These Days

I'm aware every day lately that my motherhood would look different right now if we had decided to "just" have two kids.  If that had been the case, those two kids, Megan and Bridget, would be in school for a large chunk of the day as they are now, and I would be home...with an empty house.  And, let's face it, probably a job.  When the older girls started full days of school this week, it suddenly hit me how fortunate I am to still be in this baby and "little kid" phase of life.  I have extra long stretches of day with my three little girls, without the logistics of anyone going to preschool, and I'm reminded of the same phase in life with Megan and Bridget, before Megan started school.  Our days were wide open, and we were free to take long walks, explore new playgrounds, or spend the day at the zoo.  I would run errands with little girl chatter to keep me company, and even do nothing at all some days except snuggle and read a big pile of books.  This is definitely the case all over again with the little girls, and I couldn't be happier.  Even better, Matt's schedule is such that he can even pick up the big girls at school quite a bit, which means nice, long uninterrupted naps for Tessa, Annie and Mary at that time of the afternoon.  It doesn't get much better than that!

The fact that I have these two little monkeys home with me for another year is so fun!

The main reason this time feels so sacred is that Tessa and Annie are not going to preschool, and we're all being spared the driving all over town with multiple pick-ups and drop-offs.  Preschool is a wonderful avenue for most kids in most circumstances, and I think Megan and Bridget benefited tremendously from their experiences.  They each grew as individuals and had a little escape from our crazy house for a few hours a day.  They also developed special friendships, including some with children who are still in their classes now.  However, I think Tessa and Annie will be just fine without this year of preschool.  If I ever wonder about their social skills, I don't need to eavesdrop too long on their little conversations with their sisters to know that they might even be ahead of the curve when it comes to working things out, sharing and waiting their turn.  If anything, this year may finally make them realize they're twins :)  They now have a lot of time together with no big sisters pulling them in different directions. They've just got each other, and Mary of course, and it's so fun to watch every day!

It's still a full house with these three, don't get me wrong!

But, I'm enjoying the lighter load, knowing the big girls are truly having fun and blooming at school.  I can play with and teach these three, have just three at the lunch table, put them down for nice long naps, and then be a little more charged when the troops come home at the end of the day.

We spend a lot of time reading when we're at home, and I'm slowly ramping up to more structured preschool-like activities with Tessa and Annie.  I figure I'll really get them doing more schoolwork after  Labor Day, since that's when they would start if they actually went to preschool ;)

There's also a new quiet in the house over the last two weeks.  When school started back up, we decided to be media-free during the week!  If you know us, this is big!  Before this transition, it was normal for the girls to watch at least a couple cartoons every day...usually more.  The girls would wake up in the morning and after naps, and head straight to the TV to choose a DVRed show, or even something on Netflix with one of our two iPads.  Usually they would watch something before the dinner hour, too.  It was easy for us and obviously fun for them.  (Just to be clear, I think Jake and the Neverland Pirates is about as risque as the Netflix selections get!)  But, with homework on the horizon, and the crunch we have in the mornings getting out the door, TV needed to go.  It is soooo wonderful and peaceful without that noise in the mix, and with the girls otherwise occupied and engaged in other activities!  When the weekend rolls around, they can watch either 2 short cartoons or one movie each day.  It's working so far!

I've caught the girls doing things together instead of watching things together.

No TV = more activities = more set-up and more mess.  I'm trying to do my part to deal with this as patiently as I can ;)  The girls are happier, though, and don't even ask to turn on the TV during the week.  We've also been baking together (mostly fun snacks for their lunchboxes) and doing more arts and crafts.  We even knit a scarf for Barney the Bear from Bridget's kindergarten class.  It was her turn to take care of him this weekend, and the girls have been begging me to teach them to knit, so they knit a few rows of his little scarf.

Another funny little note about our media-free-ness (yes, I made that up) is how much the girls are playing outside now when they get home from school.  I'm here to tell you that there is nothing cuter than a little girl in her uniform (or whatever pieces of it she still has on!) getting some energy out of her system in the backyard.  It's high time for a new swing set in our yard, but the girls are still very content obsessed with our little pair of baby swings.  They've perfected shimmying their way in without any adult helping:

 

And even though these BIG girls can fit in there, and have a blast,

they gladly vacate for an actual baby when necessary!

And, oh yeah, here are two more little girls swinging.  Simple pleasures!

So, things are going well around here.  It's nice to be back in the school routine. It's hectic to be packing (2!!) lunches, getting everyone ready and racing out of the house every morning.  But, once the girls are at school, it's wonderful to be out so early with longer days to fill up.  Of course, homework starts this week, so I may have a different perspective by next weekend!