anticipation

Ok, so the movie Bad Moms is coming out soon and I really want to see it.  The previews are fantastic (and I'm afraid those might be the funniest parts of the movie) and hit on so many things that I know many of us moms feel.  The PTA meeting scene is so true to my feelings.  As a working mom I don't have time to run around obeying all the new food regulations. Yes, I understand that so many more people have dietary restrictions and/or allergies but OMG!  Luckily, our school, like so many others can only be store bought foods.  However, I am asked to volunteer for a gazillion different things all school year long, 90% of which I turn down.  I just can't do it.  It takes away from what little family time I have and I am way to exhausted at the end of a school day to deal with other people's kids.  Reminder, I am a high school teacher and definitely not elementary.  Love my kids but not always a fan of elementary age kids.  Plus, those teens wear me out.  Don't get me wrong...I love teaching HS and they continually crack me up and amaze me, but it also drains me.  I am ready for a nap by the time I get home which is just in time to get my kids off the bus.

I might turn down 90% of what I am asked to do at my kids' school. But I also turn down many things at work.  Before kids I had no problem staying, volunteering, etc.  But now, yes it might be selfish, I am spending that time with my own kiddos.  They're not young forever and yes the cliche is so true....they do grow up so fast, blink and they're grown.  Soon my eldest will be a pre-teen and for months I've been teasing him that he was just a baby yesterday.

Summer's off isn't always easy either.  We're out of our routine.  We're in each other's hair.  We get cranky from the heat.  I enjoy the time with my boys; however, they are at each other's throats by July.  That's when I have to get creative with our activities because too much down time can get pretty vicious. This summer seems to be the worst.  We didn't get any memberships this year since they or we were gone for most of June.  So now July is here and we're trying to find inexpensive things to do.  It hadn't been bad but now we're in a heat wave of 100+ temps. Yikes!  I don't want to go outside and really neither do they.  Five minutes out there and they're asking to come back inside and I don't blame them.  Not even a walk around the lake to play Pokemon Go can tempt them outdoors.

This week the boys have had VBS in the evenings. That has given them something to do and talk about this week.  The days have been lazy since it gets out at 8:30 and then they're still hungry.  We haven't got to bed until almost 10 each night.  As a result I've let them sleep in.  E will sleep until almost 10 am.  By the time he eats breakfast, gets dressed and does the "screen time" list it's already afternoon and he's earned his " screen time".  A few hours of this and then it's snack time and then time to go to VBS.  Yes, that has been our routine this week. Not super exciting but, hey, it keeps us sane and the boys from arguing.

aaaaah...It's summer!

Summer is in full swing, oh my!  I love summer because I get to spend more time with my boys; however, I don't want the days to be long and boring just sitting around.  I could do summer school and a ton of camps but then I am just sitting around.  Sure I could be doing projects around the house but who really wants to clean and organize the basement?  No thanks!  I also don't want to be a chauffeur yet.  I know soon that  is all I will be driving them to different activities, friends, school events, etc.  That will come soon enough, so why hurry it along.

kayaking on the lake

Yes, we do all sorts of things.  We moved a year ago and now have things in our neighborhood to entertain us like a neighborhood pool, walking trail and a small lake (great for fishing and kayaking). We decided to invest in some kayaks to add to the lake fun, especially since we can't swim in the lake.  The kayaks have been a hit, but not something we enjoy during the hot burning afternoon hours.  It is also a great workout.  Racing the boys across the lake will definitely keep my arms strong.  It won't be long until they are able to beat me across and back.  My eldest is only a kayak length behind me.

We also do the Kids Bowl Free program and frequent trips to our local library.  The boys goal is to make it to the 100 points club in bowling.  They're getting close!  E is determined and analyzes each bowl.  He asks me for feedback on his form.  That boys is always competing, even with himself.  His first strike this summer was an all out celebration including victory dance.  Too bad I didn't have my phone out for a video because it was hilarious.  C tried without the bumpers but is so easily frustrated that I talked him into using them for a little while longer.  That boy has some serious spin on his ball. Most people stop to watch him spin that ball down the lane. If he had better control he'd be throwing great strikes.  Maybe next year we'll go bumper free.



But we can't go somewhere everyday.  Even the free programs tend to cost money somehow (gas, snacks that can't be brought into venues, overdue library fines...oops!)  So, what do we do on days that we are chillin' at home?  Well, after scrolling through Pinterest I found an idea.  The boys have to complete a list of activities before they can have any screen time.  Some of the activities are things they should do anyway like get dressed, eat breakfast and brush their teeth.  Other activities make them things like reading and creating and another one is so I can get them to clean or work on something that needs to be done.   Of course, they complain, well, I should say my almost 11 year old complains about the list.  According to him I am ruining his summer.  Yep, the pre-teen attitude is already beginning! But, each of them have been creative with the list and have shown me all kinds of creations from Legos and crafts. They have told all kinds of stories to go with their creations and they are documenting their summer in a journal.  Hopefully they will still have the journal and pics of their creations when they are older to look back to see what they could accomplish, imagine and create.

haha! Hopefully this isn't my yearly check-in into the blog and I can actually find time to continue this.  I keep saying that I am but then find something else to do.  Part of being a working mom is that there is always something to do, but summers are a little more lax so I will try again to get into a blogging routine and incorporate it into the fall routine.  We'll see ;)