Kids at home, Day 1

We decided to keep both kids home the month of August. Save a little money, give Jack a break before he started kindergarten. Seemed like a good idea at the time. So I'm going to be writing about it a lot.

Today they watched TV from about 7:30 until 9 in the morning, while I did a little work. That will probably be a recurring theme. I'm not really awake anyway, plus I've got to clear my plate of some work type things.

We then had 2nd breakfast (for them; 1st breakfast for me). Cereal, frozen waffles/pancakes, fruit. I think they could basically eat cereal all day long. Jack asked for a third bowl of cereal this morning, while his pancakes were in the toaster. Exasperated, I said, No. He said, "Why?" like he could fathom no reason why eating half a box of cereal was a bad thing. We need to shop at Costco more.

After breakfast, Jack wanted to play with his clay, given to him by Nana and Baba. I had advised him to wait until Kate's nap, but he said it would be OK. After 10 minutes of her grabbing clumps of clay and mashing them together, and him saying "No, Kate," he sighed and said to me, "You were right, Daddy." Score.

We were going to go for a walk, but it rained for about 5 or 10 minutes, so instead they played in the playroom. Kate was acting like she wanted to nap, which was odd since it was about 10:30 and she'd slept until 6:15 or so (good for her). It had cleared up, so I thought we might go for that walk. We headed upstairs to get dressed and I took a quick shower.

Came out to find Jack had gone back downstairs and Kate was in Jack's room. Asleep. On his bed, from which the sheets had been stripped. It was 11 a.m. about 2 hours before she normally naps. So I got dressed, went downstairs, and Jack and I made things with his clay. He made an impressive little family of penguins, which we baked in the oven. He was pleased.

We went outside to play with these scoop game toys Emily had bought. Jack couldn't get the ball to go forward, but rather off to his side. It was tricky. He told me, "Daddy, you should stand over there," at his side. I did, and of course he turned, tried to throw it to me, and it went off to the side again. He laughed.

We opted for a variation on the game, where we threw the ball at the small basketball hoop with the scoops. Absolutely impossible to get it in. Finally we stood about three feet away and I slammed the ball and scoop through the net. Jack cracked up, and then did the same thing.

Kate woke up and we had lunch and went to the beach. I figured, well, Kate's already had her nap, so we can sit around for 4 hours and probably get cranky and whiny (and they wouldn't be much better) or go to the beach. So we did.

We hadn't been to the beach for at least 2 weeks (seemed longer), but they acted like they'd never been away. Both started walking down to the water with their pails and shovels while I was still assembling the umbrella. Kate went right up to her ankles (I ran after her and splashed water). I say this because our kids aren't necessarily the most daring in the world. But they've really taken to the ocean thanks to the frequency with which we go, and it's awesome and gratifying. We played in the water like it was nothing, which was not the case at the beginning of the summer.

Jack splashed me. Kate splashed Jack. Jack splashed Kate. Kate thought about crying, then instead splashed me. Jack tried to clamber onto my back. Kate wanted to be bounced up and down in the water. We all walked out to this sandbar where given the time and more adult help I'd have staged a picture that made it look like they could walk on water. It was pretty cool. Jack wanted to go out deeper, but it would have been over Kate's head so we didn't.

We had snacks, Dora fruit bites and grapes and juice boxes. Then they ran back to the water. My magazine went unread.

Did not find the hat Jack lost a few weeks back. The people at the lifeguard shack where there might have been a Lost and Found looked at me like I was joking. My son lost a hat here two weeks ago.... I may as well have been asking if they'd found the Ark of the Covenant.

In the car on the way home from the beach, Jack asked for the Boat that Rocked soundtrack, and he jammed in the back seat to '60s and '70s rock.

We turned it off as we approached home. A sun-kissed and half-sleepy Kate started singing Jack's Stewie the Duck song. "Don't...jump...in...till you know...how to swim...Cover your chest...with the safe...life...vest..."