It's a crazy Crain life!: Summer

Y'all. Staying at home with 3 kids two and under AIN'T EASY!! I'm already counting down to when school starts again ;) (64 days FYI). The babies seem to have begun serious teething mode as soon as summer started! Night sleeping and naps have regressed, and I am pooped! To add to that, Maddex's 2 year molars are coming in! So we are teething x 3 in the Crain household...oh Lawd!!! I am definitely enjoying the sweet moments with all of my babies, but I could do with a little less fussiness/clinginess and a little more sleep!

I had grand plans for working with Maddex this summer, but so far, that's not happening. By the end of the day, I think, "What did we do today?" and it usually involves Maddex watching "Wheels on the Bus" like 5 times and playing with some of her toys. I think she colored once and did puzzles once. I know it's just the first week, so I'm hoping I can get the hang of things and do a little more with her as summer progresses.

I've been somewhat discouraged this week about how little was getting done around the house. I couldn't even see to keep up with the daily tasks of laundry & dishes and everything was just piling up! Nana to the rescue, though! My mom came over on Wednesday and helped entertain the kids while I was able to do some chores. Then she helped me do some chores while everyone napped. Since then I've felt a little more encouraged and caught up. I'm so used to large feelings of accomplishments - a successful lesson taught, students reaching goals, an assignment completed and turned in, that the simple daily tasks of a stay-at-home-mom left me feeling unfulfilled. I've really worked on changing my perspective these last few days and have tried to find fulfillment in just the smallest tasks - organizing the babies' clothes, putting away the laundry, or blogging :). This change in perspective IS helping my discouragement about staying at home and making me enjoy the days a bit more.

Ok, enough whining...here's a breakdown of our week...

Even though Monday was a holiday, Mitch had work to do, so it was just a regular summer day around here. We stayed at home all morning, and I quickly realized that makes the day go by much slower! I've made it a point to get out daily since then.
We made a couple of trips to Target. I usually get a couple of "hands full" comments and quite a few stares. I've discovered there are many different ways to configure three kids when going to Target, and our set up has been different each time (pictures below).
We had a couple of playdates - one at our house and one at Carrie's w/ Maddex's BFF's Carly & Audra. The girls had so much fun playing in the water together & only had one or two small tiffs over toys :) I haven't decided yet if I prefer a playdate here or away. It's nice to get out of the house, but it's also easier to be able to put the babies down for a nap at home.
We did a little playing outside yesterday. The babies were pretty content and Maddex really enjoyed it. I tried to wait until the evening, but it was still SO hot!
I did manage a nap one day for about an hour and a half. I was incredibly tired & put the kids down then lay down myself. I woke up to Major's fussing and have no idea how long he was fussing in there! I haven't gotten them to nap at the same time for that long since then!

Maddex is especially funny these days (when she's not whining or throwing a typical 2-year-old tantrum). My favorite Maddex moment of the week was Friday when she came to me with what I thought was a small piece of trash. I held my hand out and turns out, it was a booger! I hollered to Mitch for a cloth and he brought me a paper towel. Well, in the transfer, the booger got onto him! I laughed so much and still LOL when I think about it. She brought me another booger last night. This one made it on the paper towel. She has started to really love dancing and singing for us. I love the good parts of the two-year-old stage!

Here are a few pictures from our week...