Isn’t this flower pretty? We planted wildflower seeds when we moved into our house, and every year we get different flowers. Last year we had a bunch that were over six feet tall, and this is my current favorite!
In June we celebrated our nine-year wedding anniversary, the birth of my sister’s son, beautiful weather, and one of my brothers moving to the Boston area. We got a very cool SLR camera as a joint anniversary/we’re-both-turning-thirty present. Mike and I are both in love with the gorgeous photos we can now take! Our informal French play dates turned into a semi-formal French class (run by the friend who we were having play dates with). We also started an informal round of science play dates – we’ll swap houses, with the host of the week running science experiments every Friday. Johnny and Emma both started speech therapy. Emma is learning to breathe correctly (so she can count past five and complete a sentence without gasping for breath), and Johnny will hopefully learn to pronounce consonants in addition to “h”, which he has perfected. Lily finally decided to crawl with BOTH knees on the ground, and she is becoming an increasingly expert climber – which has me more than a little nervous! We had quite a bit of muggy weather, and we are all very grateful for air conditioning!
As far as reaching June goals, we ate lots of delicious fresh fruits and vegetables, and the kids thoroughly enjoyed picking strawberries. We donated a bunch of toys and clothes. I made an apron (post forthcoming), which sort of meets my goal of making at least one article of clothing? We spent a lot of time outside in June, particularly in the first half of the month before it got all muggy. The kids had a blast in their wading pool, and I’m sure we will spend more time in it this month. If you’re wondering, there is water in the pool in the above photo, and yes, Johnny is in it fully clothed. He considers wearing a swimsuit torture, so we just dry out some very soggy clothes after he gets out.
Goals for July:
- Appreciate turning thirty. I’ve had a wonderful life thus far, and look forward to many years (hopefully decades) to come. Target Areas: gratitude
- Catch up with friends. We’re hosting a couple of potluck barbeques in July, and we’re very excited to meet up with some Scottish friends! Target Areas: gratitude
- Keep the kids happy on our 40+ minute commutes to speech therapy – any suggestions? They do fine overall, but Lily doesn’t tolerate traffic, and once Johnny and Emma start to fight it’s hard to stop them since their seats are flush against each other and therefore well within poking, etc. range… Target Areas: health and peace
- Keep my plants alive! Target Areas: education and charity (towards the plants)
Bonus goals:
- Visit a farmer’s market
- Get some sewing done
I’m experimenting with a linky this month – just add your goals post to the linky below, and include the button or link back to this post!
| This linky list is now closed. |
MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.
For the car, singing songs helps us with just about everything. If you are good with improv, you can sing ‘Hey Lolly Lolly’ alternating who gives you an object to make up a verse about. Kids CDs from the library. But maybe you’ve said before music in the car was a disaster? I’ve forgotten. You can also plan snack time to be in the car, Rebecca has a foam tray for her carseat, so setting out her snack on it occupies her for 20 minutes.
.-= Katherine´s last blog ..Wednesday Market =-.
the 40 minute ride – books on CD? You can probably get them from the library, and can get multiple books so each kid can hold their own! I also give them pipe cleaners to play with sometimes.
Happy Anniversary! We celebrated our ninth this June as well. :)
Having car seats right next to each other is such a pain. “her hand is on my side” is my least favorite phrase. How about a car game, like finding a signs that have the a, b, c’s on them. First find an a, then b, etc. I don’t know how many signs you pass but it might work for at least one drive =) We also like story telling CD’s. My girls are used to being in the car for long periods of time so for us they hang in there pretty well without entertainment or toys that can fall and become more of a problem. I have a no toys in the car policy and I think they enjoy rides better because nobody is screaming because their toy fell!
.-= Andrea @ The Train To Crazy´s last blog ..Organizing my way =-.
I hope you get to the farmer’s market! We go to it 2x a week. It’s a necessity for me. Tell the kids it’s an adventure instead of a chore and it turns into a really wonderful experience for the kids. There are always samples and some interesting things to try. Kiddo loves getting a treat like Mint Iced Tea or a scone. I hope you go and post about it!
.-= Mom and Kiddo´s last blog ..Friday Do-Over- Popsicle Sticks =-.
What a beautiful picture of that flower!
My kids have been doing car rides like that regularly since they were infants – they get used to it quick. I’ve found that magnetic drawing boards (the ones that wipe clear) and stories on cd are good for car rides.
.-= UK lass in US´s last blog ..A couple of hours of peace =-.
I was just thinking today in the morning, “Goodness, it’s July already and I didn’t write my review post!” Congratulations on turning 30 – overall I loved my 30s better than my 20s. I hope that both Johnny and Emma will do well with speech therapy. Obviously, I have no experience on the drive with three – Anna does reasonably well in the car, especially if there is new music to listen to or word games to play.
.-= Natalie´s last blog ..US History – Independence Day =-.
I love how you included “charity (towards the plants)”. I consider any living plants an outstanding success, so I know where you are coming from on this one!
Music class is a 45 minute drive away for us. It is the one commute we have where my children are allowed to eat in the car (raisins). The novelty of eating in the car makes the trip special, and I also appreciate those moments of silence when their mouths are full. They also tend to request that I “play the sounds” which is a Jolly Phonics CD. After a while, they got used to the length of the drive and it’s just normal.
Off to add your button to my post! :)
I’m not sure how you have your three configured, but I have my eldest in the middle and Nikki considers it a privilege to help entertain Vi – especially if I let her hold a special toy to shake or squeak or whatever. I also have a rule that the older two aren’t supposed to touch each other. Enforcement is usually delayed, but usually I just have to remind them and that’s enough to end squabbles, especially if I distract them at the same time by singing a favourite song or something.
.-= Elisa | blissfulE´s last blog ..month in review and July goals =-.
For us on shorter drives (an hour or less) what works is having kid music they like, and having something they can only play with in the car). Gradually they acclimate to it.
Okay, I won’t get a post up this month, but I like this idea, and will get one up next month. Too much to do to get ready for leaving.
.-= Ticia´s last blog ..Backyard Bible Clubs become Kids Clubs =-.