Father's Day Weekend IN REVIEW

I feel like I am always gushing about our weekends lately but they have been really nice so I guess I have reason to gush. Soon enough weekends will be gone, turned into 7 day weekends for a few months and then back to cramming too much into to little time with two kiddos. I know leisurely weekends are not forever things especially since Pancake is due some time between now and the end of July! While I am excited to meet her I am also cherishing these quiet times as they are now. I digress.

Saturday:
* We had yummy Saturday morning pancakes that Kevin made. We hung out and played (I cleaned a little bit too.)

* Then Kevin and Matthew went off to swim class while I frantically ran around to Lowe's and Wal-mart buying Father's Day gifts. It took forever and I was glad to be home after two hours.

* Matthew was waiting for me to read him a book before nap and he went right to sleep after that. Matthew was thrilled about swim class again and bubbled on about how he dove head first into the water and put his face to blow bubbles and kicked water and "WOW it was so great Mommy!" I love coming home and being greeted by his sweet little smiley face & excited swim class stories! And I wish he went to sleep at night as well as he naps!

* I bought a baby book on my travels that I LOVE! It is a lot like Matthew's book but a little more in depth. Oh and it is pink with little flowers!

Kevin surprised me by purchasing 4 yards of mulch & he spent the entire afternoon spreading the mulch while I lounged inside doing NOTHING. I felt horrible not being able to help since it was hot and sunny. AND HE SPREAD ALL THE MULCH at one time! It does look great and we are both glad to not have a huge pile of mulch in our front drive!

* I realized that Matthew had been napping the WHOLE afternoon away because I kept waiting for Kevin to come in. I was in the zone. I quickly woke Matthew up and he played like mad with Daddy while I made a special meal of stuffed shells and green beans. Then bed time and relaxing a bit more (oh and trip to Kroger to pick up Father's day breakfast items!)

Sunday:
* I rolled out of bed at 6:01. Matthew came in stating it was definitely time to wake up since his clock said it was 6 o'clock. He watched Thomas while I made a Father's breakfast feast. Eggs, bacon (which I NEVER cook), fruit of various kinds, cinnamon rolls, OJ, coffee and toasted buttered English muffins. We feasted (only after I almost burned myself three times and chipped a plate... sigh.) Kevin received his gifts & cards (a couple of much needed new grill tools, a new bird feeder & hanger, & a car washing kit - he wanted these items so that is what he got!)

* Then we went outside. We went for a long walk around the neighborhood. After that we went out into the backyard & played in Matthew's pool for about two hours! This is the longest time we have played outside in the pool all summer and it was lovely!

* After playing, we hit Kroger for groceries, then lunch and nap time. Matthew and I both napped Sunday!

* Kevin woke us up and we hit the local theatre to see Kung Fu Panda. Matthew was great for the movie. He sat on Daddy's lap most of the movie and moved to his own seat. He commented loudly the whole movie (yup that was MY kid!) and seemed to like it but not as much as the "Horton" movie as Matthew calls it!

We went home and Matthew & I played out in the front yard while Kevin grilled steaks and chicken for dinner. We made a neighborhood friend in a little white dog who was forgotten outside by his owners. Our neighbor across the street finally told us which house he belonged to and we all brought him back to his rightful owners. We ate dinner and got ready for bed.

We are enjoying our yard more and more with each passing day. That I LOVE because in our old yard we just never went out there much as there was no flat places to play like this yard!

I am trying to accommodate my lack of energy and movement by doing other "activities" with Matthew. We did some art projects and we have a new game where I yell "Ready, set, GOOOO" and Matthew runs like a mad man all around the house or yard giggling. He comes back and we do that all over again. He thinks this is the best game on earth and I hope he keeps loving it for a few more weeks! It is great because we are playing "together", I get to sit in one place and he is using up his boundless energy!

Hope everyone had a nice weekend as well!

Promises... Part Deux

6.) Really, the biggest thing for me is that while I know others say that there is much less time for thinking about baby #2 (or obsessing over the little details), I am most excited to share this adventure with Matthew. And when I say excited - I have no grand illusions of how Matthew will act or re-act to a new baby (judging by how the move went...ahhh , I would have to say that I am glad we are doing these changes in "little" chunks!), I am still excited. To see our family grow, to see how different our family unit will be, to have different views about birth and baby-hood.

I am much more knowledgeable in some ways and yet I am still holding on to some of my naivety because some of that is what carried me through and I like to learn. I know that each child has an individual personality so I have no grand illusions myself about what baby #2 might hold for us. He/she will most likely be so very different from Matthew that nothing we learned the 1st time around will apply and that I am looking forward to. I have never met a challenge I did not like (okay some challenges I did not like in life like 5 x 1650s - that is 66 laps in a short course pool if you are not familiar with swimming, and you wonder why I gave up working out?! - as a workout for swim practice in college - misery but I did it and I did not complain... though I did liken that workout to childbirth after giving birth if you must know...)

With all of that said, I find myself looking ahead but wholly and completely enjoying every single solitary moment I have with Kevin and Matthew (and the dogs) before we unleash the chaos (in a good way) that will be baby #2. I know that life will never be the same from the moment we decide to start trying to have this illusory baby #2 some time next year. I know that by the fall of next year if all goes accordingly life in the Schmidt family household will be radically different.

SO I am drinking in (and drinking... just a little, perhaps!) every moment NOW. I am not counting down the days but relishing each moment I have with my "baby" today. This is the time to do this because by the time these changes come, they come fast and furious. For us, this was a huge part of the reason we decided to wait to jump into the baby pool - we like our little family unit as it is and we want to take each moment for what it is. Now we have our little blow up floaties on and we are hoping to learn to swim, enjoying each the process of learning - the pleasure of all that is our lives today and soon enough we will learn to swim!

...and while this swimming may not look pretty or graceful, we will be swimming in that baby pool sans floaties some time next year...