Summer plans

Today I went for a really long walk to work out in my head how I want the summer to go. This was mainly because all last week, the end of school for my kids and the beginning of work for me, time flew by and went crazy and made us all grumpy.

So I'm trying to recoup a bit. I am fortunate in that I can work from home two days a week and hubby works from home one day a week. So the kids are home alone all day two other days - but with a fourteen year old that wants nothing more than a little pocket money, that isn't too horrible. Even so, they can't just sit around in here watching TV, eating ice cream, fighting and calling me and/or dad and/or all grandparents to tell them about it. Not saying that might have happened already, just saying.....it can't keep happening.

We are joining a friend's summer Healthy Challenge. I decided today, as I looked at the tight fit of my summer clothes and the mental wasteland that my kids lived in last week (aka, Wii, TV, movies and Poptropica). This means, as implemented by us, my kids will have to choose two topics to "study" this summer, one of these a "fun" thing (like poetry, or mystery novels, or Betsy-Tacy, or movies) and the other a more academic thing (my second daughter has already decided to learn more about psychology since she is thinking this may be her career interest). I am doing little "conferences" with them tomorrow about their schedules and the projects they will be completing for the end of summer festival we will give for grandparents and friends. Yea, I know, it sounds awfully silly for summer, but trust me, I know my kids. Bored kids = bad bad days.

That will take up about three hours of each week day if done right, and then they have another chill out our for spiritual/mental health. One of my kiddoes is a real Bible reader, and a couple others are writers who really like journalling. The last kid is more of a "need a nap and silence" kid who just needs a break from others. So this should work out ok, I hope.

We will be working on eating healthier - gosh, law school is NOT conducive to really healthful meals for the student, much less her family. We are going to strive to get in the five or six fruits and veggies a day we always did before law school, and to make more meals at home together. That is a goal. We shall see.

The final component of our summer days is a "body time" - which means I get to take them to the pool, or to the park, or on walks, for at least thirty minutes a day. THIS is a pleasure every summer. And again, looking at the fit of my clothes and my pasty skin, I need it too.

I'm hoping to keep me honest by reporting back here weekly on our progress, probably on Fridays. This is important because my summer job is very important to me and to do it well, I need to have home life under control. Today's first step is done; I made up a schedule that is simple to follow even by my youngest, for all the weekdays. I will be giving a copy to hubby so HIS days working at home are easy too.

It's a little exciting to have a little "almost homeschooling" going on for the summer - so far only thirteen knows and she is very excited. She already said she's bored and ready to go back to school because she misses having things to do all day.