The Summer of Survival

My two older children just have two short days left of school. This simultaneously elates me and terrifies me. I can not wait to absorb the lazy mornings, cloud watching and bare toes in the grass. Ahhh. But then there is the inevitable trying to rip each others throats out and the shrieking chorus of "I'm bored/ it's not fair/ Mmmmmoooommmm" that make me want to invest in the best earplugs ever made. Not to mention the pressure hope that this summer will be better than the last. Every freaking time I feel like I have to outdo myself to show them how awesome I am at motherhood. I am exhausted thinking about my own expectations and summer has yet to begin.

I remember as a kid there being only two things on my to do list:
1. Play outside all day.
2. Come home when mom rings the dinner bell (you could hear it from anywhere in our neighborhood.  Note to self: invest in insanely loud dinner bell).

That was it. No responsibilities. Just joy. Sunshine. Mudpies. Sprinklers. Fireflies. And each summer

Clearly good haircuts were not on the summer to do list. 

was the best there ever was. So I'm kicking it old school this time around. While we have a few fun getaways planned, I have decided to not overschedule us. There are not even any camps on the horizon. I will have to throw in some playdates in here otherwise I will have zero incentive to clean the house for a solid three months. Other than that, we are looking at wide open days. Frightening but simple.

Here's hoping that we all survive Staycation 2013. Maybe my kids will even be grateful for it one day. For now though, let's just focus on survival. Everything else will just be the icing on the mudpie.


May there peace on your journey of summer survival...
I wish you luck (and an endless supply of wine) my dear rockstars.
xoxo