Since the kids have been home for summer break I'm finding it hard to balance my time. I had a nice routine down that allowed me some time to work on my stuff like the blog, my Jamberry business and a few other things I like to enjoy for myself. I'm trying to entertain the kids and make sure their day is filled with different activities. I also need to keep things on a schedule, flexible but still the basic routine to make sure we get dinner and baths on time. Somewhere along the way I forgot that I could use a minute of downtime to focus on me. I'm not talking a spa day, just maybe 15 minutes on the computer, finishing my coffee or a minute for my nails.
I need to figure out a way to make sure everyone feels like they are getting to make the most of summer. We recently found a beach that is just a four minute drive from our house! We are all excited to try it and spend the day enjoying the water and sand. We also like to cook on the grill and eat on the deck together, it's how we spend most summer evenings. Finding things to keep everyone busy is not an issue, it's finding things that they can do while I get some work done that seems to be a challenge. Finding things that don't end in "I'm bored" after ten minutes is also a plus! Obviously with five kids having such different personalities, from teens to infants it's going to be hard to keep everyone occupied and happy at one time. Which is why I am laying some ground rules for the summer.
We all need the same things in our day to help us feel our best- physical activity, mental activity, independent play/work time and to do something we can all enjoy together! I have to get a better handle on how all of that happens in a day. If I don't we are in for a long summer of bickering kids and a crabby, exhausted mom! I already put together a list of things I'd like to do this summer in our area, you can see it here. I have mentally added more ideas this past week too. What the kids don't know is that their days will change soon, they'll thank me later. Right?
At the end of the year teachers send home final reports and it usually includes some things they need to work on over the summer. While I'm working on the computer a few times a week they will be working on those things for next year. Twenty minutes surely won't ruin their summer vacation, although they might act like it. The baby will nap at this time and my toddler will have time for a game on his ipad. Everybody will win! After that torture they will be ready for what comes next I'm sure- fresh air!
One of the things I need to make time for is going for a walk or jog. I would put the babies in the double stroller and walk around the lake every morning. With everyone home I haven't done that. The older kids are perfectly capable of joining me, but it's an argument believe or not. Thomas needs to be pushed in his wheelchair and they want their bikes. That doesn't work and I don't feel like hearing them bicker so we stay home. I decided today that I'm going to just make them suck it up, and I'll deal with the dirty looks. We could all benefit from the walking and they can take their bikes on the days that Thomas will have class. Once they get out in the fresh air they will be fine, we used to walk all the time in the evening. My husband works late now so we fell out of our routine for a while.
Once a week we will fit in something like the beach, zoo or something else on that list I made. It's important to me to have time to go out and enjoy a family day. When my husband is home on the weekends we like him to get in on the fun so we try to plan some day trips around town or cook a meal together. Finding balance in a big family is hard sometimes, but so important. Even though we like to enjoy each other's company it's necessary to fit in our "me time" throughout the week.
Everybody needs some downtime to do something alone, it's refreshing. Right now is proof that a little quiet time goes a long way. I have a baby napping while the other kids watch a show and color in the play room and I'm actually working on some blog posts! It will be lunchtime before I know it and kids will be yelling about being bored. Time to put our new summer plan into action and get them moving before they start arguing again.
