Summer Dreaming

Oh little blog, you have not been forgotten, there has just simply been too much life living that needs to remain out of print.

Usually, most of my life is something I can write about easily, but sometimes there are things that happen to us that need to remain quiet. There are things with my kids that aren't mine to tell or discuss here. There are friends with life crashing down on them and I am by their side, but still, it isn't mine to chat about here with you.

Instead today, I'll give you a little glimpse of what I hope summer will be.

Hope being the operative word here.

Reality is this. It's 9:AM on the first day of summer break. I've already sent two kids to their rooms.  One kid walked in bird poop. Two more haven't looked up from their screens.

The next part is my split brain. I want two broad and possibly conflicting things for my kids this summer.

I am that person that wants her cake and to eat it too.

My plan is to teach them some lessons or maybe just refreshers. No I don't mean academics and work books. I mean life. So here we go, the short list:

1. Listen and obey. 
2. No back talk and/or arguing discussions about what I asked in #1.
3. Own what you do or don't play the blame game.
4. Get along with people or no picking fights.
5. Respect mom when she is writing.

Yes, yes. Pie in the sky really, but I plan to stay focused on the short list for the summer.

Next up, the fun.

I want to shoot for that 70's summer vacation, along with some perks. With a hat tip to Bull Durham...

I believe in the long, lazy days of summer, the sweetness of Popsicle's eaten under trees, scraped knees and mosquito bites. I believe in chlorine public pools, wrinkled fingers and toes and sunburns. Flip flops, s'mores, bare feet and blankets by the fire pit. Stars and lightening bugs. Books and crayons. Barbies and Hot Wheels and dirt and bugs. Laying in the grass with your dog and napping in the sun dapple under the trees.  I believe in wind blown hair, skate boards, bikes and the occasional movie treat. Bubbles and sprinklers and tree swings. Baseball and BBQ's. Fireworks and root beer floats.

Along with all these summer puffy cloud day dreams, we will be working to keep the house cleaned up instead of looking, well, like it does right now, sort of like a Walmart vomited inside all the rooms. We will try not to be overrun by laundry and sports equipment. We will try to keep up with the dishes and maybe not live on paper plates.

On top of that, The Mr. and I will keep at our floor replacement project.  Our home is covered in nasty, old carpet. We are slowly ripping it out and putting in Pergo floors. The project is not terrible to do or horrible for time, but we have a big house with a lot of feet in it, so it's a project indeed.