Summertime and the living is...

Summertime's coming
Ready or not--out next week
what are we to do?

Day camp, VBS,
family vacation, too
swim lessons, now what?

New parks to play in,
Summer reading program yeah!
splashing, laughing, fun.

resting, reviving,
recharging our batteries
I love summertime.

If only I could
figure out how to keep up,
cooking, cleaning, chores.

What are YOU doing this summer? There seems to be a common topic out in the blogosphere right now...what are you doing this summer? Actually, I think it's a topic of conversation among mothers everywhere. I'm almost giddy with all the possibilities and slightly overwhelmed at the responsibility. I stay home with my children because that's where I want to be, it's how I want to raise them, it's what I'm good at. I feel a huge responsibility though to make the best of "special times", and summer vacation ranks right up there with one of the most "special times" of childhood. In my dreams, at least, it's one of the most "special times". We'll see how the reality is come the end of August.

Summer to me, is a fine act of balancing. I want my children to have activities to do that they will enjoy, yet I also want them to have plenty of free time to relax and stretch their wings. Too much structure and we won't feel like we're on summer vacation at all, too little and they'll be sniping and bickering and bored. Ahhh, the joys of motherhood! It's aggravating funny to me that this is all something my DH will give no thought to at all. I have been working on our summer plans since last January. We spend a week at Lakeside every summer, and it requires finding/reserving the house we will stay at in January. We have to register for rec center day camps (one week for each of them) and vacation bible school in March. Swimming lesson sign-ups are in April. The teen's band camp and rehearsal schedules have long since been finalized. So, by this point, some of our summer schedule is set in stone. It's the rest that is tricky. What I've decided to try this summer is to have a "go to" list. I'm making a list of things we want to do this summer, I will spend the next week shopping for the items needed to complete that list, then we will aim to do at least a couple of them a week. That's the idea...we'll see how it works.

Here's the list we'll be working off this summer:
we'll be making space t-shirts that glow in the dark
root beer fountain
crystal garden
making rock candy
hatching butterflies
making flubber, play dough, and bubbles
painting with bubbles
shining copper
we're planting pumpkins, tomatoes, bell peppers, herbs, and sunflowers--wish me luck, I have a black thumb
making crowns
we're also going to be making quilts--I need luck for this one too! Here's how it works in my mind, we'll see what the reality is. Each of my younger two will have squares of white fabric and fabric markers/crayons to draw a picture on from a favorite book. (One book per square) They'll write the title and author on the square also. We'll choose a companion fabric they like to go in between the squares and one for the back as well. Then we'll sew it all together. Sew a wild pattern all through it to hold it together, bind it, and voila. We'll see. Here's hoping they turn out like I want them to.
We'll be visiting the library regularly, reading daily. We'll see the zoo, the Conservatory, local parks. I'm hoping to road trip to the Indianapolis Children's Museum, inspired by Kristi. Hopefully we'll see our local baseball team play at least one game this year. We're going camping, at least one weekend. We'll be going to the pool-a lot! That membership was expensive! Plus, the 16 year old has a job there this summer, so we'll go see her. Whew, I'm getting tired just thinking about it, but hopefully it will all add up to a fun summer.

This list may be enough to get us through Christmas, or I may be scrambling for ideas by the Fourth of July, we'll see. Most importantly I'll be praying for the wisdom to live and let live. Do activities when my kids want to and need the structure, be lazy and relaxed when they don't. So...what are you doing this summer? Let me know.

Head over to Jennifer's for more Haiku Friday.