The End of Summer

I can't believe summer is officially over for me tomorrow. Where did the time go?  What did I do?

I'm disappointed in some ways.  I really didn't do much.  Last summer, I was running every day - playdates, lunch dates, trips to the pool, amusement park (even though I couldn't ride), shopping, museum, water park....you name it, we pretty much did it.  On top of that, I had 2-3 dr. appointments per week.

This summer, we went on vacation.  We went to the pool a LOT.  We went to lots of birthday parties (after awhile I wished my daughter didn't have so many friends!)  And that's really about it.  I didn't manage one play date with any of my friends with kids.  We didn't go to the local amusement part or the free spray water park.  I didn't take Sierra to the Children's Museum, or to see a movie like I've been wanting to.  We didn't even manage to go to the county fair, because Sierra had a meltdown Saturday night.  I was really looking forward to going and was really disappointed, but it would have been a disaster.  She was too tired and cranky, and misbehaved to the point that we had to put our feet down and say no.

If we weren't at the pool, Sierra spent a lot of time inside playing with her toys.  I feel so bad about that, but the only time I could get anything done was when Coen napped.  So she would play and I would shower, or clean, or attempt to organize things.  We did go to the pool a couple times per week for most of June and July.  Then she always went outside to play after dinner.  I just feel guilty, that I didn't do enough with her.  I have toys that haven't even been opened yet, because they are the type you have to play/supervise.

I guess I was playing catch up - catch up on sleep and catch up on things around here.  I just didn't have time to stand outside and watch her play, but didn't feel comfortable just sending her out for the neighbors to watch if they were outside.  Sometimes living in a plan is a curse - it made me feel guilty to see everyone else outside, enjoying the nice weather, and I'm inside trying to clean or do laundry or organize this mess of a house, and so Sierra can't go outside.  Ugh.

The sad part is, I didn't even really get anything done inside!  I cleaned a little more than usual I guess. I wanted to finish Adelyn's scrapbook that I started last year right before her birthday.  I have everything I need for it, just need to put it together.  I didn't even look at it.  I wanted to finish it at least by her 2nd birthday.  Not to mention Coen's by his first birthday!  Ha!

I bought stepping stone kits to do the kids' handprints/footprints, but didn't make them yet.  I want to do them every year to compare over time.  I bought seeds to try to grow some flowers to plant, but they died because I waited too long to plant them, and didn't water them for a week (we were on vacation and I forgot to tell my cousin to water them when we were gone).

I wanted to clear out the kids' outgrown clothes, but that's a huge process.  I made a dent, but still have a long way to go.  I try to recoup some of the money I spent on them by consigning or selling on Ebay, because I know I probably spend too much, or buy too much, for them.  But it makes me happy so oh well.  I also wanted to organize the basement and make a play room for Sierra down there - but we need to rip out the carpet because it smells like cat pee.  So that didn't get done either - although we did get rid of the couch that was down there, so at least there is room now.

Just about the only thing I did accomplish was uploading all our pictures to Snapfish.  I was about 2 years behind, and I take a ton of pictures, so it took all summer messing with it to get it done.  I didn't order them yet, but they are there for when a sale comes along.  Even then, it will take awhile to order 100s of pictures.  Maybe 1000s!

So, I start a school year after being off for 2.5 months, not feeling refreshed, but feeling a bit disappointed.  If I wasn't going to get anything accomplished, I wish I would have just said "forget this" and enjoyed every moment.  I guess having 2 kids at home was harder than I thought - not that I am complaining by any means.  But Coen's morning nap made it hard to do anything - by the time I was up and ready to go, he was ready to nap again so I would just stay home.  Then by the time he got up, it was lunch time, and after everyone was fed, we had 2 hours tops before it was afternoon nap time.  Normally I would have just let him have his nap in the car or on the go, but for some reason I just didn't have the energy this summer.  I guess I can blame having a very difficult, stressful past 2 years.  Hopefully next summer will be easier.

Now, if I can just find a way to get some things done from my to do list at home, in addition to the usual housework chores, taking care of two kids, and full time job.  Ha!  I think I set myself up for failure when I do this, because it stresses me out more when I don't accomplish it (which happens more often than actually getting it done).

Off to work I go tomorrow :(