Kids playing contentedly June 26, 2014

Yes, yes. This is what I need. This is what the kids need. To play at home contentedly; to get along with each other reasonably well; to enjoy outings but enjoy being at home as well.

Today the kids have been playing at home all day, up until the present (1 p.m). A few hours were spent with a neighbor playmate; the rest of the time they have been alone. There have been a few skittishes, but otherwise it’s been smooth sailing.

For me, I have so many things to do (lots of cooking; laundry; assembling products to sell for my business; doing work at my computer) that I need this time at home. Not to mention the fact that we will have company tomorrow (hello, housecleaning) and we are going out of town the day after tomorrow (hello, laundry and packing).

I believe that in previous generations, children have had to entertain themselves at home much of the time. Such a shocking concept, but one that I wholeheartedly practice in my home.

This summer: What I have decided June 23, 2014

This summer, I generally use mornings to do cooking, laundry, general tidying, grocery shopping, and other things that need attention like phoning to make appointments and making plans for things that are coming up such as birthdays or trips.

(At our house, there is PLENTY of cooking to do; we don’t generally eat grains, so that rules out pasta, cold cereal, hot cereal, bread, crackers, granola bars, and other quick and easy staples of the American diet.)

Since my kids are age 8 and 5, and they are ‘always’ with me, what do they do during mornings? They do their own list of morning chores and they also entertain themselves. I have decided that this summer is not going to be endless excursions to do fun things. Don’t get me wrong — we go to the local pool as often as we can, and do other activities as well, but I am in charge of running huge amounts of household stuff, and I need time to do so.

If we are always out at library story time and playground meet-ups, not to mention recurring commitments such as swim lessons and t-ball, when am I going to take care of my responsibilities? No way do I want to be doing laundry at 9 p.m., unless there is a good reason to do so, like an upcoming trip we are packing for.

I consider this my Mommy Declaration of Independence.

“I am already done with summer” June 14, 2014

There is a mom who wrote an article stating that she is already done with summer. I’ve never met her, but I love her.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/melissa-fenton/10-ways-to-give-your-kids-an-honest-to-goodness-1970s-summer_b_5484462.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000037

The Summer Schedule

Wow, the summer schedule is complicated and intense this time around. Every few days, I try to block out the chaos around me so I can sit down and figure out what we are doing on what day; make appointments; communicate with the MIL about which day the kids will go to her house for dinner. and we are not even all that busy with ‘activities’  and trips compared to a lot of families! June is especially tough since DH is taking a semester’s worth of class in one month; this puts virtually all of the household and childcare responsibilities on me virtually all of the time.

I find myself wondering: Do other moms have to do this as well? This intense effort to get a grip on the schedule?