Summer Survival

Here we are just 6 days into summer and I am more then done.  The kids are NUTS.  The house is a mess and I think that I have pulled all of my hair out.  The $30 worth of crafts I bought on Friday have all been done and I have no gas to take a trip.  I am not sure where to go from here.  We are all a little cranky and the baby is wondering why all of these other people are on her turf in the middle of the day!  I am lacking the motivation to do anything about it and the patience not to boil over.

Why is it that Summer vacation is still something that we need to have.  It was started to accomidate farming.  I am sorry to say that there are few farming families left here in NY.  I know of just 3 in the town I live in.  Why is it then that we have not changed all of this.  Why can’t the kids just go to school in the summer?

I know that all of this sounds bad but I also know that I am not alone in my angst!  Please September come quick.  I am not sure how long I can hang on here!

Becca

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I Am Back!

I realize I have been a little absent this past few weeks.  I think that the heat got to me a little.  In addition to the three 90 degree heat wave we had I have also been bogged down with Girl Scouts.  Cookies came in last week.  Daisies sold 81 cases of Girl Scout cookies.  Yes I said cases.  I have to say that there was a lot of help from other parents and most parents came and took it all out of my house within a few days.  It was nice that they were all considerate enough to notice that they would be in my way!

Over the weekend we added a new family member whom I will post more about tomorrow.  In addition to that we had ballet and a sleepover with three additional girls.  Oh and did I mention that the baby (who will be two in May) had a 104 degree fever all weekend.  It has been a lot of fun!

Either way I am back.  It is a lot cooler the past two days and the baby is feeling a lot better.  I hate when life gets in the way of blogging but it happens.  Thanks for checking in with me!

Becca

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Spring Break Survival: Last Day!

Here we are with 21 hours left of this terribly long Spring break.  I do not understand why it is called a break.  I think that the bigger break will come tomorrow when all of the kids head back to school.  I can see why it is a break for the kids but I did not find that it was all that much of a break.  I think that the kids had an alright time.  Here are a few things that we did.

• We went to the park which was great.  Not only did the kids have a great time but they also burned off some of that left over winter cabin fever.
• We had a beauty day where I was able to cut Emma’s hair.  We also did finger nails and toe nails.  The girls had a great time and this gave me great ideas for summer break.  Perhaps we will have theme days this summer.  This will keep the kids interested.
• We had play dates.  The girls have a friend down the street who they played with a lot this break.  I just have one quick question… when did playing become a date?  I remember I used to just go and knock on the door of a friend or two and see who could play.  All of this prearranging is a little stressful!
• We went to our friends house and had dinner and the kids watched movies and played games while the adults had adult time.
• We played Wii for an entire day!  I could not believe how addictive it was.  I think that on a rainy summer day the Wii will come in handy.  We may been have to buy a few more games in order to assure that we can have fun all summer long.
• We got a little more unpacking done.  This was really important.  I am getting tired of all of the clutter.  I just hate living out of boxes.

I think that we could have done more.  I just am not sure that I can sustain all of this entertaining of children all summer long.  How I wish that I could afford camp for the entire summer!  All I have to say to Spring break is “Hit the road jack!”

hit the road jack

Becca

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Easter Pictures: Spring Break Survival

OK so as I mentioned I am having a hard time with this entire Spring Break thing!  So today my mother and I dressed all of the kids in their Easter outfits and threw them into the car and were off to Sears.  Now I know what you are thinking… why did you head to Sears.  We were off to Sears for Easter pictures.  We have not had pictures in YEARS.  The last time was when the baby was a month old.  For those of you who do not know she will be 2 in a month!  So needless to say it has been a while.

We have never been to Sears so I was a little bit aprehansive.  It was great though.  They had a kid friendly waiting area which I did not have to wait in because they were ready for us when we got there.  The girls did great although it is difficult to make them all smile at once.  Abigail kept trying to make the baby smile and Emma had the fakest smile.  Even with all of these obsticales we were able to come out of the seccion with a few really nice shots.

So day two of Spring Break has been a success.  We did the pictures, went to lunch, had a play date and now we are getting ready for bed.   I am so happy that it is all working out.  I would say that going and having pictures done is a great way to survive Spring Break!  You should give it a try!  I found that it really occupied a lot of time, the kids had fun and we were out of the house.  We will not discuss how much Grandma spent though!  We will keep that part to ourselves!  Either way day two survived.  Nine days to go!

Becca

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Spring Break Survival

Oh my… I woke up this morning and remembered something.  IT IS SPRING BREAK.  Now, the words that are to follow are meant with the most love and affection.   I hate Spring Break.  It is not like Winter Break where we all get involved in Christmas.  This Spring Break thing stinks unless you are going away which we of course are not this year!  I remember back in high school and college when I went away with friends.  We had a blast.  One year was Ocean City another year was Disney.  Now I am home with restless kids, a house to unpack and no plan!  So what is a stay at home mom to do with three kids for eleven days?  I am compiling a survival guide in order to make it though.  I need you help though.  Here are a few questions to get started with:

1. What is there to do that is free?
2. What can I do with no car?
3. Is there any activity that you can think of that a 1 year old, a 5 year old, and an 8 year old?  I am drawing a blank!
4. Is there a magic potion to give children that makes them not whine?
5. How much is it a mother can drink without it being a problem?
6. How can I avoid hearing, “I am bored there is nothing to do.”
7. What fun things can you think of to make the kids tired enough to still go to bed on time?  Oh and I have to be able to do it with my not healed correctly broken foot!

I will spend the day developing a survival guide.  I hope that it works!  Today, I am just going to wing it.  So far we have had 5 fights, Abigail has bitten Emma, Emma has scratched Abigail and the baby is a whining mess!  HELP!

Becca

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Easter Kids Crafts

It is Easter time and with Easter comes Spring break.  Spring break means that the kids are home and need something to do.  I have been researching crafts all day to find just the right ones.  I have compiled a list with the links of crafts we are intending to try.

1. Fancy Feathered Friends: These are little chicks made out of egg cartons and eggs.  They are super cute.   They will act as super cute decorations on Easter around the house.
2. Nesting Instinct:  This is a cute birds nest which seems like it will be super easy to make.  All you need is clay and some sticks.
3. Easter Pins:  These will be really cute for grandmas on E$aster morning!
4. Leaf Print Eggs: These are so interesting and look so professional.  I cannot wait to give them a try!

These should occupy the first few days of our very long Spring break!  I hope that these look as good to the kids as they did to me.   I would love to hear and see what crafts you all have in mind for the Easter holiday.  I think that it will be a fun way to avoid the boredom bug!

Becca

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Spring Family Fun

Spring is a time to awaken again.  Just as the trees are budding and the flowers are sprouting it is a time for us to be active again.  I tend to stay home in the Winter and am very under motivated.  Now that it is Spring I have been thinking a lot about all of the fun things we do as a family in the Spring months.

• Hiking:  Typically we start hiking in the Spring.  It is a great time to go out and hit the trails with the kids.  I love showing them all of the new life sprouting all around us.  The kids love hiking as well.  It is so fun and exciting and it is good for them.
• Letterboxing: Letterboxing is a fun adventure that the entire family can enjoy.  We went a few times last Summer and the kids LOVED it.  It was like a treasure hunt.  I know that there are many different letterboxes all over the world.  We visit letterboxing.org for box locations.
• Gardening:  Last spring was the first time that we had a garden and the kids were really into it.  They loved watching all of our plants grow into veggies.  It was something that we could spend about 15 minutes an evening.  It was a nice time that we had with the kids weeding and watering the garden.  The kids each had a basket to place their ripe treasures.
• Spring Clean Up:  This is the best.  It is when we rake all of the dead grass away, much the garden and prepare for the summer months.  We get all of our Spring out.  It should be fun!

I would love to hear all of the fun things that you do with your families in the Spring.  I think that this year it is important that our family keep Spring family fun lo in cost.  I know that with the economy we have tightened our belts some.  I also know that we are not alone!

Becca

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