Routine

We're beginning our fourth week of summer and I desperately need a routine! The first week that the kids were out of school their grandparents were here and John and I were gone. The second week was spent leisurely, and since two of my kiddos were gone last week I decided it wasn't the best time to implement a new morning routine.

But this week? Yep. We're getting on track.

I really do believe summer should feel different than the rest of the year for my kids and I want them to enjoy it and look back on their summers with happy memories, BUT we all need a little bit of structure.

Our weekend was dreary and cold. It rained the entire weekend and we even had to turn our HEAT on. Such an odd thing to do in June! It was the perfect weekend to laze around. We read books, watched movies, stayed in our pjs all day Saturday, and a couple of us repeated that pattern again on Sunday. It's nice to do that every so often but around 8:45pm last evening I started freaking out. The kids' rooms were a mess, the girls' craft project stuff was strewn all over the kitchen table, the family room was full of Barbie dolls/clothes and I was ready for them to get in bed, but I have a hard time going to bed without our house in order, especially on Sunday nights. I started barking orders and let's just say our lovely weekend didn't end on a high note. (sigh).

Lazy days are great (and necessary every so often) but we need some structure too.

I climbed into bed with my laptop and made everyone a chore chart for the week. Sarah and Abbey made their own a few weeks ago, but I didn't enforce it very well and they lost interest as soon as they tacked it to the fridge. This week is going to start off a little differently. They may be calling me NaziMom in an hour or two.

In the past, I've let the kids make their own chore charts (with my input), or written them right on the fridge with a dry-erase marker, or even used this coded popsicle stick/jar system. I don't think I've ever generated their charts on the computer until now, but that's quite alright. It was easy-peasy.

My kids usually don't balk at having to do this stuff each day. They just need the visual/written reminder. I haven't been a stickler about tv and video games this summer, but this week it all changes. They're not allowed to turn on any of their "screens" until they've each finished their basic routine. Sadly, I still have to write things like shower and brush teeth on their charts.

Hope your Monday morning is off to a great, routine start! We woke up to clouds and cold again, but I think it's going to warm up a little this afternoon. I'm not complaining about the cold, but I was laughing on Saturday at all the Facebook posts begging the sun to come back out. We had record high temps last week and those same people were begging for relief.

The rain that fell all weekend was GREAT for the sod that our landscaper laid last week. I'm hoping to post some pics once he finishes up back there. We're loving the transformation!!!

Oh, I wanted to share one more thing that is totally unrelated to all of this talk about chore charts and the weather.

I was so proud of my husband yesterday. He ran the Garden of the Gods 10-Mile Run. If you've ever been to Garden of the Gods you know it is H-I-L-L-Y. His time was awesome and he came home with this cool medal.

The kids and I wanted to go cheer him on at the finish line, but I ended up letting them sleep instead because they were still exhausted from camp. Plus, it was COLD yesterday morning (temps were in the 40s all weekend!) and John got  home shortly after they woke up. Super proud of him!

Peace out, peeps.