Summer Vibes

"Come on, Barbie, let's go party."

It's the end of July, definitely a mid-point of summer. It's a time after summer birthdays and preschool summer camp has ended, and also a time when the weather in our city reaches the triple digits (as in 100-117 degrees). Which means we can't go outside quite as much, but still try to find things to do to keep occupied.

There's been a lot of trips to the library for summer reading story time (as early in the morning as possible to beat the mid-day heat), as well as an invitation to a my preschooler's first ever pool party! His classmate invited him to a recreation center outdoor pool, and while it was still hot as all heck to attend outdoors, was made infinitely better once we made it into the water. The challenge, of course, was that my preschooler did not initially want to go into the water. At all. He didn't like the idea of changing into swim clothes (he didn't even really like the idea of me changing into swim clothes), but he finally let me hold him in the shallow end of the pool that is built a bit like a beach (you can walk right in, then go deeper into a central playground and water slide). The good news is, while I couldn't yet get him to go down the slide (and I personally, didn't want to go down it anyway), he overcame his fear and decided to step into the water all on his own. He chatted and took pictures with the classmates who attended, and then ended the two-hour party with ice cream sandwiches instead of cake. While his younger brother missed the pool party, the very next day he swam with Mommy during a mini-family reunion with Hubby's aunt and cousins in town. It was great to see the kids run around with other kids and enjoy the summer activities.

One fun thing that Mommy got to do, was first a beach studio photoshoot with my boys in honor of the Barbie movie (yay, more ADORABLE pics of my kids) and then actually attending the Barbie movie with coworkers! It was nice to get out of the house and see a film. Hubby and I do make a point to see any new Marvel movie that comes out, but those are the only movies I've actually made time to see in theaters since it does require a little extra babysitting and our parents already help us out so much during the workweek.

So not only was the Barbie movie an important moment of self-care for this mom, but it also talked about important feminist issues, including the relationships between mothers and their children (primarily daughters, but still). It was such a good movie for me and a good movie in general. I can't remember the last time I'd watched a movie that felt was really designed for today's modern woman that was not a ditzy rom-com or a cry-fest drama (neither of which I particularly care for, though I do appreciate a good rom-com when it doesn't resort to stereotypes or sexism).

Since the boys are still a little too young to sit through an entire air-conditioned movie in theaters, to pass the time on weekend we've found other things to do, like order a giant bucket of movie popcorn to take home and eat while watching Disney+. I've managed to get my preschooler to watch the first 30 minutes of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh during his brother's weekend nap time. We've, of course, gone to a few indoor playgrounds (there's three different ones that aren't too far from us, though it does cost money each time), and then we went with my in-laws for the boys to experience their first ever trip to Chuck E. Cheese! That was a blast that brought back a lot of memories for me, but also entertained both our kids as the little one rode a carousel over and over again, the big one played air hockey with himself, they both enjoyed fun games with balls, and we all got to eat stuffed-crust pizza together. Then at the end their now digital tickets got converted to prizes (two dinosaurs and a frog for my youngest and a lollipop, bracelet, and frog for my oldest). It was so cute to see their personalities in what they picked!

What's next for the rest of summer? My birthday falls right at the tail end of August, so hopefully a little celebration there. I told Hubby I didn't want any gifts, but just some pictures with my boys (as always) and an outing to see Immersive Disney Animation, a show/walkthrough experience of the world of Disney animated movies happening nearby that I think I would enjoy just as much (probably more) than our kids.

We don't have a family vacation planned for the summer, but we are considering perhaps boys' first trip to Disneyland in the off season (so possibly fall if we can get everything arranged). If not, it's a definitely plan for next year while the boys are still young enough to be adorable about it (Disneyland is fun at any age, as I can attest to, but I certainly don't want to miss those super cute innocent years once they start to realize the costumed Minnie Mouse is not actually Minnie Mouse herself). And it is oh so cute seeing how much my toddler loves Minnie Mouse in particular. He also now loves horses, cows, dogs, and dinosaurs, which is an adorable contrast to his brother at this age who was more into cars, trucks, and bouncy balls.

The other thing we have planned for the end of summer and early fall is cleaning. We want to get the house in shape not just to keep it as livable as possible with toys exploding everywhere each week but also so we can eventually sell the house in a market where we would definitely make a profit, and then upgrade to a slightly larger house to be "the dream house" that our boys would grow up in now that I've gotten a raise at work and the boys are getting old enough to need more space while still being young enough to not miss the old house too too much. I told Hubby I only want to move once (at least until we're empty nesters), so the next house had better have everything we're looking for. Hard floors (I like the look of gray fake wood, but that's just me), spacious bedrooms, plenty of storage, a closet specifically for holiday decorations, and a location that's not too too far from our go-to places (parents, in-laws, favorite restaurants, desserts, and shopping experiences. We will also soon need to be considering schools as well as my oldest only has one more year of preschool before he officially starts Kindergarten!).

My preschooler has requested that any new house we buy have a toy Roomba for each floor (not a real one since Baby might accidentally turn it on and make it go too loud) and an Amazon Echo. I feel like this is doable.

It is fun to hear just what my children say at these ages now that I have a 4-year-old who is sort of aware of the world but still new to it and a 1-year-old (basically 19 months) who can talk (since my oldest didn't really start talking until after he was 2 even though he understood everything we said just fine). Every day is an episode of "Kids Say the Darnedest Things" (if you remember that old premise) because they really do. From endless why questions to the sweetest compliments, my firstborn will rattle off phrases that I know he got from me (like "silly goose") while my second born just commands us all ("Up! Sit! TV! No." It's actually pretty funny that "no" is the only thing he doesn't shout at us).

As a mid-point of the year, summer can definitely be fun, but I do look forward to the cooler weather and excitement that will come this fall, and all the exciting things my boys will learn and do.