Eclectic Parent

So how exactly do we fill a day? Every day is different for one thing. Seriously no two days are the same. Since daddy shifted to working early mornings about a month ago, not my best time at all, the kids have been doing their own breakfast. It’s not quite as bad as it sounds. At all times we have a few large fruit bowls on the table - currently there is grapes, cantaloupe, nectarines, apricots, plums, bananas, apples and oranges. Based on that alone, they couldn’t starve. One of the bottom cabinets is also their snack cabinet. So they have access to cheerios and granola bars. There’s also a bread box and peanut butter, sunflower butter, honey, etc. So they get their own breakfasts and I see what was eaten when I get up.

After breakfast today they played Star Wars on the wii. B couldn’t do both controllers, so D did one and she did the other. Then the boys played bionicles while she helped me make coffee - she loves to measure and pour. We have TiVo, which I objected strongly to when we got it years ago, but it is actuall great with the kids. They started Little Einsteins but that wasn’t what they wanted so they watched a little League of SuperEvil.

Then B started watching the catepillars in our butterfly kit. The catepillars came yesterday. And can I just say I know everyone has trouble with the postal service, but our mail carrier is awesome. He stopped at our house first on his route and dropped the box off at our door because it said “Live Insects” and he thought they’d die in the heat of his truck - it is Phoenix after all - but he’d come back with the rest of our mail at the normal time. So the caterpillars came and in about a week we should have cocoons. But for now we have crawly, wiggly caterpillars to watch. You’d be surprised how long kids can watch ceterpillars wriggle.

Then they decided to play Baby Daycare on the wii. Lasted about two minutes but they got the idea of wobbly babies. So they shoved pillows up their shirts and decided they were ’sumo babies.’ Yes. So they are tummy bumping each other, trying to push each other out of circle of the round rug or knock each other down. They are actually doing a great job adjusting for different sizes and weights. Basically they are throwing themselves on the floor every time their 33lb sister charges them.

Sumo babies led to just flat out wrestling. After about an hour, their hair was dark with sweat and I was afriad someone would get hurt, so I called wrestling off for … popsicles. We have a high of 109 today and even inside it’s HOT. During the year we eat pretty healthy - lots of fruits  and veggies and whle grains. In the summer it’s pretty much fruit, sandwiches, popsicles and ice cream. It’s just too hot for anything else. We have an extra freezer in the garage - it’s full of ice cream, popsicles - some 100% fruit juice some artificially colored sugar water, ice cream sandwiches and homemade juice and keefir pops. I figure the frozen juice is the same as drinking it, only more fun and colder, so they can have all they want.

After popsicles the boys played with legos. B took her daughters to the beach. She got on a swimsuit, dressed her dolls and filled a bucket with water to play in the kitchen. I kept trying to talk her into the bathtub but was repeatedly told baths were boring. When the boys laughingly found me and told me I had to come see this, I went into the kitchen to find B and her doll happily sitting in a small storage bin full of water. “Playing at the beach” occupied about 20 minutes and then she had to towel herself and her baby off.

The boys, who had taken a break to sit in the kitchen with their sister, went back to playing legos whiles she built a fort and put all her dolls to sleep. Then she and I played wii fit. The boys came out to laugh at me - the love it when I get hit in the head by the soccer cleats! They watch which mii did it so the can shout out, “I just kicked a shoe at you. Ha!”

Then the kids decided to play some made up card game. That didn’t get far before it devolved into fighting so … the boys ended up hanging in their room to calm down. They chilled to some audio Harry Potter. Then the younger two watched Super Why while D kept listening to HP. Some how the minute D joined them it went back into wrestling; not suer what was up with that today, but the wrestling went on in spurts all day.

Everyone decided to get swimsuits on to play outside in the hose. Which is where they were until dinner. After dinner B watched iCarly while the boys played on lego.com. Then she and I read Happy Jack and the Princess and Clarence Goes Out West And Meets A Purple Horse.The boys played legos with daddy we she and I read and then they watched Fetch with Ruff Ruffman while she got read for bed. The boys both wanted stories from Stinky Cheese Man. Then off to bed with them as well.  Well off to bedroom I should say. With summer here and the sun staying up so much later and no classes to get up for, the kids have been going to bed much later. But we still need quiet time. So it’s more like a bedroom time than a bedtime. They can read (I even bought everyone their own booklights), play ds or listen to ipods that have music and audiobooks.

So there it is. A random day. And tomorrow will be totally different. They ma want to read all day. Or do art. Or maybe spend hour building paper airplanes ….