Summertime Survival

Today's Wonder of the World is...Surviving the First Days of Lazy Summertime!

Do you know what this picture is?
That, my friends, is Sam, my nine year old.
Five minutes into his third day of summer vacation, the child told me he was bored.
"You're bored? Really?" I said. "Great! I've got a whole list of chores that need doing."
"No thanks," he said, backing away. "I'll find something to do."

So while I went outside to water some dead-ish flowers, he scanned his face. On our scanner.

Oh yes he did. That's why his nose looks kind of flat.

How in the world am I going to keep this child busy all summer?

When Ben and Sarah were his age, we were in France. Boredom didn't seem to be a problem there. Or maybe I'm just forgetting. But I don't think so.

First there was not much daytime tv for kids, so I wasn't having to constantly fight them to turn it off. Second, the weather was usually heavenly, so going outside didn't feel like punishment.

I always expect a couple days of whining while they adjust to summer life, but after that was over, they generally kept themselves busy.

Ben would set up his Playmobile. (Remember we were in Europe, where Playmobile didn't cost an arm and a leg.)

Funky wallpaper, huh?

And Sarah would keep herself busy dressing Sam up like a girl


Or curling her hair in socks, and then posing for pictures of herself.


And when Sam got a little bigger, he would keep busy by pretending to be a fierce knight.

A fierce knight in diapers.

But now, what to do?
I've enrolled him in a few day camps. For three weeks of the summer he'll be drumming and cooking and taking pictures in the morning, while I hide away and work on my book. I signed him up because he'll enjoy himself, and also because I can't seem to write with kids in the house. Kids constantly asking me for food and drink and "why can't I scan my face again?"

But what about the rest of the summer?
So far we've brought out some crafty stuff. Here's the Creepy Crawlers kit he got for Christmas.


Would you like something creepy? We've got plenty of crawlers to choose from!


And we've been going on walks/bike rides, early in the morning before our blood would boil.
It drives Tanner crazy to have Sam go in front.


And then there's Sam's other hobby...

Yes, we're insane.
A friend saw this drum set and asked me if all parents lose their minds by the time the third child comes along.
I guess so.

It's been a year, and Tanner still isn't sure if he likes the drums or not.


He likes it best from a distance.

Me too. See why I can't get any writing done in the house when kids are home?

But sometimes the television isn't so bad. I limit Sam to two hours a day. (I know, I could have said less, but hey, Sam gets up at 7 and goes to bed around 9:30 or 10 in the summertime. That's a lot of hours. And thanks to Netflix, he watches mostly shows that are educational, about island living or world war II.)



So what if we don't look like this.

That woman is probably on some heavy duty medication.

How about you? (Not the medication part.) Summer ideas, anyone? Ones that don't involve scanning body parts?
Have a wonder-full Friday!
I'll pop in for Father's day! Come by for a visit!
Love, Becky

PS. I almost forgot! I received an email from a blogger mom who is clearly using her summer time for much more meaningful and wonder-full purposes than scanning their faces! Her project is so cool that I thought you might want to participate.
Here's part of her letter.

I'm doing a little home school project with my kids. We want to build a small Holocaust memorial in our front yard, so that my kids can remember all the Jews that lost their lives.

We are asking people to send us "stars." Any kind of star, made from anything you wish. These stars will symbolize the lights that went out due to the Holocaust.

If you are interested in doing this please let me know... I'll email you our address.

http://blog-me-til-midnight.blogspot.com/

So drop by her site and let her know you're joining in.
See ya!