Wednesday, August 25, 2010

summer break



Andrew's summer school ended the day before we left for the beach. So this week is our first week of summer break that we've been home and it's been lovely. Amazing. Pinch-me-I-Love-my-life-perfect. Not only do I get a break from alarm clocks, packing lunches, miles and miles of walking to and from school...but...it's been raining. Everyday! Yesterday didn't even hit 70 and I wore jeans! Heaven, I tell you, is a string of rainy, overcast days.

All this time at home has meant good, good stuff. We wear our jammies late. We work on our projects and tinker and learn. Yesterday while I was baking, Andrew made a helicopter out of tinker toys and Isaac worked on making parts of his train track elevated. It felt so good that the boys had hours and hours to do what they love...and learn and practice things with their toys. It just feels right, you know?

While Isaac napped (!) Andrew and I made this back to school banner. He is particularly excited about the prospect of taking the school bus to school this year. So he painted a few buses while I assembled little blackboards to which he added a few ABC's and 123's.

I love days when I genuinely enjoy my kids. When their good parts are out and defiance and arguments are kept at bay. When we all do things that we all like and when our home feels like a little urban greenhouse, nurturing my little sweetpeas and helping them grow.

Rain, don't go away! I could use a whole week of this.





12 comments:

debs14 said...

Robyn, you really do need to move to England. We have more than enough rain! I remember rainy days doing creative things with my kids too, lovely days when they played well together and peace reigned. Makes up for all those hot and botherered days where they squabbled and just made a mess!

Dave said...

Deb, I know!! I am more and more convinced that England's climate would be perfect for me.

I thought of you last night! Dave and I were watching The Daily Show and John Stewart was interviewing Emma Thompson. She said that when the sun comes out in England all the parents rush their children into closets and won't them out again until it begins to rain. ;) I LOVE that idea!

Susan said...

I am loving this cooler weather. I've actually made dinner the last couple nights--like real use-the-stove kinds of dinners. I might surprise the kids with some post-naptime cookies today. They are happily smearing homemade playdoh over ever single one of my kitchen utensils right now. It's awesome. What's not so awesome is needing to line dry all my laundry. When our family manages to create almost a full load each day it creates quite a backup when we have days and days of rain.

Susan said...

:)

Mama V said...

Adorable. I'm probably the only dork who loved riding the bus to school growing up. I hope Andrew LOVES it, too!

Mama V said...

And please don't move to England. (Sorry, debs14.)

Mama V said...

One more comment - sorry! I love the imagery of a little urban greenhouse! Love it, LOVE it! So perfect and sweet and poetic and warm and wonderful.

Dave said...

"I love the imagery of a little urban greenhouse!"

phew! I was picturing people dry-heaving with that one. Glad there is at least one vote in favor of the urban greenhouse! ;)

Melissa Belmonte said...

LOVE it!

Your week sounds so lovely. I had so many good days like that last summer, because we had so much rain. And I wasn't complaining, either- it was really nice. It just doesn't feel the same staying in pj's and doing crafts inside when it's super hot or even nice and sunny.

Ruth said...

I love that you and Andrew made a banner. I'm so envious about the whole school bus thing ~ my sister and I used to walk half an hour each way! Oh, and I also thought the urban greenhouse comment was really cool.
PS: It's chucking it down here, as it has been for most of the afternoon.

Danielle said...

You are too much. I live for the preschool year. I started Brice before he was two. I feel stir crazy when we are all home. My kids are not tinker-ers. They need constant interaction. I need quiet time. Summer at home drives me slightly quacky. In any case, enjoy your urban greenhouse....

erin said...

You are the banner queen! Do you have tape marks all over your walls? How do you hang them without getting the residue? Anyway, super cute. I love that you have a special way of hanging your kids artwork. I love those buses. I loved riding the bus to school. It took 1/2 an hour and was good daydreaming time.