Being a Stay-at-Home Mom

Temporarily anyway.

Until late August.

School hasn't been out a week yet, and I'm not fully in summer-mode, but we're getting there. I'm decompressing and trying to be less task-oriented and more experience-oriented. I think that's what Michaela needs from me when I have time off.

So we are making it to Gymboree about every-other day, and swim lessons start tomorrow. I love watching Michaela explore all the activities at Gymboree. She is fearless! It's also fun to watch her in comparison to the other children. She does not have a shy bone in her body. She's all over the place, and not intimidated by the other children or adults. Being an introvert myself, I'm just amazed at her confidence and outgoing nature. She's so much like her daddy!

We've starting taking a walk between dinnertime and bedtime. I hoped this would tire her out and help her fall asleep faster, but she usually messes around until close to nine o'clock. Where does she get all this energy?!

One of the changes I made before school got out was to start ordering household cleaning items, paper goods, and toiletries from Amazon instead of making weekly trips to Target. Our weekends had become little more than running errands, grocery shopping, doing laundry, and cleaning up the house somewhat (I do have a housekeeper). As much as I enjoy shopping at Target, I do not miss it. Every time I realize I'm almost out of something, I just add it to my cart on Amazon. I've done several subscribe and save subscriptions for the things we use the most. Easy peasy. Should have thought of this a long time ago.

I'm also attempting to cook more instead of relying on Trader Joe to make dinner. I've been going over my recipe board on Pinterest and choosing simple, healthy recipes to try for dinner. I made banana muffins the other night, and froze them in sets of four for future breakfasts. I made red velvet cupcakes (from a box) yesterday, and took them to our Sunday family picnic in the park. Baking is something I really enjoy, but when I'm working it's just not going to happen. For my breakfast, I've been making a healthy smoothie recipe I found on, you guessed it, Pinterest! Who knew that spinach and flax seed (along with a bunch of fruit and some raw honey) could taste so good?

There are more things I hope to incorporate into our summertime, and I find myself getting frustrated that I haven't got it all up and running already - that's the task-oriented side of me. It's what makes me a good teacher, but it isn't really necessary for being a good mom of such a little child. Know what I mean? I just need to remember that the most important things to do this summer are things that bring us both joy. We deserve a little joy around here.