So, last night the Mr. and I had the "Talk," you know the one. The one where we discuss how in the world we'll keep the Little Rascals busy, happy and progressing all summer. Luckily we have three birthdays (well, technically 2 thanks to the twins) during summer break, so that's two guaranteed days of fun and games. There's a wedding and some visitors for a few days, so three more days taken care of. Which leaves me with only 45 days to plan--yikes! Every summer I have these grand plans of days full of educational outings, artistic crafts and loads of playdates, but then we just kind of end up eating, swimming, & playing in the yard until the sun goes down. Not that there's anything wrong with a more casual summer, but the Type A in me just likes a little structure and something concrete to show for our 45 days of freedom.
Several years ago a friend with older children than my own described how she handled all this unstructured time. She and her children ate breakfast together and then spent until 10 a.m. getting dressed, practicing instruments and doing jobs around the house. She never scheduled anything outside the home before 10 a.m.! Then, at 10 a.m., the doors were open for kids to go outside to play, go on errands or go on an outing. I like this idea. Maybe I'll add to that lunch at 12 (wherever we may be), dinner at 5 (hopefully at our picnic table) and bed at 8. There, that makes me feel better already. Now I just have to figure out what happens between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.!!! More on that later.
Oh, and the pictures above were from the Little Mr.'s first birthday. We've nicknamed these photos "Little guy, big cake!" That lemon blueberry cake was delish, I tell you. I just used a lemon cake mix, added lemon zest and juice from one lemon and a bunch of blueberries. I like using the 8" round cake pans to make a really high cake and frost with a pint of whipping cream whipped with a few cups of powdered sugar mixed in for sweetness and stability.
