Dance ends this week (with the crazy recital!), preschool and cooking only have one more after that, art group is up in the air. Summer camp has been signed up for, summer sports are next to be scheduled, and I am rejoicing that my mother's helper is once again available after June 1. The seasons are changing and our routine is too.
So rather than think back to the cold sameness of January, I have ten NEW resolutions I am making for summer this year.
10. I will not complain about the heat.
I mean, seriously, we had the coldest, rawest, bitterest winter I can remember. Winter basically lasted until mid-April and then our nice days STILL felt few and far between. No matter what Mother Nature has in store for summer, complaining about the heat will NOT come from me.
9. I will water the "garden" daily.
"Garden" is intentionally in quotes. I have a black thumb and manage to kill pretty much every plant I lay my hands on at the start of the growing season. Plants see me coming to the nursery and start hiding from the Grim Reaper of Container Gardening. Every year I buy my tomatoes, herbs and a few containers of flowers and promise that THIS YEAR WILL BE DIFFERENT!! Then I miss a day of watering...then it snowballs...and by August my plants are brown and shriveled, and we get about three tomatoes and a handful of basil.
8. I will take the girls to the beach.
We live in a state with plenty of ocean access. So far, Madison has been to the beach ONCE and Reagan has never been. If we lived in a landlocked state it might not feel so wrong, but seriously, a shoreline is less than 30 minutes away. We're going.
7. I will break out of the baby pool.
At least occasionally. Reagan is showing definite interest in potty training, so hopefully I didn't jinx that, she'll make it out of swim diapers in time to enjoy the "big" pool and break me out of full time baby pool lockdown. Yeah, we'll probably spend 75% of our time there. But that 25% percent out there with the lounge chairs and drink service? That will feel SO SWEET.
6. I will not feel guilty about using help.
I had a mother's helper last summer and felt really guilty about paying someone to help me be a stay at home mom, even though I loved every moment she was with us. Some of that was internal, some of it was not, but this summer, I'm ditching the guilt. I went nine long months without the option, I am not wasting any of the next three on guilt.
5. I'll make an effort to make playdates.
Madison loves her friends at school, the girls love the play that comes with art group and library, and MOPS, and all those predetermined playtimes. In the summer, we won't have those - at least, not as many. So I will actually USE my preschool contact list and KEEP Madison in touch with her friends.
4. I'll break the rules.
Staying up past bedtime so they can play outside with Daddy until the sun finally sets. Skipping bathtime when we've spent all afternoon in the pool. Forgoing a nap to take a daytrip. A surprise PJ trip to get ice cream regardless of how much - or even instead of eating - dinner.
3. I will make SURE Adam and I get a quality anniversary weekend.
It'll be TEN years at the end of July. We always acknowledge our anniversary, always enjoy a nice dinner out, always exchange cards, usually treat ourselves for something for the house, but we're pretty low key. Ten years feels BIG to me, especially since it seems like our lives have evolved a CRAZY amount since 2004, we've weathered some big stuff, and we've come out stronger. I'm dying for a "no kids" trip, but I can already see myself looking at the calendar, getting frustrated with finding a good weekend, deciding the money could be better spent elsewhere, and going back to the usual low key thing. I am putting it IN WRITING that this will not happen. I'm putting my foot down on doing ALL the planning, but I will make sure we celebrate the fact that ten years is worth celebrating.
2. I'll be the mom who goes in the pool.
And I will NOT let my little girls see any sort of self-consciousness feelings about wearing a bathing suit without a cover up, letting my hair frizz, or looking silly. The lounge chair with a strategic cover up is key, but so is letting the girls see that Mommy is willing to have fun at the pool and not worry about not looking like the teenage girls. And thank God swim skirts appear to be "in".
1. I WILL be the Queen of Sunscreen.
Because summer is a great time to relax, but sunscreen is no joke. I may have to hold them down, but I'll keep them slathered - no matter where we are.
How about you readers? Are you ready for summer? What are YOUR summer resolutions?
