Summer in Review

When I wrote my rules for summer way back in June, I thought I was so cutting edge. I threw away my routine, opened the doors, said "yes," and we had a great summer. Like, really great. For fun on this first week back to school (which is technically still summer, so I refuse to acknowledge fall is here. But that's really for two reasons: That means Mr. C turns 2 and Miss turns 4, and I just can't really handle that truth right now), let's take a look at how we did with following my "rules," shall we?

As 'cutting edge' I thought I was, and as much fun as we did have, I'm quite sure I underestimated my need for routine and planning, even through the summer. That being said, let's go through the list and see how it went...

Throw Away the Schedule
All right. I like a routine. Like, I actually write everything I need to do each day, including "Do Laundry" and "Vacuum," and I review it each day to make sure I'm on track. Don't believe me?

And I cross off things as they happen. Seriously.

There you have it. That being said, we had so many fun days of just wearing pj's till noon, playing without direction, and getting up and going on a whim. Was it fun? YES. Am I ready for schedules and routines and regular activities throughout the week? YES. I. AM.

The best part of all of this, was that I learned that Miss E is exactly the same way. Mr. C? Couldn't care less. But my girl and I are cut from the same cloth. I found on the weeks she had activities scheduled (we did a ballet camp and a few swim camps), our days just ran more smoothly. I guess my girl and I just had a better sense of purpose when there was something predetermined.

Less structure meant more time for reading here...

And here...

And left room for "hair dresser shop." Mr. C loved it.

Try to Say 'Yes' More
I'm going to give myself an A for effort on this one. Throwing away the schedule helped me say 'yes' way more than I normally would have, and at the same time it helped me realize that I really do restrict what the kiddos do just so it makes my life easier. That is not what I want them to remember when they're older. I want them to remember the little things momma did to make them feel special. And sometimes that means ice cream right before bed or another episode of Super Why. Because, why not? It was summer!

"Can we stop by the beach on our way home?" YES.

"Can we go up on the rocks?" YES.

"Want to go on a tour of the Capitol Building?" No brainer! YES!

Read More Books
Well, I joined a book club. So that helped. But I actually read WAY more than I have since the kids came along. It was great. Highs included Jillian Flynn's Gone Girl and Sharp Objects, as well as What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty. I also read The Vacationers by Emma Straub which was just meh for me. I keep reading and re-reading Parenting the Wholehearted Child by Jeannie Cunnion, and I cannot get enough of it. Like, really. And right now I'm finishing up Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight, and it's pretty gripping. Yay for book clubs! Ours has definitely helped to get me back in the game.

Go Outside. A lot.
All right. We're going to divide the summer into two parts for this one. We played in the pool, we played with rocks and went for walks, and we even camped for three nights over Labor Day weekend. BUT. Somewhere toward the end of July, the bees and wasps and GIGANTIC EUROPEAN HORNETS took over our yard, and it just wasn't fun to be outside while home. To give an example, when we got home from camping last weekend, the hornets started PELTING OUR CAR. And when Mr. Kuda sprayed that day, there were over THREE DOZEN hornets forever asleep on our front porch the next morning.

Yeah. We were done with outside. At our house, at least.

We did the best we could, and while we spent less and less time outside near our home, when I look back at our summer this year, I'll have so many sweet memories...

I learned a lot about myself this summer, and I'll probably do some things differently next year, but for now I'm going to enjoy the memories we made, and look forward to the upcoming year ahead of us. I mean, do you think she's excited enough to be starting PreK?

Just as a side note, we'll be starting up Tot School again, now that Mr. C is old enough. As I started to plan for this year, I hadn't realized how much I missed doing it last year. SO EXCITED!

Until next time,

Mrs. Kuda

What I'm Doing For My Summer Vacation

Y'all. It is our very first real summer in the Kuda household. Miss E finished up her first year of preschool, and starting today, Summer vacay is on!

In that, I'm finding all of these summer bucket lists, and then reading how we're ruining our children by not letting them run free. These are all in the same newsfeed as an article telling me how I should micromanage every single moment of summer to make sure it's the BEST. SUMMER. EVER.

Oy vey.

Being the Type A person that I am, I had even gone as far as preparing activities to do with each of the kiddos, by theme, switching them up every other week. Further, I had scoped out every free program, library class, and play date to keep ourselves busy through the summer months.

And then I regained my sanity and decided how we're going to do summer this year. And that's how I came up with...

Throw away the schedule.

Not like when we have quiet time or Mr C's nap. Or heck, I'm not really going to change bedtime. But you know what? The library class can wait. Miss E wakes up every morning, asks what day it is, then asks me, "What do we do on ____?" And the answer, aside from vacation weeks, has been the same each and every week day since September. The only things we will stick to as far as the kiddos are concerned are the classes we have already paid for, which will only go through June, and the two week-long camps Miss E is signed up for (and let's be honest, who wouldn't want to go to a Princess Ballet Camp? That's what I thought.). Not only am I throwing the schedule away, I'm throwing the ball into their court. That being said...

Try to say "yes" more. Yes to "Mommy can we have dessert for snack?" And Yes to, "Mommy can we paint with chalk?" And Yes to, "Mommy can we go on a car adventure?" I got that one the other day. Yes, honey, we can.

"Mommy, can we go for a walk in our pjs?

Read more books.

This Spring I ended up reading more books than I have in the past year. They were really good (Highs included Something other than God, Surviving Motherhood, and I jumped on the The Fault In Our Stars bandwagon. Worth the hype.), and I just feel like I'm starting to get my cognitive groove back after having E and C. A couple I have my eyes on are Dinner: A Love Story and What Alice Forgot. There are others, but I'm not making any lofty goals this summer. And that brings me to...

Don't make any lofty goals.

I have started umpteen crafty crafts for the new house, and none of them are complete. It's driving me bonkers. And while I do think there's something to said for a little list to help a girl get going (you'll see more of that on an upcoming post), I'm not going to fret this summer about them. Projects will get done, pictures will get hung, walls will be painted. Eventually.

Go outside. A lot.

I'm finding the more time we spend outside, the more time I get to see the kiddos do things they wouldn't necessarily do by themselves. Mini hikes in the woods behind the house, scavenger hunt for critters, etc. They pushed rocks in our driveway with miniature rakes for forty-five minutes this afternoon. FORTY-FIVE MINUTES. And later? Miss E told me her favorite time of today was playing with rocks with Mr. C. Go figure.

And there you have it. Nothing epic. Nothing earth-shattering. We will relax this summer, and leave the rigorous schedule for later.

Until next time,

Mrs. Kuda