Wednesday for a walk and donuts. Then on Thursday, we met Michelle and her two boys Levi and Cooper at Tanglewood. Eli stays in the stroller typically the whole time, while Emmy will usually walk and then ride on her tricycle. Everyone is a bit sweaty and ready for some AC after about two hours, so we finish up our lunch and head back home.
1:00PM - 4:00PM: I try to quickly unpack the car and move everyone upstairs for naptime. I warm up a few extra ounces of milk for Eli, and after nursing him and giving him the bottle, I put him down first. Then Emmy and I read a book together, and she lays down, too. Naps for Emmy are pretty inconsistent these days. I'm lucky if she naps one day a week! But she is doing a great job staying in her bed or at least in her room. She will not leave her room until I come for her. (Knock on wood!) Even if she does not fall asleep, the rest time is critical - especially for Mommy! With the time in the afternoons, I will sometimes pop in a workout DVD or grab a book to read outside. One afternoon this week, I used naptime to go through three huge bins of clothing that I received from my sister and her sister-in-law. There were boy clothes everywhere! We are so thankful for the hand-me-downs, and after getting everything organized, I stored the bins in our garage until Eli is ready for them. Always during this time, I keep the monitor close by and have my ear tuned in to any noises. Nap time soon ends, and it is back to Mommy duty!
4:00PM - 6:00PM: Once there is movement and noise coming from both rooms, I get the kids up. If Emmy is still content playing and reading, then I nurse Eli first before going into Emmy's room. He is at the stage now where he is easily distracted, and his singing, dancing, energetic sister proves to be a big distraction most times. We wait for Daddy to get home, which is usually around 5:30PM. One afternoon, he was greeted by Princess Elsa herself! I let Emmy put on her Elsa dress from Aunt Megan, and she loved twirling around...and terrorizing her brother!
6:00PM - 7:30PM: For dinner, we alternate cooking at home and having take-out. While cooking is easier now that I am not working, I still look forward to the evenings when Boomer comes through the door with our food. Our favorites right now are Chipotle, Cookout, and Zaxby's. If we are doing something a little pricier, we like Cracker Barrel, Big Burger Spot, or Olive Garden. It is such a treat to not have to prep or clean-up. Eli is now joining us at the table in his Bumbo seat for his own dinner. We are using the Gerber First Foods, and he has had sweet potatoes and carrots so far. He much prefers sweet potatoes - there are a lot of funny faces when he has carrots. Next on deck is green beans, and then we will try some fruits! After dinner is done, and if it isn't too hot outside, we may go for a walk or hang out in the cul-de-sac. Emmy got a balance bike from her cousins, and we gave it a try last week. The first attempt was so-so; she tended to walk upright while straddling the bike, instead of sitting down on the seat. We have some work to do, but hopefully we will have good results with the balance bike!
7:30PM - 8:30PM: The evenings end with the choreographed routine for bedtime. While I nurse Eli, Boomer gets Emmy ready for bed (bath, teeth, hair), and then we trade off so the girls have storytime while the boys finish off with a bottle. Both kids fall asleep pretty quickly. The fresh air and the day's activities tend to mean a good night's sleep for everyone. After the kids are asleep, Boomer and I usually hang out in the sun room, him on his computer and me reading a book. Since Boomer is missing sports right now, we will sometimes watch a 30-for-30 documentary. We also enjoyed the McMillions series and the Michael Jordan "Last Dance." The day ends will me pumping one more time around 10PM. It's close to 11PM when dishes are done and everything is complete. Whew! Another successful summer day of mommying!
AND THEN THE WEEKEND!
With Boomer home on the weekends, he is an extra set of hands for meal time, car loading, diaper changes, and snack requests. We love when Daddy is home! We have been using the weekend to accomplish our Summer To-Do List, and this weekend, we checked off one more thing: the lake! It is a standing item each summer, and we plan to go a few more times in July and August. None of the other cousins were there this time, so Emmy and Eli got a lot of attention from Granny and Paw Paw. Both took turns being first mate on the boat, and much like Emmy at that age, Eli fell right to sleep on his first boat ride. He looked so much like Emmy in the pink infant life jacket - I had flashbacks to three summers ago! The day ended with ribeye steaks on the grill before we made the drive back to Kernersville.
On Saturday, Boomer and I had a double date with the Joneses to Sanders Ridge Vineyard and Winery in Boonville, followed by dinner at the Cody Creek Depot in Dobson. We had so much fun catching up and living "real life" again. After three months of limited social interactions, we enjoyed the time with friends and eating in a restaurant again. We continue to take precautions, like wearing masks when necessary and avoiding large indoor gatherings; but it feels good to do some normal things again. While we were on our date, Grammy watched the kids and even found time to do some special crafts with them. It was a sweet surprise to have some new artwork for our fridge. Grammy managed the whole bedtime routine with no problems. It was the first time that I have not been there to put Eli in his crib, but he seemed pretty unaffected - he slept through the night as usual. Hopefully it is a sign that Boomer and I will have another date night soon!
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