Let The Good Times Roll

I LOVE summer!  I love having my kids home all day!  I love the heat (as long as I have an air conditioned home).  I love all the watermelon and corn on the cob and fresh tomatoes!  I love warm, light nights and early morning gardening sessions.  It's just such a great, laid back, tasty time of year!

One of the first things I did this summer was implement a chore chart for the kiddos.  I made a list for each child on a piece of paper, which I slipped in a sheet protector and taped to the fridge.  As the kids do their jobs, they use a dry erase marker to cross them off.  Every morning, we wipe off the chart and start over.

It's not very complex or difficult for them to follow, but it sure makes a huge difference in our home!  The rule is, we don't play or turn on the TV until our chores are done.  It's been great to watch little Joshua take his chores so seriously.  He is often nearly finished with his list before the girls even get our of bed!  I love having the house tidied up early in the morning (they're almost always done by 9:00 or 9:30) and to feel perfectly comfortable saying "yes' when they ask if they can play with a friend or watch a show or if we can go swimming, etc.  I REALLY love the "special assignment from mom" chore.  This helps me get projects or piano practice sessions tackled.  Sometimes I just give them "kiss mom" as a special assignment.  I still don't get my "chores" done until bed time (if I'm lucky) but at least I'm only doing MY chores!  My chore list is always 20+ items long and includes things like visiting teaching, laundry, and catching up on my blog.

Our kids play together quite a bit.  They usually play school, and sometimes they make up plays.  Sometimes they dance to music together or play "London Bridges" type games.  It seems like many of their games end in a fight - they just like different things and have different playing styles, but they try.  Here is a picture of a costume Nicki made for Bronson one morning.  He's so handsome!

You can't really tell how big his belly is, but he's got a big blanet stuffed in his PJs.  Nicki told me not to worry - she drew on herself first to make sure the marker would wash off.

One morning in June, I took the girls with me to a free Sunrise Zumba class.  Nicki thought it was fun, but Alison fought it tooth-and-nail.  She really channelled her inner teenager and made sure everyone around knew that she wasn't pleased to be there.  It was an impressive display of dissatisfaction.  It kind of made me laugh - and I'm pleased to announce that she survived the experience.  Nicki started out liking it, but the dances were a little more difficult than they'd been last year, so she got frustrated with it too.  I for one thought it was a blast. 

So far this summer, we've had lots of fun.  We've gone to the free lunch program or free movie programs once or twice, and we go swimming two or three times per week (I've got to remember my camera one of these times), but most of the time we just play at home or in the neighborhood with friends and each other.  Of course, when we're home, I'm painting.  That's super fun too.  not.  Let the good times roll!