Keeping Busy on these Lazy Summer Days

Today is Saturday. During the summer, days of the week don't seem to make much difference to me. With the exception of FLOCKS, David's weekly softball game and church on Sunday it seems like everyday has pretty much the same since the craziness of camping, traveling and VBS are pretty much behind us. I have to say I'm enjoying lazy mornings and no schedule but I don't want to waste the summer so I've been looking for cheap or even FREE activities to do with the kids. Today I went to a FREE "Mommy and Me" Creative Movement Class with Isabella at Absolute Dance Company in Avon Lake. I had to get up at 7:30 a.m. (which is very early for us!) and drag Isabella out of bed at about 8:30 a.m. She was happy enough to take a bath and get dressed but once we got to the dance studio she decided to clam up. She was clingy and insistent on finishing her bottle of milk. She didn't really start to get comfortable until the last 10 minutes and then she was more into checking out the music player than dancing. She did hold my hand and run around a little bit with a gorgeous smile on her face that I could only see because of the walls of mirrors around us. My friend picked us up with her daughter who is only a couple of months older. She was in no way shy or timid when it came to exploring the place and getting her groove on! She and Isabella will be getting into all kinds of mischief in the years to come, I'm sure.

The Early Childhood PTA here in Avon Lake is a great resource for finding things to do in the area. I highly suggest to new parents (and experienced ones) to join their local early childhood PTA. When I first had Brandon I had no idea such an organization exsisted. I thought PTA's were only for "school-age" children. One of my favorite things about the ALECPTA is the beginning of the year social where I get a FREE identification card for each of my munchkins every year. It's nice to have and it's fun to see how they've changed from year to year. Next week we will be going to an activity at the library and a street fair both in neighboring cities that I learned of through this organization. I've met many people since I joined but only one person I would actually call a "friend."

Most of the people I've become good friends with since we've moved into the area have been through our church. My children have made some good friends, too. Our church has been a great resource for activities and events as well. We very much enjoy our small group and look forward to serving in the church. Our church is about ten minutes away from where we live. People come from all around to attend our church so we meet people from all different areas. I've often thought that we are right where God wants us to be. I know that he has a plan for us and I'm excited to see what that plan will bring in the future.

We are also members of our local YMCA which is a great place for me to have some "me" time! I love to take the kids to the Childwatch and know that they are safe and having a good time while I work out. The boys have taken several swimming and sports classes there with mixed results. The older they get, the more they seem to get out of them. They will begin Pike 2 on July 25th and Isabella will be a Shrimp. She's taking her first swim class! I will have to get in the water with her but I'm sure it will be fun. I never did anything like that with the boys but I'm looking forward to having some alone time with Isabella. She doesn't get much of that since she's the third born!

There are many more resources for activities, even here in Northeast Ohio. We are members of the zoo, have a wonderful library, parks and beaches. I'm looking forward to filling up the rest of our summer with lots of trips and taking lots of pictures! These little munchkins are growing up so fast and I know the summer will be a distant memory in no time...