Saturday, May 30, 2009

Settling into Summer

Who knew finding our happy place for the daily lazy summer vacation "schedule" would take so much work?

It's taken a week for the kids to get past thinking they have to try to stay up past midnight each night. The Exercise + Reading +Chores = Video Games is not something new, as it's in place each weekend throughout the school year, but it took few days of reminders that it still applies. The battles over helping with housework are coming to a middle.

The kids are getting adjusted, so now it's my turn. Been exercising, cooking, biking the grocery shopping and errands like normal, but computer time has been limited. There are a couple of maps to wrap up before my summer officially begins, so the available time has been for work, not reading and blogging.

Without the camp weeks which have helped keep mom sane in the past, I'm going to rely on a schedule. Nothing too strict, as long as general goals are met. These things, along with a good try at dinner, make evening movies, deserts, and video games possible.
  • Up, done with breakfast, dressed, and beds made before cartoons or video games. This is when I run/ride.
  • [Roughly] Two hours of reading and play - board/card games, legos, barbies, etc. This is computer time - work or otherwise - for mom.
  • Music practice & housework help
  • Exercise! Can be taking a packed lunch with us for an afternoon of swimming, hiking or general running about at the park. Yardwork, gardening and washing car and/or dog get to count for exercise, too. (If you've seen three children try to get an 85-lb dog into the outdoor tub when he'd rather be rolling in the veggie patch, and they're chasing each other with water guns, you'd see the exercise value.)
All bets are off in a couple of weeks, when the cross-country trek begins.

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