Grayson’s school is closed right now and his first day of the new school year is next Wednesday. To be honest, when I realized we would have 19 days with no school, I was seriously panicking inside. It of course could go without saying that I adore my children, but I was freaking out over the thought of 19 long days home with both of them, with hour after hour trapped in the house listening to Veggie Tales, not being able to leave because it’s 1 billion degrees outside and because I have a mental block against going anywhere with both my children by myself.

But I’ve actually been pleasantly surprised how well it’s gone. We are 12 days in and I haven’t lost my mind yet. This, my friends, I’m counting as a big win.

I was thinking of all the reasons why these days have gone as well (and as quickly) as they have. Here’s what I came up with:

• Morning walks. Most mornings I’ve been loading both kids in the stroller and we’ve walked around the neighborhood for 45 minutes to an hour before it gets too hot. I get exercise, and the kids take their morning nap. Double win!

• NAPS! Mercifully, both G and C have been napping really well lately. Even just an hour of silence and alone time in the afternoon helps break up the day and make it not seem so long.

Love when BOTH of these are on at the same time!

• Short outings. This week, we went to a friend’s house for a play date on Monday, and to the mall for a quick lunch with a friend today. So, apparently I’m over myself and CAN take the kids out. I’m not saying it’s easy, but it’s doable.

At the mall, eating fries on the table. Yep.

Taking a picture of a bunch of kids is definitely like trying to herd cats

• Family. Of course, my mom is always a huge help when she’s home, and the kids adore her. And my sister in law and her girls came over for the afternoon yesterday and were awesome with the kids- Grayson LOVES his cousin Bryn and cousin Megan put Charlotte down for a 2 1/2 hour nap. Yay for cousins!

Relaxing with Bryn

• Veggie Tales. You know I have a love/hate relationship with those stupid vegetables. What can I say, they’re better than my kid being on crack right? Because we are dealing with a full-fledged addiction. But seriously, they keep Grayson calm and happy, and calm and happy is what we need. We tried out a family music class on Saturday. The class was precious- fun music, instruments, and a bunch of babies and toddlers. Charlotte loved it. Grayson cried huge crocodile tears the entire time, until our nurse finally took him in the lobby and turned on his Veggies. Then he was fine. Sigh.
• Food. We kind of dove into Baby Led Weaning this week, and I love it! It’s so exciting to watch Charlotte pick up and try different foods- so far her favorites are cantaloupe and Chick Fil A french fries. I am doing a little bit of spoon feeding too (she loves yogurt), but she really does prefer to feed herself. Anyway, this has been an exciting week and feeding is another “activity” that takes up chunks of time.

Um, I wouldn’t mess with this girl and her carrot.  Or her spaghetti

• Nights out. I’ve had several dinners with friends and tonight my Mito moms group is meeting- it’s nice to get out of the house and be able to eat with both hands free!

One of the biggest blessings of this little school break really has been getting to spend a lot of time with Grayson. Medically, he’s stable right now and I have been soaking up all the sweet cuddles I can get. He’s also still singing and trying to verbalize things A LOT which is so exciting. While I will be thrilled when school starts again next week, I know I’m going to miss having my little dude around so much too. Love these babies and making memories with them.

Hanging out together in the church nursery

We still have another week of this break- stay tuned to see if I still have my sanity in another 7 days!