Summer. Summer. Summer. Summer....(envision opening of High School Musical movie) - bring it on! That last week of school nearly killed me. I dreaded finding food for lunches. I felt like some cave woman that had to forge through the rough jungle to come up with something nutritious, and if not nutritious, filling, to give to those kids! I had a lot on my plate in terms of personal stuff too and a very long list of errands to run, etc. Let's just say I was happy to have my meds! :)
Stress aside, I love summer vacation and I love having the kids around. But it's not just having the kids around that I love. I savour the irresponsibility of it all. I don't have to set my alarm now. I love that we can sleep in every day!
I can make chocolate chip pancakes on a Monday and have the time to enjoy them with the girls and not just shove a bowl of cereal or toast in front of them and be yelling at them to hurry to the bus. We get to eat our breakfasts outside during summer vacation. I love being out at our table and even tho it's no 'cottage-like setting' - there are still some flowers, a breeze and fresh air (and sometimes the smell of curry too - love my neighbours!).
Sadly, for Mikka, she is beginning the summer vacation grounded....grounded from electrical devices. No TV, computer or Dad's phone. This is hard for her. But it is now hard for me as it's easier to be grounded when school is on - we are always running around when school is in session but now she gets up and Luci is watching her show and Mikka is bummed. Oh well, maybe grounding will have more of an effect during the summer..who knows.
There are pitfalls to summer vacation. I eat too much. The kids are home and we all snack a lot. Take this morning, for instance, where I downed 3 chocolate chip pancakes! NOT COOL. We graze a lot during the summer....meal times happen whenever. Schedule is generally thrown out the window. The other problem with summer is bedtime. I let the kids stay up later...this gets in the way of my beer, bath and book time! I must work harder at forcing them into their rooms earlier in order to maximize my "me" time!
The part that drives me crazy the most over the vacation is the "when are we going to. ____? What day are we doing _____?" NON-STOP. I keep telling them, "relax....we have NO plans, things will happen when they happen!!! Quit asking or we won't go at all!!!". The big trips the girls are excited about are Centerville Island, the ROM and St. Jacobs. We have Wonderland seasons tickets so I tell them we'll go whenever we can, but the constant nattering about WHEN will probably drive me to drink before noon at some point this summer. Kids being home together all the time also creates some stress as they aren't used to it. A lot more tears happen during vacations. The kids get under each others skins and fight more. "MOM - Kamrin said this ---" , " MOM, Mikka looked at me funny", are all sentences I hear repeated frequently and drive me bonkers. Summer vacation means working on my patience too....a good lesson for us all.
The other setback to summer is the mess. Kids being home = a constant mess. This is also a lot of my fault - I need to be more on them to tidy and get their stuff cleaned up before we go or do anything. But again, this is energy expended on my behalf and to be honest, some days I am just too tired to care. But it's the next day when I do care that I go crazy with the mess.
All in all, I love summer vacation. I love the absence of a strict schedule. I love having pals for Luci to play with so I don't have to always be doing puzzles. I love doing yard work and having the kids ride their bikes around the neighbourhood. I love how we really do enjoy just being together and thinking of fun things to do. This week involves lunches with friends, trips to Wonderland and a probably a picnic down by the airport to watch planes come and go. Simple and yet so fun. I will try and force myself not to care so much about the untidy house. I will also try and quit worrying about eating too much. I will have a good time with my kids....even if it means my skinny jeans become a bit more snug!
Enjoy your summer everyone!!!
Stress aside, I love summer vacation and I love having the kids around. But it's not just having the kids around that I love. I savour the irresponsibility of it all. I don't have to set my alarm now. I love that we can sleep in every day!
I can make chocolate chip pancakes on a Monday and have the time to enjoy them with the girls and not just shove a bowl of cereal or toast in front of them and be yelling at them to hurry to the bus. We get to eat our breakfasts outside during summer vacation. I love being out at our table and even tho it's no 'cottage-like setting' - there are still some flowers, a breeze and fresh air (and sometimes the smell of curry too - love my neighbours!). Sadly, for Mikka, she is beginning the summer vacation grounded....grounded from electrical devices. No TV, computer or Dad's phone. This is hard for her. But it is now hard for me as it's easier to be grounded when school is on - we are always running around when school is in session but now she gets up and Luci is watching her show and Mikka is bummed. Oh well, maybe grounding will have more of an effect during the summer..who knows.
There are pitfalls to summer vacation. I eat too much. The kids are home and we all snack a lot. Take this morning, for instance, where I downed 3 chocolate chip pancakes! NOT COOL. We graze a lot during the summer....meal times happen whenever. Schedule is generally thrown out the window. The other problem with summer is bedtime. I let the kids stay up later...this gets in the way of my beer, bath and book time! I must work harder at forcing them into their rooms earlier in order to maximize my "me" time!
The other setback to summer is the mess. Kids being home = a constant mess. This is also a lot of my fault - I need to be more on them to tidy and get their stuff cleaned up before we go or do anything. But again, this is energy expended on my behalf and to be honest, some days I am just too tired to care. But it's the next day when I do care that I go crazy with the mess.
All in all, I love summer vacation. I love the absence of a strict schedule. I love having pals for Luci to play with so I don't have to always be doing puzzles. I love doing yard work and having the kids ride their bikes around the neighbourhood. I love how we really do enjoy just being together and thinking of fun things to do. This week involves lunches with friends, trips to Wonderland and a probably a picnic down by the airport to watch planes come and go. Simple and yet so fun. I will try and force myself not to care so much about the untidy house. I will also try and quit worrying about eating too much. I will have a good time with my kids....even if it means my skinny jeans become a bit more snug!
Enjoy your summer everyone!!!
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