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Summer Vacation, Day 1

I know that we’re way behind most of you, but today is officially our first day of summer vacation, and I’ll tell you what.

Summer vacation is kicking my trash.

Besides the hour I had this morning before the house woke up, this is the first time all day I’ve actually sat down at the computer.  It’s 1:20 in the P.M.

Now, I realize some of you maybe sitting there saying, “Yeah?  And?”

But for me, that might be a world record — for a weekday, at least.

Today I’ve written a blog post, run/walked 3 miles, made and cleaned up breakfast, printed out summer chore charts for the kids (thank you, Organizing Junkie!), gone grocery shopping (2 stores with 3 kids, at that), put away said groceries, made bread, made and cleaned up lunch, proctored a math test, read a story to my girls, and now here I am, ready to tackle my design queue.

The plan is for the kids to occupy themselves for two hours (hey, I’m a Pollyanna, what can I say?) while I work, and then we will go to the pool.  And if I’m really on the ball, I’ll have our dinner ready to throw on the grill before we leave so I have no dinner prep when I get back.

Not only have I accomplished all that, but I’ve been the model parent, if I do say so myself.  I’ve dealt with discipline issues with grace, accepted help in my baking without climbing the walls, managed to get the kids cheerfully helping out around the house, and spoken kindly to my little charges even when I wanted to pull my hair out.

It’s days like these that I feel like Wonder Woman, and I start to get all sorts of grandiose ideas of all the fabulous things I could do with my kids, but I’m not falling for it.

No, ma’am.

I learned my lesson last summer.  It all started out so beautifully, but I know how it goes.  All of this togetherness and productivity is a novelty for the first week, but by week two I’ll be ready to send them all back to school, and by week three they will be more than ready to part ways for seven hours a day.

Plus?  This is tiring.  I’m ready for a nap.

But I have miles to go before I sleep…

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12 Responses

  1. Oh gosh can I ever relate to that! This year I’m trying something different and sending them to the kids to their grandparents for a month…I think I must be crazy (or my mother must be crazy, one of the two 🙂 )

    Glad you liked the chore charts!
    Laura

  2. Oh I hear ya. I have both kids home with me twice a week and I had all kinds of plans for educational and creative experiences. The first week was great. But then I realized how much stuff I need to accomplish on those days I’m not working. So some of the educational field trips are taking a back seat to grocery store trips and dentist appointments, etc. Oh well, there’s only so much time.

  3. Dude.

    School ends tomorrow and I. am. scared. This is our first year on a public school schedule (previously we had a year round day care) and recently 40% of our day camp plans evaporated.

    If you can hear hyperventilating all the way from Boston, that’s me. xoxo

  4. We’re on week #2 and so far it’s been great. It seems to get easier every summer as they get older (they’re 7, 5, 3 1/2). I’m very very blessed to have kids that get along really well most of the time. It must have been all the brain washing I did on them to convince them that they’re best friends :). Or God knows I couldn’t handle a bunch of fighting kids.

  5. My kids aren’t even out of school yet and I’m exhausted. I’ve had field trips EVERY DAY for six days and now I just found out that I have to be in school again Wed. and Thursday morning. The teachers are going to kill me before my kids have a chance to do it!

    I hope I’m Wonder Woman next Monday, but today I’m just sleepy momma serving leftovers for dinner.
    -FringeGirl

  6. I was up early because a storm rudely woke all of us….

    I did get the house cleaned, laundry done, groceries picked up, grass mowed, car cleaned out (not washed…more rain coming!) dishwasher unloaded, and bills paid. I’m exhausted and will get pampered tomorrow when I get my haircut.

    Love summer vacation but Monday’s are my only day off…..

  7. Yesterday was our official first day too, and we started it with a trip to the library and then a stop at the local Pepperidge Farm Outlet to stock up on goldfish and day-old cinnamon swirl bread.

    We also did our first day of summer academics. I had envisioned having the little darlings sit at the dining room table to work on their stuff while I worked at my desk on my stuff. Even though I homeschooled for upteen years, I had forgotten how much time I need to spend with the preschool/early elementary age helping them. It went great, but I need to commit myself fully to being present while they work.

  8. Ya’ll are cracking me up. I homeschool so my kids are home all day, every day. The key is to schedule, schedule, schedule. I fought it for a while, but finally embraced it two years ago and it is wonderful. Our summer schedule is more relaxed, but they still do math and read. Of course we take breaks for fun outings, but our days home are scheduled and everyone is busy and there is no time for fighting. Also, my kids learned a long time ago that if they said “I’m bored” or started fighting I would give them the “if you have time to fight then you must have time for a few extra chores” speech so now I hear them telling each other to quiet down before I come give them work to do.

    1. I give mine work to do to. Usually shuts them up real fast when they say they’re bored. I am so not a scheduled person, but we are definitely putting some routines in place this summer. So far, so good. But it’s day 2, lol.

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