I am typing this tonight with the windows open, the sound of the sprinkler giving our grass a drink and the orange tint of a fading sun retreating behind the neighbor's house. The kiddos are in their beds, the house is clean, and tomorrow is Friday. I have survived my first week at home with my littles and am feeling exhausted but more refreshed than I have felt in weeks. Mila has settled into a morning and afternoon nap routine, Cruz and I have had some quality play, I've finished projects, planned birthday celebrations, cooked dinner, kept the house cleaned, and stayed on top of laundry. Yes, I'm feeling overconfident tonight and have been bragging to Beau all week about my surprise success, also vocalizing that I am indeed jinxing everything and will soon experience a train wreck of a day that will bring me back to ground. For now, though, I'm soaring high above the clouds feeling thankful for a job that allows me time to be home with my babies.
I have loved the daily minutiae of it all - getting them breakfast, cleaning up, keeping them entertained, conquering nap time, preparing dinner, etc., all feel like the biggest accomplishment of your life on those days that seem to flow like water. I have reveled in the tiny pockets of quiet with each one of them - like mornings when Mila sleeps and Cruz and I practice his letters, paint Beau's birthday sign, or bake a cake. Afternoon naps run just about the same, with Mila waking up before Cruz, allowing me some quiet with her. Then, we spend our afternoons outside, reading books in the hammock, playing in the water table, or walking around the block waiting for Daddy to get home from work.
I know not every day will go as smoothly as the last few have, but I think that's what makes them important. You take the good and you bottle it up and breathe deep in it, and that magical fuel of motherhood makes the crazy days bearable, even laughable. It's why it's the hardest, most incredibly rewarding work we will ever do.
A list of all the wonderful things that summer is bringing as of late with some of my favorite pictures to go along...
...slow mornings at home // peaking in to see Cruz nonchalantly put Mila's legs on his lap during an episode of Paw Patrol.
...simple routines, like breakfast //
...neighborhood walks // she faces us and stares at us the entire time, and everytime we lock eyes with her, she smiles. It's very distracting and her eyes look especially blue just as the sun starts to go down.
...afternoons with these two in our backyard // after naps, we usually retreat to our backyard for snacks and books and baseball
...summer baby clothes // onesies and ruffle butts, airy dresses, or no clothes at all. I love having my hands on that soft baby skin all the time and LOVE the smell of sweaty baby heads.
...post pool snuggles in crisp sheets // I ventured to the pool the other day by myself and it went better than I could have imagined. Cruz loved exploring old surroundings and Mila loved the water. We even did the lazy river, one tube in each hand, and Mila lounged on the tube, her sparkly blue eyes staring up at me smiling as we made our way around waterfalls and bucketfuls of water. Afterwards, both kids fell asleep in the car and I celebrated my victory with an ice cream cone, all to myself in the Dairy Queen parking lot.
...living room chills during rainy days
...freezy pops on the deck and a baby who found her toes
...paints on the deck and mason jars filled with ice cold lemonade //
...hammock chills // Beau got home from work just in time to snap a few shots of the three of us
...post-nap, summer afternoons // Mila likes to sit like a big girl in her stroller and watch the action
...an anniversary dinner on the deck, and our first s'mores of the season // That image of Cruz, hands and feet dirty, sticky from a strawberry marshmallow oozing out from his s'more, is the essence of what I want him to remember about his summers at home.
...summer reading at Barnes and Noble and story-time at the public library, meeting Daddy for tacos at Pablos afterwards and Cruz showing him all the books we checked out. Carrying two sleeping kids in for naps, one at a time and sinking into the recliner for a few minutes of quiet.
...my favorite flowers on our kitchen table
...and...the pool // summer at its finest
What's on YOUR summer happy list?!?
:)
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