Summer Days are driftin' away...(thank goodness that Fall's a comin'!)

We've become really creative at making the most of our house this summer.  With the heat soaring above 100 almost everyday this month, outside is not the place I want to be, especially with a toddler and a preschooler.  Our days start out in the kitchen easing into our day.  There are many mornings that the boys will sleep until around 7 (or even later!!), and it has been so wonderful not to have to sleepwalk through breakfast. 

Since our trip to NC, I've taken to having a hot cup of tea in the mornings (when I have time to enjoy it).  I know that it sounds contradictory to complain about the heat of summer while sipping on hot darjeeling tea.  But, I've come to really enjoy this small, sweet tradition.

Gradually, after breakfast, the boys are coralled into the den or dining room(a.k.a. temporary playroom), so I can enjoy said tea and daddy can read the paper.  Before, only headlines got read and I ate breakfast standing up, back and forth while putting out sibling rivalry fires during this time; but, lately, a remarkable thing has happened.  Connor has begun engaging Aidan in his games!!  Yay!  Praise the Lord!  I never thought that this day would come.  Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of snatching and whining and crying too, but just watching the beginning of their brother evolution (or revolution) is so beautiful.  The fears that I've had about Connor's attitude toward Aidan makes this seem like a miracle to me. 

Since I've started back two days a week to work, I haven't gotten as stir-crazy as before; but, I still find myself, most days, planning at least one outing a day either mid-morning or after naptime.  Our favorite places are still the museum and, of course the old stand-bys, Target and HEB.  I haven't taken them to the library as much as I thought that I would.  Aidan's personality is so curious and stubborn, that whenever I'm there with all those narrow aisles and tempting books shelved within reach, he is pretty much impossible to control unless I give in to his temptation to pull every last book off the shelf that he can reach--which would likely get me a crusty look from the librarian.  Strapping him into the stroller buys me only about 10 minutes before his impatient, loud protests to explore starts--another crusty from the lady behind the counter.  If I do happen to land him in a spot away from the stacks that entices him for a few minutes, he inevitably finds some gross thing on the floor to put in his mouth, like a millipede (last week)---ewwww!

All in all, summer mornings have been relatively great.  Still, the cooler weather cannot get here fast enough for me.  I'm looking forward to spending a lot of time in the yard with the boys this fall!