Thursday, May 23, 2013

Summer Session

The kids have 4 and a half days left of school.  That sounds like a long time still to them - to me, it sounds imminent!  Here are some things I am looking forward to about summer, and a few things that have me shaking in my boots:

No alarm clocks!  Love the "sleeping in" till 7ish now that the kids are older.  They can go downstairs and amuse themselves while I catch some more beauty sleep.  Because I can seriously use it.

Freedom and flexibility!  Summer brings the chance to do some spur of the moment fun activities, without worry over homework and early bedtimes.

Messy house.  Boo to the hoo on this one.  No matter how I try, the house never feels very put together when all the kids are home all the time.  They each have their daily chore lists, including cleaning, but it still never quite feels picked up.

Fewer socks in the laundry!  I feel liberated when the kids start wearing flip flops daily - my twice-weekly laundry folding goes much more quickly!

Dirtier floors.  While the above joy over fewer socks is valid, those flip-flop wearing kids get some seriously filthy feet.  Which of course transfers to my hardwood floors.

Vacation, camp, family reunions!  Endless possibilities for family time lies in front of us each summer.  We are looking forward to camping, sleep away camp for the older kids, VBS, swimming lessons. . .the list of fun activities goes on and on.

Sibling Rivalry.  Our boys seem to have a penchant for riling each other up.  In the summer, with fewer periods apart, the brothers can really get at each other.  Cue mommy with distractions and disciplinary action . . .if she's on her game.  If not, well, it can get ugly.

Mommy's Nights.  When summer is drawing to a close, I take each child out to buy his/her school supplies.  We each get our own night together - we get dinner or ice cream and buy all the fresh, new supplies for the new school year.  The kids talk about Mommy's night throughout the whole year.  I adore these nights and soak in the one-on-one time with each of my children.

Sunscreen.  While it is seriously important and we never fail (my husband is the sunscreen king!) to use it, I really, really don't like putting it on the kids.  Especially at the beach.  The mess, the fussing, the stickiness.  Ick.

Togetherness.  We might have our moments (who doesn't?), but it is wonderful to be together and spend time as a family.  Bring it on, summer!

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