Summer Fun Friday

How was your week?

We had lots of fun - maybe too much.  I'm exhausted!!  But in a good way.

Since this is the first post of the series I'm going to preface it a little bit.  There are a few things that we do almost every day that I'm not always going to write down.  We usually start our day with a bike ride right after breakfast.  It can be anywhere from 3 to 6 miles depending on the day.  That is our favorite way to get in our exercise.  Sometimes we toss it up with some roller blading or tae bo or something (watching a 6 yr old boy do tae bo is awesome!).

We also have some reading time every day.  Sometimes its morning, sometimes right after dinner.  Sometimes I throw it in whenever the kids stop being able to get along.  I kind of feel like its a necessary down time and it keeps their reading up while they are away from school!

So here is our week in a nutshell:

Friday and the Weekend

I'm just lumping that all together because it was all pretty much absorbed in one big activity. 

We spent last weekend camping with friends.  We braved the rain, and I'm so glad we did!  Once we got all set up it only rained on us for about an hour and a half of the whole 2 1/2 days we were there.

One of the big differences between mountain camping and midwest camping is the temperature.  There isn't anywhere (higher elevation) to go to get out of the heat here.  So Saturday afternoon we spent a few hours at the splash pad.   Which brings up another big difference.  The campground we went to is on a forest preserve smack in the middle of the Chicago suburbs.  The splash pad was just down the street!  Back home it would have been a good hour away.

Monday

Monday morning we were wading through all the camping aftermath - and it was pouring rain.  Art camp was cancelled, but we got lots done!  That afternoon my hubs took the girls on a daddy daughter date to Sky High Sports - an indoor trampoline fun center in our area.  They had an awesome groupon - we just couldn't resist!  And the girls had a blast!  While they were gone I put in some wii time with the boys and we made ice cream sundaes.

Tuesday

Tuesday we had to take my sister to the airport in the morning so we decided to stop by the zoo on the way home.  We decided that would be our 'membership' this year.  Last year was the children's museum.  I like to change it up each year - it seems like if we get the same membership multiple years in a row my kids get used to it and don't want to go there anymore.  A year at a time seems to work well.

Sometimes you just have to let them be.  That is where some of the best memories are made.  I know all the thoughts running through your head when your kid wants so badly to grab those special crayons and paint his very own animal face!  Just remember that soap was invented for a reason and their clothes can be washed and really, they will love every second of it.

Wednesday

On wednesdays I have piano lessons in the morning so my oldest 'babysits' for me.  They usually read and then get in a little movie time.  Wednesday is also park day!  As soon as my lessons are done we pack a quick lunch and head to the park that is scheduled for that week.  I have a friend that puts together the schedule at the beginning of the warmer season rotating to a different park each week, and everyone just passes it along to whomever might be interested.  It makes for lots of fun friends at the park - for kids and mom!  If you don't have something like that in your area - start one!  Chances are most of the moms you know would LOVE someone to hand them a schedule for playdates at all the fun parks in the area.

Before dinner we spent a little time painting toenails and my daughter made us all elastic hairband bracelets - then taught us how to make them!  I thought it was pretty creative, and I hardly ever use the colored bands anyway!

(I apologize for the awful quality pictures.  My camera was stolen last week so my phone is all I've got for the time being!)

You just make a chain of elastics.  Easy peasy.

Thursday

Yesterday morning we started one of the girls chosen desserts for the week (then finished it up this morning).  It was called Tropical Island Dessert.

Haha!  It was a little bit of a fail.  The fish totally turned all white and squishy and the ring broke as we were taking it out of the pan.  My daughter was really upset at first but it was the perfect opportunity to teach her about how the fun was in the making, and it still tastes the same.  We had a good laugh about it and then stopped with one lime.

In the afternoon we went to a friends house and played in the water in their back yard.  There were probably 15 kids there ranging from 4 months to 10 yrs old and between the water, the swing set and the popsicles they were in heaven!

That evening we got together with friends for a BBQ and played a little kickball and frisbee.  It was a beautiful summer evening!

And that was our week in a nutshell.

What fun things did you do this week?  We'd love to hear about them!

Summer with Kids

Have you ever wondered what in the world you are going to do with your children all summer?  As a mother you want the best for your kids.  You want them to have fun, you want them to keep busy, not to spend all of their time watching Nick Jr. or playing on the wii, xbox, DS, iPad etc etc.  We want them to still know how to read when they go back to school!  For many the thought of 2 more months of summer makes them want to curl up under the covers and hide.  The ideas across the blogoshpere are endless, but can also be a little overwhelming.  We have come up with a plan to help you out!

Friday Summer Fun!

This week we will be starting a series called "Friday Summer Fun!"  Every friday we will post some of the things we did the previous week.  This won't be a list of 50 craft ideas or 100 things to do with your kids.  It will be more like - Monday we did this, Tuesday was this outing or craft etc.  There will be fun recipes, there will be craft ideas and games. Its just a smaller bite - a little easier to manage.  And we hope it will be useful!

What spurred the idea?

I often hear "You are such a fun mom" or "How do you come up with all this stuff" or "I wish I was fun like that."  Here's a little secret.  You are!!  I had an eye opening weekend a few years ago and I realized that all it takes to be a fun mom is to have a plan.  Flexibility, of course, is always key.  But if you just take a little bit of time to plan,  you will be amazed at the results.  And its not that I'm a fun mom - I'm just a mom!  ANYONE can have a blast all summer with their kids!  I figure I'm planning it out anyway - I might as well share and help some of you get started.

So here's a little homework for you before Friday:

Print out a calendar and do a little research.

I am a very visual person so at the beginning of each summer I print out a calendar for each month.  Just a simple, Microsoft Word, boring little calendar that is 3 pages long.  June, July and August.  Then I take time to look through some of my resources.  Our public library puts on free events all through the summer.  We just went to a magic show last week - for free!  Our park district (out west it is usually the city parks and rec) does all kinds of workshops and free activities as well.  For instance, every monday they have a free art workshop at the park by my house.  I drop my girls off for 2 hours in the morning and they do crafts and play games.  Just long enough for me to make a quick trip to the grocery store with only 2 children!  Many of the surrounding cities and park districts do lots of fun things too.  Movies in the park, concerts on the riverwalk, nature workshops, etc.  Beyond the free activities there are lots of things that are only a dollar or two that are really fun as well.  Our local drive in has a killer deal on tuesdays, one of the other movie theaters is only $3 for the first daily showing of every movie - the new releases!  One of the pools is only $3 after 5pm.  Some local farms have some really fun things for the kids too.  Just do a little research.

They get to pick 2 desserts each week to make with me

Anyway - I look over things like that and write anything that sounds interesting down on the calendar.  Because, I know myself.  If it isn't written down it will never happen - because I'll never remember!  Once I get all of the "specific time" things down I start to make a quick plan for other things.  One morning a week we play at one of the local splash pads.  Wednesday mornings we check out new parks with friends.  Tuesday mornings we get new books at the library and turn in our summer reading program sheets for prizes.  We usually take one or two days a week to go somewhere a little bigger: one of the the zoos, the children's museum, downtown Chicago.  There is at least one day a week we hang around home all day - usually mondays.  I have to keep the house under control sometime!  That day I pick some sort of craft or activity (or 2) from the vast stockpile otherwise known as pinterest.

Its all on the calendar.  I sit down Sunday night and look over the week and see what is going on.  I add in any ideas I have and make note of a craft or two for that week so that I can pick up what I need at the store.  I can see that Wednesday at 1pm is the magic show at the community center - oh!  Well that morning we could go to the park, have a picnic lunch and then go to the show.  And even that much of a plan will get you through the day.  You'll find yourself having so much fun and the more you plan out ideas - the more ideas will spontaneously come to mind.  We are only 3 weeks in and already my kids are going to bed so happy and asking with a big grin "What are we going to do tomorrow mom?!"  I'll admit that sometimes I have to say "You know, I'm not sure - but it will be fun!"  And then I spend 20 minutes figuring it out before I go to bed.

So go start your research and we'll let you know what we did on Friday!