Summer break - the list

There's a show that my boys love to watch and the theme song starts out, "There's a hundred and four days of summer vacation, then school comes along just to end it..."

So, I decided to count how many days there are for my boys.  They will be on a 'balanced' schedule next year which means they go back really early but get two whole weeks in the fall and two whole weeks in the spring.  That leaves us only 76 days of summer vacation, including the weekends!

I must admit that I never feel like I spend enough time with the boys.  Even being home with them, I feel like I am always doing something else and we aren't really making "enough" memories together.  Oddly, I'm not even sure I know what that means.  Or what I can do that will change that feeling for me. 


I don't think enough people are honest enough about what it's like to be at home.  I ran into someone recently that I hadn't talked to for years and told him I was a stay at home mom to three boys, almost 2, 4, and 6, and he said, "well, I guess that's great for you."  And I fake smiled and nodded like a crazy woman, because I think that's what people expect. 

And yes, it is great for me.  There is NOWHERE I would rather be.  My two youngest boys can be playing just fine in the other room and all of a sudden one of them comes running to me and just needs a hug.  I give that huge hug and he runs back to play.  Knowing that he needed that hug and I was the one who got to give it to him, is an awesome reminder of how blessed I am to be at home.

On the other hand, I have threatened to revamp my wardrobe to include only black and white striped  shirts and grab a whistle because I often feel more like a referree than a love giving momma.  Then there's the begging and groveling that I do when it's time to pick up toys.  That usually ends in a lot of yelling and threatening on my part.

Of course, I'd love to be paid for the hard work that I do.  Even appreciated, or respected.  I have a (newer to me) phrase lately - "respect the clean!"  Meaning, if I go to the trouble to actually clean it, could it please stay that way for more than 4.3 seconds?  There's not much motivation to scrub the bathroom sink when the very next time the boys brush their teeth there's more toothpaste visible than sink. 

I found this blog article recently and the comparison to having a career and being a stay at home mom made me chuckle.

Hmmm, I think I digressed a bit.  All this was to say that the boys and I made a list of things we want to do this summer.  For me, if it's written down it's more likely to happen.   Of course, I couldn't leave well enough alone with just a list so I made it into a little poster. 

So, watch for updates on how we spend our days.  And if you have any great suggestions for things we should do, please send them my way. 
Happy summer to all....