Summer Update

A short while ago, I posted my thoughts on child rearing and how my time here as influenced me, resulting in my decision not to put Connor into tons of camps, and to stay home together instead.

So, how is it going?

Well, we're two weeks into it and all in all, all right. There have been a few unforeseen benefits, namely having Connor face the fact that he has a little baby brother. He had to get used to being told to wait his turn, no I can't play with you now, and I'm sorry I need to interrupt our playtime to go take care of the fussy baby. Not only did Connor realize that he's second or third in line at times, but he also had to grapple with strangers doting on Ronan.

This was a challenge at first: Connor was quite clingy to me that first week home. Mommy, Mommy, Mommy...be with me, keep me company, can I be with you, can you be with me? It was constant. And energy draining, I must say.

But now we're into a flow. Just today I told him, "I like to say things once." So those incessant questions about "Can I have ___? Why not? But can't we just ____?" are over. I am getting better and better at sticking with my answer once it's made, and now I am gaining ground with not wasting my breath saying that answer over and over again. "I like to say things once." Of course, that pairs with "I like to be with children who cooperate." It's a good combo.

We have relaxed our morning routine and our TV rules for summertime. In the mornings, Connor and I snuggle in bed and I read to him. It is a wonderfully cozy and fun thing to do that we never get the chance for during the school year. And we now have screen time at 4pm most days. Although some days I just say, "No TV today."

It is a little more diffcult doing all this considering that everyone on the street are older "pensioners," as they are sometimes called here. So there's very few children about. The one exception are our next door neighbors. They sometimes care for their nieces and nephew. Connor was able to go over and play with them one day last week. Other than that, it's either me and Connor or Connor going solo.

Adding to the challenge has been our poor weather. This week yielded only one totally dry day. Last week, we had one sunny day in which we went out to a playground for most of the afternoon. (This is one great playground! Check out the awesome climbing structure. And can you see how far Connor made it?)



I did sign Connor up for one camp for next week, however. It's a bit of a drive, but I think he's really going to like it. It's run by Imaginosity, Dublin's new children's museum and it's titled "Engineer It!" . They're going to made all sorts of cool creations and play on the floor of the museum. They'll make paper parachutes, learn about Leonardo Da Vinci, build an aquaduct, solar oven, and some other cool things. I'll do another post all about that. But for now, I think my favorite part about that so far is how we wound up almost cancelling the camp.

You see, it is for children ages 6-8. And Connor is still 5. He will be until December. Well, lots of people here lie about their children's ages for the sake of getting them into camps. And they tell their children that for the week of camp, they're 6 years old should anyone ask. Well, I tried that with Connor. And the response I got was, "Mom, this is the first time you've told me to lie....I cannot participate in that." Oh boy. What lesson was I teaching here? So I said, "That's so sad you won't be able to participate." His response? "I know...but we'll just have to wait until I'm 6."

So this morning I called to cancel his enrollment and within his earshot, confessed to the administrator the reason for us dropping out. Then I asked, "He'll be 6 soon enough, though. Is there any wiggle room on the age requirement?" And she told us there was!! So now, not only does Connor get to go to the camp, but we all also learned that sometimes being upfront and honest is the best way of all.

Another highlight was witnessing Ronan's first laugh. It was Connor who got him to do it by rough-housing with him. I couldn't believe it! They're already developing this great brotherly bond. At least I see it that that way. To see that video, click here.

Somehow, we don't do much during the day, but before you know it, it's time to get ready for bed. It's a slower kind of pace. If anything, I'm less motivated to do things. Usually rushing around with a longer checklist is enough for me to get motivated to get things done. With all this ease and looseness, I find myself reading more, playing around on the computer, and doing a better job of cooking.

I also have to face the fact that now I'm loading up two kids in the car to go places. (Now that we have a second car to go places, that is.) It's reason enough to use the food we have in the cupboard and put off grocery shopping until we really have to go.

Pretty soon, we'll be into August, and only have 4 weeks left. I might still put him in a sports camp, since I haven't really gotten him outside to run and play much. We'll see.

Till next time,
Nicole