The morning routine ended with dancing. Joel asked me to dance with him and midway through a fast song, plopped down on my bed and said, “Watch Mommy dance!” Yeah, nothing like being put on the spot.

Juggling life with school and two young toddlers is interesting. Chalice doesn’t seem to hold a 2nd nap in high esteem, so this morning I nixed her first nap with splendid results. We went on an outing and wore out her busy big brother instead. We started off at the library, since David and I have both read the kids’ books to them several thousand times. I let Joel pick out ten books and Chalice bopped around. Then we walked over to a new Christian coffee place that I’ve been curious about. The baristas welcomed the kids with little cups of animal crackers and showed us to the little white picket-fenced play area with cute little tables and legos and puzzles. I enjoyed a delightful beverage and finally lured Joel away from the fun with descriptions of the park. I changed one poopy diaper in the car and felt like such an organized mother since I actually had my hand sanitizer with me for a change! We walked over to the park and Chalice surprised me by going down a big slide by herself. It was much warmer than yesterday and I wished my second layer were presentable. I so enjoy the companionship of my little ones. It seems like a major feat to be able to get the kids around without a stroller. Joel has just started to be more obedient in terms of following me and Chalice likes to walk some of the time too.

I fed the kids lunch and kept Chalice from falling asleep in her highchair. Joel was all too eager to read five of his new library books with me before I insisted on his naptime. Joel loves Curious George, probably because kids seem to like things about themselves and George seems very familiar. “Joel is a good little monkey, but always very curious….” Around two, I was able to hit the books and get started on my very last reading assignment for the eighth paper on terrorism. I now know way more than I ever wished to know on the topic of terrorism. I look forward to finishing up this course…soon! David arrived home from work a little early, and just as I was beginning to need a break from all that reading! I fixed us all a healthy dinner and chocolate chip cookies and we went miniature golfing as a family. Joel and Chalice added extra obstacles to our course. It was a good day!