Crazy Days and Lazy Snuggles

Wednesday and Friday...the crazy, busy, hectic, never-long-enough days in our home.  Well, actually, outside our home.  Doesn't every family have "those" days?  Days where you can't seem to catch your breath, but you wouldn't have it any other way?


On Wednesdays, we begin the day with what I like to call "lazy snuggles".  As soon as my teen son leaves for school, the girls and I gather in my giant, king-sized bed and watch one hour of television together; typically Sesame Street,Veggie Tales, Little Bear, Arthur, or Barney.  (I know, I know, the purple dinosaur...YIKES! But I like that show - the children they choose reflect such diversity).  During that hour, I snuggle with my girls, brush their hair, tell them I love them, and we even tell silly jokes.  Pure inspiriation for the day that is about to begin. 


Lazy snuggles are also a nostalgic time for me; I think back to when my son was this small, and how we used to snuggle together for hours.  How quickly those years escaped me, and what I wouldn't give to have them back!  However, I am one of the lucky ones; my son still enjoys sitting with me and watching History Channel, Animal Planet, and, (though it leaves us clamoring for a late-night snack), Food Network.  It's no "snuggle time", of course, but I will take all the time with this boy that I can get!


But...back to Wednesday. I only have about 8 minutes until the tea party the girls are having in the bathtub is over.  Then, it is off to gymnastics.  An hour for them to sharpen their skills; an hour for me to watch them from afar while socializing with other parents.  And to drink my coffee while it's still hot.


After class, we run home to work for an hour on art.  Typically we will read our FIAR book of the week, and do the corresponding art lesson.  Then, it's time for lunch. We make soups on Sunday, so that saves a bit of time.  We eat and then to head back out the door.

Wednesdays are the usual field-trip days for one of the twohomeschool  co-ops I belong to.   Today, we are visiting the Aquarium.  Knowing this particular one is 45 minutes away but can be covered in 2 hours, I am in! Four hours is about all I have to spare.

After the field trip, we head to our Church.  Generally, our field trips are over 1/2 hour away.  So my girls nap in the car.  Even power-naps help!  The girls youth group, STAR Club, is from 4 - 5:30.  I spend that time in the nearby teacher's supply store before heading back to the Church library to work on lesson plans.

At 5:30, we meet my son and husband in the Church parking lot.  Leaving one car behind, we grab a fast dinner before dropping my son off at CAST, the teen youth group.  While he is there, we take the girls to the mall.  After sitting in the food court looking over any new items I picked up while at the teacher's supply store, and doing any little craft I may have grabbed there, we relocate to the play area.  The girls play and run and laugh with other children while my husband and I talk about our days.

At 8:30, one of us is dropped off at the Church to pick up my son and head back home.  The other heads home and gets the girls into pajamas.

When we are all reunited, it's bedtime for the kids.  And, typically, bedtime for me.  What a day!

Days like this leave me longing for those lazy snuggles...