Summer Time with My Girls
OMG! My first year with the girls all summer, every day… all day long. I’m freaking out. How is this going to go. I’m used to having a break, and time to focus on me. I’m preparing myself for the worse. As it turns out… it ends up being one of the best summers to date! I take my me time every morning with my walk followed by a workout and then boom, we’re off to the races. I can’t believe how busy we’ve stayed. The month of June flew by, and I’m not really sure what we’ve done. I wanted to sign them up for a bunch of things, but man it’s expensive! I focused on picking out the most important things; and I’ll fill in the gaps later. We started summer off with Volleyball camp and their dance recital. As always Payton proves my nerves to be just that… nerves. She kills it with listening and participation. She may not always get it, but boy does she try; and that’s all any of us ask for. The girls have their first dance recital in the books, and they did great! Payton was all about the make-up, but Olivia was definitely not. We were totally good with that; and so was our dance studio. Then we started soccer on Saturday’s. I think Olivia has found her “thing.” I have never seen the girl be so competitive and run. She cracks me up. She tells me that tumbling makes her legs too tired; but she does want to do soccer. Ok girl!
I went with some other moms who have special needs kids to a painting night for special needs parents. It was fun! We got to talk. Then just paint, and be in our own moments. Another parent from Axis was there who I haven’t seen in quite a while. We are at different Axis locations now. I had so much fun catching up with her. We reconnected and it was so good!
We made the tough decision to have Olivia start therapy. When we went in there I wasn’t for sure if it was the right decision. The therapist was great though. She said we will see how it goes, and if it doesn’t work that is ok. She really put my mind at ease. I know Olivia struggles with all the emotions and attention. I don’t ever want her to feel like we don’t care. We try so hard to make things even, but that can be tough. We sometimes expect too much from Olivia, and that is not fair. She is a great sister! I just feel that she needs an outlet outside of myself and her dad. I know when I go to my therapy, I feel better. It’s nice to talk to someone who has no opinions and listens. So far it’s going well. She doesn’t mind going. I’m thinking she likes it, because it is “her thing” that she gets one-on-one time with someone other than a parent. She sees Payton getting one-on-one attention at her therapies, so I think she feels this is hers.
On Monday’s we’ve been going to a friend’s house in the afternoon. It’s fun for us to catch up and see each other. We use to work together; but now we’re in separate places. Once the school year starts up it can get hard to connect. The girls love her to death. My friend mentions letting the girls have a sleep over at her house. They are floored. Bonus: I get a night to myself.
Vacation Bible School has come around again and yep! They are in love with it. Olivia has already asked what next year’s theme is and the nights not even over yet. I’m so glad they love the program. I have started making it a goal to go back to church at least once a month. I know that may sound weird to some of you, but it can be difficult. I heard we now have a program on Sunday’s where the kids can go during the readings and gospel and then come back. Awesome! We will make a Sunday.
Next up swim lessons. Oh boy! We are going to the public pool for this. I’m nervous as we’ve only done private lessons for the past couple years at my parents’ pool. Payton needed the one on one, and it was great for both kids. Not to mention at the public pool there are slides that will surely grab their attention. Great… another adventure I’m not ready for. The beginners’ lessons were too beginner for them; so I decide to sign them up another two weeks for the intermediate. It has been a great experience though for them to be introduced to the public pool plus I made a new friend. It was so much fun talking with her during lessons. Now at intermediate I’m by myself, not great; but it’s a good time for blog writing. They are doing great at intermediate! Soon it’s time for me to face my fears and take them to the public pool. Thank goodness for my amazing neighbor. She answers all my nervous questions. I’m just worried about keeping an eye on the girls in a crowded pool. She responds and does not mind. She tells me pool check is every hour 20 minutes after the hour. Ok. I can do this. We go right at 12:30 when the pool opens, and we can leave at pool check. It’s not too busy ok good. OMG though I forgot about all the rules! I mean we have rules at my parent’s pool, but it’s a little different. They want to go into the deep end, and who can blame them. They are used to going into at least 6 feet and diving for sinkies, however; at the public pool we can’t just jump in, so trying to explain that was difficult. I told them they had to stay in one area. We did ok. Then of course Olivia sees the slide… “mom plleeeeaase” she begs. I’m okay with it, but we have to see if she’s tall enough. Of course, they are. They’re loving the slide. Eventually I have to put a stop to the fun. Don’t want them wearing out too much on me; but Olivia wants one more go at the slide. She’s requesting to do it without me so close. Okay, my independent child. So of course, both girls go; and I’m watching like a hawk. They’re doing fine. Payton is cracking me up. She checks her height every time before going up the slide. She must think she might shrink.
The pool is starting to get busier; and I’m having trouble keeping an eye on them. I promise them that if we leave now, we can spend some time at Grandma and Grandpa’s pool. That works like a charm, and we’re out of there. Our day at the pool wasn’t too bad. The girls exceeded expectations.
Our Big Cats Team is getting ready to join the Special Olympics Bowling Competition. We start using the “kids bowl free special” at Air Lanes. It’s amazing they get two free games, and we pay for the shoes. The girls love it. I did another first. I let Olivia invite a friend and we take another one of Payton’s softball teammates with us that will also be a Big Cat. The day went great. Even our meal in McDonalds went by with very little problems. The arcades cost me a bit of dough at the end… as to be expected.
We have a sleepover with our cousins. I pick a weekend where Jimmy is gone. Not the best planning on my part. Could have used the extra set of eyes or hands. I again survived with 7 kids by myself. Of course, it rained so we couldn’t go to the pool. The basement kept them occupied for only so long. Then it cleared up, so we were able to go outside. Olivia was dying to show her cousins her new skill… riding without training wheels. She’s so proud. She did actually pick it up with no issues. Payton has shown no interest in trying yet; so we haven’t pushed. She gets too distracted when riding to not have training wheels. She’s more of a scooter fan anyways. We’ll wait till she’s ready.
Summer came and went. I found that all my nerves about having the girls with no sitter for such an extended amount of time turned out to be a blessing. The girls were troopers all Summer, and I’m happy we got to create so many memories together.
