A Good Routine

Brent has been back to school now for about a month and Maura and I have gotten ourselves into a routine that we really love. During the summer, we just kind of hung out with Daddy all day and sometimes we never really accomplished anything. Once the school year started, though, we really needed to get into the groove. Here's what our days look like:

Maura usually wakes up around 7:30 in the morning and comes to bed with Mommy, where we drink milk and sing lots of songs. All of this lasts about 15 minutes until she yells, "Get Down!" That's the end of that! I take her into her room to change her and ask what she wants to wear today. She immediately runs to her closet and chooses her big pink puffy winter coat. After she prances around in that for a few minutes I can generally talk her into something more appropriate!

After we finally get downstairs, I make Maura an omlet for breakfast. She LOVES to stir the eggs for me, and generally wants me to pick her up so she can see the eggs cooking. She loves her omlet and generally gobbles it up before I'm able to sit down to my own breakfast! After breakfast, we usually go for a long walk around the neighborhood because it's still cool.(Usually!) Maura loves to look for bunnies and dogs and we usually see them too. I generally look SOOO beautiful while we do this that I'm really a little embarrassed to be seen in public. But, alas, it is sometimes my only exercise for the day.

When we get back to the house, Maura loves to ride her bike on the driveway where it's about a million degrees. She yells, "BIKE," until I give in and just sit in a puddle of sweat and watch her! Generally I try to encourage back yard play, where the yard is still in shadow. She loves the sandbox, but usually dumps most of her sand over the side. She's enjoying her slide a lot and says, "Weeee!" as she goes down.

She has a playhouse too, which she likes, but usually only if I'm inside it as well. I wish I had a picture of how big it actually is. I'd be embarassed if anyone actually saw me inside of it with my legs up to my chin!

We usually make it inside in time for lunch at about 11:30 and then nap at 12:00. Then it's MOMMY TIME!! I love it! I usually can get some computer time, a workout, shower and lunch into that 1 1/2 hour time period. Don't ask me about how my house looks, though, because I had to trade houswork for work out! My body looks better, but my house sure dosen't!

In the afternoon, we usually either head to my Mom and Dad's house to swim or fill up the little pool in the backyard. We really make an event of it and put the slide into the pool and I pull up a chair and a umbrella and cool my heels in the pool as well. Here, Maura is eating a "Pop." The pool is about the only place I'll let her have one because she makes such a mess!

Sometimes our neighbor Emily comes to swim too. She usually brings her mommy, Shauna, and her baby sister Sydney with her. Maura and Emily usually spend more time fighting over toys than actually playing, but I figure it's a good metaphor for life for her. In other words, "Sometimes people are going to steal your things, but you still have to be nice to them and not hit them over the head!"

Brent has been getting home at about 6:45 lately from football practice and we have dinner and she's in bed by 8:00. Then it's MOMMY AND DADDY TIME. A note to all you expectant parents and married without kids--Try to make your kids go to bed early--It's so awesome not to have a youngin up in the evening!!

Anyway, I hope I haven't bored all my blog readers. If you regualarly read this blog, please make a comment below. I'd really like to know if anyone is actually reading this!!