On Saturday something happened that hasn’t happened in nearly nineteen months. Since January 17th, 2014, to be exact. I WAS ALONE IN MY HOUSE. Alone. No one else there. ALOOOOOOOONE. My family fills me up in these huge, overwhelming ways that I can’t even put into words but sometimes a girl needs her space.
Jason, being the wonderful husband and father that he is, didn’t hesitate when I asked. He made plans to take Steven, Sammy and Amaya for a morning with Grandma Sunshine. They left at 8:45am and got home shortly after 2pm. For about 5 1/2 hours, Sally and I had the entire house to ourselves. The best part is that, for the most part, I did absolutely nothing. I watched an episode of Astronaut Wives, two episodes of Major Crimes and the season finale of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D from May. I drank a beer at 10am and ate chicken fingers. I was lazy, alone, and happy to see everyone when they came home to me.
Here are some photos of the time with Grandma Sunshine. So cute.
No joke, right after everyone left, I came inside and found Sally sitting like this in the living room. Just sitting there. Sitting! I swear she knew what was up.
In the afternoon, Anna came over to spend the rest of the day with us. If it was going to be my lazy day, I decided to go all in. After naps, she and I took the kids to downtown Plymouth to wander around the fountain in Kellogg Park. It’s so rare that SSA are outside and free to roam . In part, because it requires at least 2 adults and in part because it’s fairly new that we have 3 walkers. They love it. And I love watching them go, go, go.
To round out the weekend, Jason, the kids and I went out for brunch this morning. I have kids who can now be entertained with crayons at the table. Such big kids! I can’t believe it!
On Wednesday, I was fortunate to have a lunchtime visit from Steven, Sammy and Amaya. Campus Martius park is around the corner from my office and it’s a great spot to eat outdoors, complete with a little sand beach. We chowed on schwarma and fried zucchini, had a visit from our good friend Ginny and (sort of) played in the sand. Amaya liked sitting on her big girl chair. Steven was interested in the sand. Sammy wanted nothing to do with any of it. He’s not yet much of a fan of sand or grass.
This week, we formally transitioned our table and chairs (courtesy of Grandma Sunshine!) into our living room. SSA are finally old enough to use it mostly responsibly.
Amaya has a strong preference for the pink chair. This is her face right before she forcibly removed Steven from her seat.
All better!
Fortunately, Steven seems happy with the blue bench.
Easy going Sammy is great with green.
This is Sammy mid tantrum. Sammy is a toddler. So Sammy is not always rational. This tantrum is because I would not let him have my beer. I could actually see his face falling apart, almost in slow motion. Honest to goodness, the only thing that worked to calm him down was FaceTiming with Nana. Thank you, Nana!
Jason is an talented piano player and now, thanks to this gift from their daddy, Steven, Sammy and Amaya can get started early on their skills. It’s so cute to watch them play. We’re working on teaching them that we play with fingers only. Not feet or water bottles or spoons.
Another big change this week is that we officially transitioned from two naps to one. Steven, Sammy and Amaya were barely napping in the morning and, when they did, it meant a shorter afternoon nap. So we made the move! Lunch was moved up 45 minutes to 11:30am so they can nap by 12:15pm and, despite some lunch time fading, so far, so good. I think the biggest transition is for the grown ups who lose that mid-morning break. But every time we’ve cut back on naps I’ve been nervous and, every time, I’ve adjusted.
As per usual, there was a lot of time outdoors this week. This week’s theme was donuts! The donuts are back and we wear them in style.
Steven!
Sammy!
Amaya!
Corner competition
A morning walk with Megan!
Have a great week! On Friday, Steven, Sammy, Amaya and I are heading to New York with Megan for a week. We’ll miss Jason but can’t wait to see everyone in NY!!
Alone time in my house is a big reason why I love working from home on Thursdays! It’s so rejuvenating!
I remember transitioning from 2 naps to 1. I’d just gotten our schedule down so that we could get out early in the morning and go do things, and then suddenly there is a nap in the middle of the day. The good thing was that I think once we went to one nap, it became a nice long nap. Good luck!