And We'll Have Fun, Fun, Fun...

So let's see if I have this straight...my last post was an apology for being a "bad blogger" and yet I have now let another month go by without a post. Apparently I'm going for Ultimate Bad Blogger now. It's good to have goals.

Rest assured that all is (basically) well in our part of the world. The reason for bad blogging is directly related to good parenting. See, it's summer and with the three kids home and angling for some good quality time with mom, my priorities are right there, right now. It's all about the kids. Which is good...except when it isn't. I'm having a little trouble adjusting to the change in routine. I LOVE having the kids home during the days, with all the fun summer activities available to us to take or leave as we please. It's just that Mom time takes a major back burner and sometimes when I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror as I'm rushing by, I think "Who is that woman? I haven't seen her much lately." I've taken to calling myself "Julie, your cruise director" recently, which is a nice shout-out for all you "Love Boat" fans but which basically flies over the heads of my children who don't even know what a "Love Boat" is (and perhaps it's better that way). I'm all about the activity planning and making sure everyone is having another summer to remember.

During the summer, we try to achieve a nice balance of outings and "bigger" events (a day at Six Flags Great America, trips to the zoo and museums, local festivals, etc) with some low-key activities at home (playing in the pool, games in the backyard, bike rides, making s'mores in the fire pit, etc). The kids each have a couple special things they are doing as well. The girls are in a local swim club which meets for practice from 7-9 a.m. (for Annie) and 8-9 (for Caroline) three mornings a week. There is a nice Mom-time bonus attached to that, though, as it meets at the health club where I work out, so I drop Theo off to play with some of his friends in their supervised kids' area and I work out while the girls are swimming. We've been doing that for a couple weeks and it's going well so far. At least my workouts aren't suffering during the summer! If anything, they have ramped up with the addition of more bike riding, working in the yard, taking walks, etc. in addition to my time at the gym.

In addition to swim club for the girls, Theo has a few activities lined up this summer, including one week each of baseball and basketball and a once-weekly Tae Kwon Do class with Daddy! Yes, they are taking the class together. How cool is that?

Each of the kids has one week of camp this summer as well. Annie will be doing a week of band camp (I know, I know: "This one time...at band camp..."), Caroline is doing a week of overnight camp for the first time at the camp Annie attended (and loved) last year and Theo is doing a week of day camp at the local YMCA camp for the first time (and he is beyond excited). They are all looking forward to their week of camp (each one during a different week, so the other two kids will get extra time with mom during those weeks that their sibling is away).

Our other obsession of ours during the summer is most definitely the library. We are there at least 2-3 times a week for special programs or just to check out books. They offer some wonderful programs throughout the summer, all of them free, and I am thrilled that we have not one but two wonderful libraries near us to utilize! We do a LOT of reading during the summer. I have to admit that I actually read more in the summer than I do during the school year. When the kids are at school, I don't seem to allow myself the "luxury" of reading for pleasure during the day (except maybe while I eat my lunch), but during the summer, while the kids are in the pool, I have to be out there supervising anyway so I always have a book handy. I call it "forced relaxation" and it can be a beautiful thing!

I'm pleased to say that the summer doesn't seem to be rushing by quite as much as years past. I felt more prepared going into it this year, with lists of activity ideas for the kids to do when they say "I'm bored", posted chore charts for what needs to be done each day by each child and some general plans of things we hope to do during the course of the summer. That planning has already paid off during these first 2 1/2 weeks and things are fairly peaceful around here for the most part. Yes, we're busy and yes, we're putting some miles on the car (ouch with the gas prices), but things are fairly balanced and everyone (including Mom) is pretty content. I'm a bit lacking in the "me" time department and yes, I get a little tired of yelling "Close the door!" for the tenth time in one day (at what age do they start realizing that doors don't close themselves??). But my kids are growing up way too fast, with Annie off to middle school (middle school, people!) in September, Caroline off to fifth grade and Theo headed to first. The years are ticking away and my kids still like hanging out with me, so who am I to wish it away and complain that I don't have enough time to blog? My goal is to ramp up the writing (blogging, freelancing, etc) in September but for now, I'll be in and out sporadically and I hope you will all understand. For that matter, since I know many of you who read my blog also have your kids at home this summer, is anyone even reading this? :)

Well, if you are, enjoy the moments. Make memories. Catch some fireflies. Make s'mores. Snuggle under a blanket to "ooh and ahh" over the fireworks. Ride on a ferris wheel. Make bubbles. Build a sandcastle. Splash in a pool. Go to the local ice cream parlor in your pajamas. Take a family bike ride. Pick berries. Marvel at how your kids are growing and changing. Don't let it slip away too quickly. Those buses will be picking them up again before we know it.