How to entertain your toddler in AZ during the summer...

So as of today, I am officially a stay at home mom! I never thought this day would come. Over the past year, we worked hard so that I could stay home as much as possible. And God has provided because of our faithfulness to raising Nathan to become all that God has created him to be. I know we still have a long way to go, but I love being around my kid! I love that we could be outside at a park and he will randomly just run up to me and give a big hug before going off to play again. Or he comes home from and outing with Joel and he runs up to me and rubs my leg to tell me he loves me. If you haven't figured it out my son's love language is touch. Not sure if you really can know at the age of 1 but I can tell that's how Nathan expresses it and that's how he likes to receive it! And I cherish it daily!

So now that I am at home full time, I am thinking of trying to find ways to entertain my very active little boy in 100 degree weather. So I am looking at a ton of indoor, either free or very inexpensive ways, to do something with him everyday. If you are in AZ and thinking the same thing for this summer, let me tell you what I have found!

Starting next week, Nathan and I will be joining a parent/tot gymnastics class. I found a wonderful Christian place for $6 a class! Very nice. A friend of mine and her son are joining with me. I am so excited for this one.

If you can invest in an annual pass to your local zoo, you should. We pay $50 for the whole year for a family pass. And if you go before 11 am you can still be outside in reasonable temperatures. We go at least once a week in the morning for about an hour. About 30 min. after the zoo opens the animals are at their most active! Nathan loves it. And for members, during the summer, the zoo opens at 7 am. Its great to just walk around and enjoy even though some animals aren't awake and out yet.

Lastly, look online for a schedule of story time at your local library. Every Weds. Nathan and I go to the toddler story time. Totally free! the nice thing is that its right next to an awesome park, so Nathan and I go their first, walk over to the library, then come home and eat really fast or take a nap depending on how worn out he is!



The other two days, when Joel is not home, we have grocery shopping and our local neighborhood pool that has a toddler pool in it! We also have our backyard with a sand box and a lawn and swing. So as you can see there is plenty to do in AZ.

We will also be making special trips to the indoor inflatable play zone and free play time at the gymnastics studio that we are going to start attending. The best thing, is that theses are all offered in the morning. Perfectly timed right before lunch and nap time! And the added bonus, Nathan takes super long naps on days like these! I think I spend a total of $8 a week on all the activities. Its going to make the summer go by extra fast and for that I am grateful! I hate how hot it gets here. Let me know if you need more info. I would be glad to help.

The Long Awaited Update....

I have been waiting for months to write this blog because of a few things. One, I wanted to write about our kitchen remodel (still not done), I wanted to write about Nathan and our family, and I wanted to write about the big change coming to the Zehring household.

So the kitchen isn't done yet, so that is for another blog...

Moving on.

Nathan is huge! He is 19 months and growing like a weed! My mom just came to visit and she bought some clothes that she thought would fit in a couple of months but he had to wear them now! He is in the 75% for weight and the 90% for height. He is learning new words every week. Right now his favorite words are outside, bus, truck, and banana. He can't say hi or bye bye but we get these words daily. Such a boy!



I am good. I have been watching another little boy for the past few months two days a week and now that has finished up for the year too. Nathan and the other boy had so much fun together. They are only 3 months a part and really brought out the best in each other! I loved it. I was also subbing about once a week but now the school year is wrapping up and with that so is subbing.



Joel is finishing up his school year, tutoring on the side and still working at Target. This is actually the news that I have been waiting to tell you. There is no shock that all the school districts in the US are experiencing financial hardships. We are among those here in AZ. Because of this, Joel has yet to experience a year without a pay cut and also has yet to experience a pay raise! So after A LOT of prayer and guidance and seeing that our budget just can't be cut any more and working full time myself with Nathan in full time day care was just not an option for us, Joel decided to pursue management at Target.

This started back in March. Joel talked with his store manager to see if he was a possible candidate, and he jumped on it and recruited Joel right away. The timing seemed to be all God. His store manager told Joel that he was perfect for the job and with his experience he would probably get paid way more than starting salary. So we started the process. Joel shadowed another manager for the day, then submitted an application, and got a call for an interview within a couple of days. His store manager also put in a good word for Joel too. Joel went through a series of four interviews. All of them went really fast and we were sort of spoiled by the quick turn around.

However, the waiting began after that. Whether or not they would offer Joel the job. Finally a couple of weeks ago, Joel got a call from his store manager with an offer. It was the exact amount we needed to hear! And the added blessing, a possible pay increase in 6-9 months with an annual bonus in April of next year! Wow! Going from 4 years without a pay increase because of budgets to all of sudden 2 pay increases in one year of working! What a blessing. Oh and the most important blessing of all, Joel will have 2 days off a week! He hasn't had that consistently since we moved to Tucson! I get to stay home full time with Nathan (however, I will sub when Joel is home so we don't need to pay for childcare).

So that is our news for now. June 7th is Joel's first day as an Executive Team Leader at Target. However, we are still waiting to hear where he will be located. Hopefully close!

Thank you for those who knew and prayed for us during this time! Its been one of trusting God in how he will provide. Our motto through it all and continues to be it is, " we know God will provide, its all a matter of how."