Summer Plans are Shaping Up.

I posted a few weeks back about my lack of organization as far as pulling together anything concrete for the summer. I'm happy to report that as of this morning, the following is now in place:

• Sadie is registered for two weeks of morning rec through the town. This will entertain her from 9-noon, and give me and Eden 'alone' time, and also, hopefully, tire Sadie out enough that she'll mellow out at the beach in the afternoons. Most of her class and Brownie friends are doing it, so I think she'll have a lot of fun. And, if she doesn't, its only two weeks...
• Sadie is signed up for a week of swim lessons at the town pool. I only signed her up for five lessons - I figure that whatever skills she is taught there, we can reinforce them daily at the beach. My main reason for signing her up is that I figure on some of the days she is in the lessons, we'll just head to the town pool for the day instead of the beach. Again, this is very popular with her classmates, so I thought it would be a nice change of scenery for the girls.

Also in the works, though awaiting confirmation:

• Gymnastics classes for both girls. I definitely want to enroll Eden in a tiny tumblers class. If Sadie is willing to take a summer hiatus from horseback riding (which, I hope she is, as dragging out to the very hot and dusty stables on Friday afternoons was never much fun last summer), then I will enroll her in an age-appropriate class as well.
• Next week I will be registering Sadie for fall soccer, too. She is not excited about it, but I think she should give team sports a try. I am a little concerned that between Brownies, riding lessons, soccer and (possibly) Hebrew school (more about that in another post), she will be overscheduled, but we'll give it a try for a couple of months and see how it goes.

And, back on the topic of summer plans...we're going to be taking a mini-vacation to Boston. I am really excited. I haven't been back since we moved for a lot of reasons (mostly logistical, but also some emotional), but I am now really ready to go and enjoy it. We're going for four days - 2 in and around the city and 2 up on the North Shore. Can't wait to see everyone/everything that I've missed so much. Hope it hasn't changed too much.

So, between the trip, the scheduled activities and the beach club, I'm thinking that we're looking at a great summer. Now if only the weather would coincide with the calendar and warm up...

Memorial Day Weekend

the long weekend recap, bullet-style:

• Great weather! Lots of backyard time, even enjoyed almost all of our meals out there. Finished up some overdue gardening/weeding/mulching projects.
  
• Hosted a fun get together/cookout with friends (Jim, Stacey and the girls, and Carolyn and the kids). Sadie and Livvie picked right up with their friendship, and all the kids (six of them, all between the ages of 3 and 7) had a blast. We even had our first, true 'kids' table' (in the kitchen while the adults ate in the dining room).
• We hit the beach! I didn't think we were going to have time, or that the weather was going to be 'summerlike' enough, but yesterday, after lunch (low tide), we got the urge to go look at the tide pools at Breakwater. I was surprised at how many people were there. It was a gorgeous day, and now I'm really excited for the summer to kick in.
• Rounded out the weekend with dinner out in Asbury with my parents and put two very exhausted children to bed before dark and followed soon after!
  

Scenes from the backyard.

I can't wait for those notes to come home from school

Sadie brought a book home from the library yesterday (one of the American Girl stories) that has her so captivated, that she's opted to sit and read in lieu of playing with her toys, playing outside, watching TV or playing on the computer. This is really the first time a book has grabbed her like that.

As a kid, I was forever getting in trouble for reading when I shouldn't (by flashlight under the covers long after lights out for the night, under my desk at school). I'm guessing it is only a matter of time before Sadie starts doing the same.

Yay for the Blog.

I just spent the morning reading through a lot of my old blog posts. What a fun trip down memory lane. It really reaffirmed for me the importance of journaling and capturing these moments, even when I don't always feel like I have anything 'blogworthy.'

So...what's been happening here? Let's see...

Eden - Eden is reading up a storm, and loving it. It is seriously adorable to listen to her little voice work through the words. She is also very into doing everything 'by myself!' lately. Sometimes this is frustrating and annoying, but more often than not, it is actually not only cute, but actually helpful. She loves to pick out her own clothes for the day, and as long as we're not going anywhere that I really care about her appearance, I totally let her choose and wear what she wants. Surprisingly, her picks aren't usually too bad. I think she might have a better eye for what coordinates than her dad does. While she had mostly favored 'soft' pants over jeans for the better part of a year, today she surprised me for opting for jeans, so I'm hopeful we're finally passing that stage (because she has so many adorable pairs of jeans that have sat, unworn, in her drawer).

Sadie - Sadie continues to morph into a little 'tween' right before our eyes. Her latest interests include writing and illustrating little books. They are adorable, and also really funny - she has quite the sense of humor. She also loves playing 'mermaid' (ever since we let her watch Splash) and even roped the boy across the street into her storyline. I love sitting in the kitchen and eavesdropping on their play. Another favorite pastime is watching music videos on YouTube. Favorites include Spice Girls, Brittney Spears (yeah, I know...gag...I try to limit that one), and Beyonce. I'm sure it is wildly inappropriate that she walks around singing 'All the Single Ladies' and smacking her own tush, but you know what? Oh well. I've got bigger fish to fry.

Anyway, all that to say they're going and growing and all is well in Cotlerland.

Playin' it Low Key this Summer

Most of my mommy friends (be it those on the Intertubes or 'live' ones) have all gotten their acts together and made summer plans for the kids. Morning rec, girl scout camp, swim camp, gymnastics camp, county park programs...me? I've done nothing* at this point. I just can't get motivated to do so.

At this point, the thought of doing not much this summer sounds wonderful. I'm looking forward to not rushing around in the mornings to get some or all of us out the door. The thought of 10 weeks free from the nighttime chores of making lunches and laying out clothes and going through folders and signing and returning forms sounds too nice at this point.

I suppose I will be kicking myself come, I don't know...mid-July when we're all bored and sick of each other. I mean, surely these other mothers must know something that I don't, right?

*by nothing, I mean, nothing tangible. I've thought about signing Sadie up for 2 weeks of morning rec, and enrolling Eden in a weekly gymnastics class. Heck, I've even done more than thought about it. I've SAID I'm going to do it. But for some reason, when it comes to pulling the trigger and doing it...I keep stalling out.