When Summer Break Comes Knockin'...

*I actually had this written last Friday, a week ago, but am just now getting it posted. I almost didn't post it because I'm in a much better place, but since these are the types of posts that I always get the most feedback from, I figured I'd go ahead and run it. Enjoy.


I've been grumpy and sad the past little while. Combination of things.

Maybe it has to do with this sort of thing that transpired, seemingly overnight, on my back porch:

Honestly, this was totally clean about one week earlier. And then, DISASTER.

The kids were quiet. And, voila!

Or maybe it has to do with PMS {curse, curse, swear, swear}

And I know it has to do with the fact that friends are going through really hard stuff and that breaks my heart.


Of course this plays into it - my eldest generally being really mean to her younger brother. Mean words, mean tone. She pushes him down when she doesn't think I'm looking but I really am looking. She then denies it. And then throws a fit saying I always stick up for him.


And my youngest. Well, let's just say he sees how his sister acts and talks and he's starting to mimic her. And that makes me really sad. And mad.


With all that being said, I have rather mixed feelings about summer break. {If I'm being completely honest, which is one of my main goals in life.}


Here's what will make me happy about Summer Break ...

I will love the fact that we don't have to race out the door at 8:35am to sit in traffic to get Maddie to school on time. And I won't have to scrounge up a lunch for Maddie at the crack of dawn. And we'll get to sleep in {who am I kidding - since WHEN have my children ever slept in.} And our days won't be choppy with dropping one kid off at school at 9am, one at 11am, picking one up at 1:45pm and then the other one at 2:45pm. We'll get to be together the whole day.

And then the hard part about summer break coming is the same sentence of that last paragraph. WE'LL BE TOGETHER THE WHOLE DAY.

Every day.

From June 17 through Labour Day Monday.

Thirteen plus hour days.

Together.

And that will be lovely {in a truly delightful way} and just lovely {said with a smidge of sarcasm}...


I sound like a very bad, mean mommy, don't I? I promise I'm not. I'm just honest, is all. The relentlessness of mothering makes me very sleepy. And a touch irritable.


Enter new attitude:::::::

I am takin' THIS summer by storm. By hook or by crook I AM going to be NUMBER ONE FUN MOMMY. I'm bringin' my "A" game to Summer 2011.

I've already started my Word document entitled "Summer Fun" where I'm collecting ideas. Places we will go. Food we will make. Crafts we will craft. Bike paths we will travel.


We'll make our great big huge "Summer Fun List" to hang on the back porch. {I'm sure I got this idea years ago over at Megan's "Whatever" blog. Hello one of my favorite blogs EVER. Go check it out and get lost in her archives. Very fun. Very honest. Very real mommy of 5.}


I'm going to have some routine built into this summer. We will do a bit of school every day. Maddie needs the practice in math, just building her confidence, especially in multiplication - she needs to memorize and just know those facts frontwards and backwards. And Jackson, we're gonna hit the reading hard. He knows words and loves books, so we're making that connection this summer.


And I'm going to build in some 'alone' time. More for me than the kids. Ummm, I'm the mom and I get to say what we're doing. So, alone time right smack dab in the middle of the afternoon might help with the fun factor. A LOT.


Of course there's the usual exercise thing - bike rides, walks, etc. That's a given. And we got a bike rack for our mini-mini and THAT is going to open up a whole new world of fun.


And there will be beach trips and the zoo and the Botanic Gardens, etc. And we're for sure doing the fireworks at Navy Pier one night this summer. I can promise you that.


And then there's "The Lake."

We'll be there most every other weekend, including traditions like Maddie's birthday week, and 4th of July weekend.

We'll do Rock Lake in Canada in August with my family. Yeah for my home and native land. { I just broke out in song.}

Well howdy-doodie.

I'm already in a better mood just listing the fun that we are GONNA have.

When summer break comes knockin' THIS particular Mama is gonna be FUN. I mean a whole lotta fun. It's a mind game people and this year, 2011, my MIND is set for FUN.

And I know you're gonna be fun, too, right? Do you have your game plan yet? Come on, join the fun. Be fun like you know you are. Be that mom that your kids call fun.

I think that TOGETHER we can do this. Let's share ideas. Let's remind each other to be fun. All day, every day, all summer long! 

Want to?

Pretty please?

Oh, and lest you panic at the sight of my back porch from earlier in this post, 45 minutes took care of that problem ....

And THIS is where "Summer School Fun" will happen.

So lah-dee-dah folks.

Let's look back on 2011 as the Summer We Were Fun.