Lately

I continue enjoying the days spent with Nathan while the boys are at school.  Nathan is such a great kid.  We have lots of fun doing even the most mundane of tasks together, like grocery shopping or cleaning.  But, Ive also been sneaking in some fun for the two of us.  

I have been tackling some serious projects around the house.  Lots of simplifying and de-cluttering going on in our home.  I've carried out over 15 bags of clothes and toys and stuff from the house.  Trying to reduce the general amount of things around and make for a more relaxing and clutter free environment for each of the boys in their rooms and in the playroom as well as in G and my space, which we have reclaimed as our own!!  It feels good to purge.  

I took Nathan, with a friend and her boys, to his first ever movie last week, we saw Toy Story in the theater.  Nathan LOVED it.  He sat through the whole movie mesmerized.  It was a really special experience for us to do together.  

Ive been taking Nathan weekly to meet up with a couple friends at a local indoor play space.  The kids get to run around and play no matter the weather outside, which is so great.  I love watching Nathan with friends his age, something he rarely got to enjoy before the Fall, because of his older brothers and schedules.  He does really well interacting with other kids.  You can tell his has older siblings that he interacts with all the time.  Its nice.  Evan was so, so, so shy at Nathan's age, he never wanted to interact or play with peers.  Its a refreshing change to not worry about whether he will enjoy himself with friends.  

 We have also been enjoying having my parents right down the street now.  They are in the process of fixing up the house and preparing it to move in.  The boys are in LOVE with the idea of having their Nana and Pa in walking distance from them.  Its so special to have them come off the bus excited to get their homework done so they can go and see their Nana and Pa and the progress on the house.  Justin has been helping with a couple projects even.  And both boys love playing in their big backyard and exploring new territory! Its going to be such a great thing when they finally move in permanently!

This is their new house, its less than 0.2 of a mile from our house, on the same street.  We walk to visit them!  A welcome change from the 40 minute drive they used to live from us!!!

Things have been really quiet around here for the older boys.  I decided we are taking a much simpler approach to our year.  Instead of running around here and there all hurried and out of breath, we are slowing down and enjoying a break.  We are abandoning the constant need to be doing something.  We are embracing the word "no" when it comes to commitments that will stress us out or cause us to juggle children and cars and schedules. Last year with Lego, gymnastics, cub scouts, baseball for two kids, karate for two kids, OT, PT, and play dates and always something else to do or somewhere else to be I was overwhelmed and very stressed out and the kids were too.   Whats more, the kids were rushing through their school work and reading after school so they could get to the next thing.  I felt that their education was being put on a back burner.  So, this year we have cut nearly everything out of our nights and weekends.  We are allowing the kids to be "bored" and have the chance to discover and play for themselves instead of constantly orchestrating fun for them.  At first I was worried the boys would feel "left out" of activities.  However, they have embraced this change with happiness without a single complaint.  No one has begged for sports or lessons or anything.  At night we have had time to read together and talk and snuggle and have leisurely baths and play board games and a million other things that I feel are so much more meaningful to our lives right now.  Our schedule is predictable and reliable which is something that benefits Evan greatly.  Everyone is getting to bed on time, which means no one is overly tired and cranky the next day, something that benefits mommy!

So, you will have to excuse the lack of photos and in its place you can come over and enjoy some time with our family!  We will be home!  And together!