Advanced English Conversation: Daily Routine English

a lot in college. Alright, let's move on to our next question, which is... oh, we only have two more questions, we're almost there. "What do you do in your free time with the children?" So there's a little bit of weirdness to this question because it doesn't feel like free time when you're with the kids. Free time is when it's quiet and you're alone and you can do whatever you want. But I get it, it means when you're not cooking, or taking them to school and stuff like that. Dan: When you're just having fun with your kids.

Vanessa: What do we do   as a family? What kind of free time things do we do as a family? Dan: Yes. Well, for my kids, even when you have free time with them, a lot of times it's about child management. Like my youngest son, he needs some physical time, so I'll wrestle him, throw him on the bed and all that. So you need a little bit of that. And Theo intervenes sometimes too. But Theo is much more cunning. So he likes to do puzzles and play board games and stuff like that...and color, color, color, color.

And then I'll sit down and do that with him a lot. Although you usually do that with him because the other one needs some action, or he might go a little crazy on you. Vanessa: Usually Dan throws Freddie on the bed while I color with Theo. I would say that we also do a lot of earthly things, like digging in the dirt, planting things, pulling up weeds, walking through the forest and discovering things under the leaves, this type of earthly play. Also, it's something we like to do, but I think normally it's when we go out and try to be outside, like 80% of the day at home, we're outside a lot.

And we are very lucky, we have a nice yard and an area where we can play. The last few days, our kids spent hours digging a trench, filling it with water, kicking up mud, and making a mud wall. . And at the same time he was weeding the garden, pulling out weeds and preparing it for winter. And you were... Dan: Sometimes, they help us a little. Vanessa: Yes, it's like being in the same area together. Dan: It also improves your mood to be outside. Vanessa: Yes. Yes. I think when I want to do something fun with the kids, we usually go to a park that has nature, like a stream, and you skip rocks and the kids splash in the stream, and I'll be with the baby, or you'll be with the baby. and we will play.

Dan: Yes. They love going to a stream, playing in the water, in general. Vanessa: Yes. I think it's not really my favorite thing to do kid-specific things, like going to a children's museum, or going to... I don't know, even a playground is fine. Our kids don't really like playgrounds, I think they like to go and see... Dan: They go everywhere where the other things are around the playground. Vanessa: ...go see the ducks by the lake. Dan: They really like swings, though. Vanessa: The swings are good. Yes, I think in those busy places where there are so many activities, you could paint here and then there are things that shine with light here and there are animal puppets here, like children's museums, I feel overwhelmed, my children feel overwhelmed. ...Can you guess why I'm reading the book The Highly Sensitive Person?

And yes, then they just cry or complain and it doesn't help. That's not fun for anyone. So generally, slower activities, inviting a friend to go on a hike with us, that kind of thing is generally what I prefer to do. If that is all. Alright, are you ready for the last question? Dan: I'm ready. Vanessa: Drum roll...   "Do you feel like a different woman after having three children?" Dan: Oh yeah, actually. After the third one, I finally became a woman. Yes. Vanessa: This question is obviously for me, but they gave some very specific things here. "Do you feel like a different woman after having three children, more mature, more empathetic, changes in your hobbies, media,

daily

decisions?

Dan: estrogen levels." Vanessa: It's true that they say that when a man is around a baby, or you're around children, your testosterone levels go down and therefore you become more loving and tender. Dan: You could say, feminine. Vanessa: Ooh. Alright. So yes, the answer is obviously yes, I am a different woman after having three children. But I think there is a really beautiful thing, I don't know if it's a proverb, or a phrase I've heard, that when a baby is born, a mother is also born. So it's like this page turning event. And I remember, when we were taking a childbirth class for our first child, when I was pregnant with our first child, the teacher, she gave me this idea of ​​thinking about your life, different events that you felt were a before and after.

So maybe it was like your first day of school was really impressionable for you, and you felt like that was a big change for you, or maybe when you first went to high school, you thought, "I have my little friends and it's good". "Then you went to high school, there was a big school and you felt really different, or you moved to a new city. Those are page-turning events. And he framed it as if, when you have, especially your first child, it becomes The page has turned. And there is no turning back, there is no change.

There are obviously many physical, emotional and hormonal changes, but it is also that you are still a different person, but this page has passed and you are Vanessa, the mother. Yes, I think that is the positive way to look at your life, it is not the same, you are not the same, but there are many of these moments in life that change you, and it is your choice if they will change you for the better or worse. , and that's why you try to make the most of it. So yes, I would say that I am still a different person, but I am a different flavor of myself.

Yes. Do you think I am a different woman after having three children, or just children at that. general? Dan: Of course, kids. Yes. After the third... Well, since pregnancy is so difficult for you, I think it seems like a burden has been lifted from your shoulders. Vanessa: Yeah, not being pregnant is great. Dan: Yes. But   as for a third child... I don't know. I can only speak for myself because I feel like our family is complete. She is like the icing on the cake for our family. Vanessa: Oh, our baby. Dan: Yeah, she's very sweet. But yeah, I can't say that with the third child she noticed a big change in you.

Vanessa: Yes. I think the biggest change is having your first child. Going from not being a mother to being a mother is the biggest change. Dan: Yeah, sure. Vanessa: Very good, thank you very much for joining me in all these questions. Dan: You're welcome. Vanessa: If you have other questions that we haven't answered, this is your challenge, in the comments, ask us a question about

daily

life, daily

routine

s. Maybe you have questions about life in the US, maybe you have questions about us personally that we can answer from our own personal experiences. Leave it in the comments and maybe we'll make another video like this.

And a vocabulary version of this video will be published in a few weeks. So all the expressions that you saw appear here, I will explain them in that vocabulary video. So be sure to subscribe to the Speak English with Vanessa YouTube channel so you can be notified when that video goes live. Improve your vocabulary, your skills, have excellent

conversation

skills, you can do it. And don't forget to download the free PDF worksheet, here on Dan's face, with all the great questions asked today, vocabulary, definitions, and additional sample sentences so you can use them yourself. And at the end of this free PDF worksheet, you can answer Vanessa's challenging question so you never forget what you've learned.

You can click the link in the description to download that free PDF worksheet today. Well, thank you very much Dan. Dan: You're welcome. Vanessa: We've been on a trip today. Dan: Yeah. It was fun. I liked to go blind. Vanessa: Oh yeah. Well. Well, maybe we'll do this again, let us know. Thank you very much and see you again next Friday for a new lesson here on my YouTube channel. Bye bye. Dan: Bye. Vanessa: But wait, do you want more? I recommend watching this video below, a

conversation

with Dan about education. Do you know why Dan didn't go to school until he was 13?

Find out in that video and see you there.