Summer Time

Summer fever has hit. I don't want to be inside. The pool calls me. Unfortunately there is much to be done in the house. Ugh. I'm busy cleaning because friend (distant cousin) is coming to stay with the girls this weekend as Hubby and I are off to his parents' 60th wedding anniversary. This nice young lady will be staying in our bedroom (the room that traditionally doesn't have to be spotless when guests come). So I scrubbed the bath down yesterday. Today the bedroom (including dusting the ceiling fan and washing the curtains). I'd hate for someone to feel like the house was dirty. We're really not going to be gone long but having someone here to be an adult and a deterent to poor choices brings peace of mind.

Next weekend is Mother's Day. One of my favorite holidays. I've received some great gifts over the years. One year, the Singer made me a powerpoint presentation about how she was glad I was her mom. Another year, the Imp made a poster board with drawings of our whole family being happy together. In many ways, Mother's Day is a celebration of family, not just me. The added benefit for me is my birthday is just a few days after Mother's Day, so I tend to get a week of celebration and the two sort of mesh together. I enjoy being the center of attention and look forward to see what creative things my kids have done for me. This year, I've asked for a crepe myrtle tree and various other plants as well as a Dirt Devil broom/vac. Coupons are big gift items in this house. That is, homemade coupons. I've requested a coupon for someone else to clean the kitchen floor and a week of someone else planning the meals (I'll even help cook them, just someone else please decide).

While Mother's Day is on my mind, I've also been busy working on the girls' Summer Survival Kit. It has become a tradition they won't let me drop. It started probably 7 or 8 years ago. Both girls were in school and I bought a small tote for each of them and put in a gift card to the movies, a gift card for the book store, a gift card for an ice cream, sunscreen (each having their own personal bottle has helped them put it on), sand toys for the beach, some sort of activity book, all-day TV coupon, PJ day coupon, no chore day coupon, and a slip of paper for each camp (usually one or two) they were attending that summer. This has helped them not ask for so much over the summer as what's in their bag is what I'm willing to give towards their summer entertainment. In addition, when they were younger, this is where I introduced however we would track their summer reading. One year I made a bunch of circles out of construction paper (about 3-inch diameter). I turned one circle from each girl's stack into a bookworm's head. As they read a book we'd write down the title and author and add it to their worm. It let them see how many books they'd read.
I love the summer when schedules are calmer and there's more time to just be with each other. The school year gets so hectic. It's hard to balance having time to do nothing with having the girls participate in things they enjoy. Even with as busy as they are, both have given up activities they enjoy. There is so much out there. Swim is their big activity, requiring 3 practices a week per girl (M,T,W for the Imp and MWTh for the Singer) but requiring someone to be at the pool 4 days a week. It's such a great activity for both of them but it certainly is time consuming. Summer is the time for them to get bored and then figuring out something fun to do. TV, computer and video games have pretty strict time limits over the summer (during the school year they're so busy, it's really not necessary to limit it...but summertime would have them become coach potatoes. Not because they don't enjoy other things, but it's the path of least resistance.) The Imp's last day of school is May 17. The Singer has exams until May 23. The countdown has begun around here. The Singer is preparing for her AP exams now and is trying hard to control her stress level.