Daily Summer Life-7/20/16

Earlier today...when I was much less tired than I am now, at 9:35 10:18 pm, I had the thought that I should record the little things that happen throughout our summer days.  At the start of most summers I worry about how we'll get through the summer with all the kids home all day and what I'm going to do with them to fill the time.  This summer has been different.  I didn't dread them being home, I looked forward to it.  And even though there have been plenty of days where Jeremy has come home from work to find me in tears (blame pregnancy hormones and my introverted nature that just NEEDS some quiet), I have really enjoyed our summer all together.  We've been on a few trips that will be easy to remember, but I know that I won't remember what the day to day of summer looks like if I don't write it down.

So, two things from today that I want to remember.

1. This morning, a little before 10 am, I noticed Connor laying on the couch snuggling a stuffed dog.  He typically doesn't stop moving if he's awake, so this was a red flag for me.  After taking his temperature and seeing that he had a fever, I gave him some Tylenol and left him alone, thinking that if he wanted to fall asleep there that would be fine.  A few minutes later Alexis and Tyler noticed that he wasn't feeling well and soon started to fuss over him.  Within minutes Connor had (in addition to his stuffed dog) a pillow, a blanket, a toy car, a sippy cup of water and an ice pack for his head. And withing minutes after that he was sound asleep.  Their love and attention continued all day and I was very touched that they care so much about him and are so thoughtful about what he might need and what might make him feel better.

2. The kids each have a list of "jobs" they are required to get done everyday before they can play with friends, watch TV, etc.  They aren't all actual jobs, some are just things they should be doing daily, like morning prayer. Unfortunately consistency has never been my parenting strength, and so some days I'm not too great at enforcing the "no friends before jobs are finished" rule.  Today was one of the days where I wavered.  I let Ryan's friend come in while he was supposed to finish up cleaning his room, so of course he put his friend to work folding blankets and making his bed.  After that I let him go play with a few other friends without finishing the rest of his jobs.  I didn't even really say anything to him about his jobs, but he showed back up at home an hour later with two different friends, ready to do his jobs.  I heard him ask them as they walked down the hall, "who wants an easy job and who wants a hard job?" A minute later Alexis came out and told me that the friend that wanted the easy job just said Ryan's morning prayer for him, at three in the afternoon. After that they moved to the table to work on Ryan's math book...

Taking a minute to remember these things about our day is good for me because I had originally planned on watching a movie I rented after kids were in bed and while Jeremy was at basketball.  But some kids cause problems at bedtime and come out of their room a few too many times and by the time I was done with getting them all to bed it was too late and I knew I shouldn't stay up to watch it. Connor's fever hasn't really let up today, and by the end of the day he was complaining of his mouth hurting.  We'll see what tomorrow has in store for us...