Now who came up with a name like "summer bucket list"? (just thinking)
Anyway, it's time to "plan" summer! YES! I said "plan"! For the past 6 years we have had to remain pretty darn flexible in order to keep up with all the going ons here! When you have a pre teen and start adding babies, 4 to be exact within a 33 month period, yes, less than 3 years and 4 all in diapers, life as you know it COMPLETELY changes, and I do mean COMPLETELY!
In order to continue with each new day we had to say good bye to many things like -
1. a clean house
2. being on time to anything..........ever!
3. sleeping all through the night...........also, ever!
4. money
5. Any kind of simple run to the store to pick up anything but instead found chasing little ones who can quickly spread in all different directions, a major part of any outside excursion
6. Volunteering for pretty much anything to save our energy and focus for our kids!
7. Furniture - and anyone with small kids can figure this one out in a minute!
8. Quiet moments - that says it all, because there truly are none!
On the flip side we then said "Hello" to a list of newbies like -
1. fast food or cold cereal dinners
2. returning items to the store from innocent and curious tiny shoplifters!
3. HUGE piles of laundry that only took 2-3 days to accumulate!
4. stained clothes - especially mine
5. globs of acrylic paint on the dining room carpet - finding NOTHING that could remove it!
6. Ongoing markers pencils pens decorating walls, floors, and pretty much anything else the little artist - wanna be - could get to before I hunted him down and confiscated his source.
7. Kids in our bed at night! I know, I have read all the articles out there on returning sleeping kids to bed but let me just say this once.................they don't work and whoever is writing these articles clearly does not have kids!
8. Pantry raiders! We have learned to put the lids on all containers tightly.
Needless to say, our lives did take a dramatically different direction for quite a few years. And as I sit here writing the many mishaps and changes we have and are still to some extent living through, I have to honestly say I would not trade this time for anything! We have learned to lean on each other, we have learned to find humor in many things quickly now! We have learned that we can live without spending a lot of money on items we use to think were necessities and most of all we have learned how to love each other. Our family is so close, so connected and so there for each other.
Our youngest is going to turn 4 years old the end of July! This summer, is the first summer in a really long time that I feel I can actually set down some kind of a plan. Now the beauty of summer is the relaxed feeling of being able to enjoy minimal committments, absence of school demands, reduction of specific times we need to be anywhere etc. However, I want a sense of some routine, focus for personal development and enjoyment as well as contribution.........So, for the next few days, I am going to give this some serious thought and then after I meet with my family and organize it, I will post my results back here!
I am so ready for summer this year!
Anyway, it's time to "plan" summer! YES! I said "plan"! For the past 6 years we have had to remain pretty darn flexible in order to keep up with all the going ons here! When you have a pre teen and start adding babies, 4 to be exact within a 33 month period, yes, less than 3 years and 4 all in diapers, life as you know it COMPLETELY changes, and I do mean COMPLETELY!
In order to continue with each new day we had to say good bye to many things like -
1. a clean house
2. being on time to anything..........ever!
3. sleeping all through the night...........also, ever!
4. money
5. Any kind of simple run to the store to pick up anything but instead found chasing little ones who can quickly spread in all different directions, a major part of any outside excursion
6. Volunteering for pretty much anything to save our energy and focus for our kids!
7. Furniture - and anyone with small kids can figure this one out in a minute!
8. Quiet moments - that says it all, because there truly are none!
On the flip side we then said "Hello" to a list of newbies like -
1. fast food or cold cereal dinners
2. returning items to the store from innocent and curious tiny shoplifters!
3. HUGE piles of laundry that only took 2-3 days to accumulate!
4. stained clothes - especially mine
5. globs of acrylic paint on the dining room carpet - finding NOTHING that could remove it!
6. Ongoing markers pencils pens decorating walls, floors, and pretty much anything else the little artist - wanna be - could get to before I hunted him down and confiscated his source.
7. Kids in our bed at night! I know, I have read all the articles out there on returning sleeping kids to bed but let me just say this once.................they don't work and whoever is writing these articles clearly does not have kids!
8. Pantry raiders! We have learned to put the lids on all containers tightly.
Needless to say, our lives did take a dramatically different direction for quite a few years. And as I sit here writing the many mishaps and changes we have and are still to some extent living through, I have to honestly say I would not trade this time for anything! We have learned to lean on each other, we have learned to find humor in many things quickly now! We have learned that we can live without spending a lot of money on items we use to think were necessities and most of all we have learned how to love each other. Our family is so close, so connected and so there for each other.
Our youngest is going to turn 4 years old the end of July! This summer, is the first summer in a really long time that I feel I can actually set down some kind of a plan. Now the beauty of summer is the relaxed feeling of being able to enjoy minimal committments, absence of school demands, reduction of specific times we need to be anywhere etc. However, I want a sense of some routine, focus for personal development and enjoyment as well as contribution.........So, for the next few days, I am going to give this some serious thought and then after I meet with my family and organize it, I will post my results back here!
I am so ready for summer this year!
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