Summer Break: Week 1

Well, summer "break" is officially here! :) I can't say that it has been bad. It has mostly been fun and exhausting.

Monday was Memorial Day...and Meat and Wild Game Fest 2010 (always a joy). Tuesday I babysat for my nephew. That was fun. I am sure my husband and his family were having a good time mocking me. Everyone treats me like I am a bit incompetent on the parenting scale. ;) It was fun. Biggest lesson: when dealing with two toddlers keep them in wide open spaces--it makes life easier. And don't get in the middle of their play...it makes them mad!

This was my first week home with Emily since about December/January. Despite the crazy stress, I am really enjoying being able to spend the summer with her. Don't get me wrong--there are some awful moments! :) But some of the highlights of the week:

1. She is obsessed with stuffed animals; doll, monkey, horse, puppy and lambie. She strolls them around, puts them down for naps, reads to them, sings to them, feeds them twice a day and brings them coffee. yes, you read that right. She has a coffee mug. Every morning she brings it to me and says "coffee please!"

2. She is starting to say I love Mom, I love Daddy, I love Jackie (poor Jack), and I love Scoutie. She continues to be so gentle with the boys.

3. In the past week, Emily's language has already changed...and so has the reading intensity! She is spewing out sentences like crazy. On Wednesday she told me "Daddy come home. Daddy cook meat." I thought, well, better Daddy than me! :) Today we ready for almost two hours this morning--yep two hours. She knows a lot of her books at this point. She brings them to me with some description--either of the main character or of the title. It shocks me. All evening she rotated books between the two of us...and on her breaks she sat them down on the coffee table to study them.

4. I am almost done with week 1 of my nursing class. I can already say that I love it. I don't love the disorganization in the class--or the fact that the professor only seems to respond to the nursing students. :) But, I love, love, love the reading and the content.

But, I think we are settling into a summer routine. Some days are good--some days are bad. And some days I feel like I am 40 weeks pregnant chasing a toddler! :) Actually, I can't complain about the pregnancy. This time I feel like I have expanded fast. I mostly feel good, but many foods make me gag. After reading my journal with Emily, I realized I went through the same thing before. Monday is the day of the big ultrasound. I am really excited and nervous...clearly, being the control freak I am, I want to find out gender. I explain that it is because if I am having a boy, I need to make a whole new set of decisions and think about things in a different way. Boys are complicated...circumcisions decisions (yikes I sense a fight), peeing when diapers are changed, and I don't even know what else. But what I do know, is that I will need time to prepare. :)

And onto the weekend...hopefully filled with glorious snark.