2014 MOM ADVENTURE, #2

For our 2nd MOM ADVENTURE we went shopping at the outlet stores.  We wanted to go shopping to buy a new outfit for our sweet daughter who had surgery last week.  She picked out a cute new Maxi dress to wear home from the hospital.  We are happy to report that her surgery went amazingly well, and she had a quick recovery.

*We have found that the boys will shop with us if we alternate between girl stores and boy stores.  (i.e. GAP then Nike. . . )

2014 MOM ADVENTURE, #1

Our first MOM ADVENTURE of 2014

Today we had a great day being out and active!  Our sweet 7 year old has been giving me cute notes this week asking me to take her to a nearby park.  Today we went and enjoyed the sunshine!  While we sat on our picnic blanket and ate our lunch she said with a smile, "Mom, I just love to be out of the house!"

Mac and Cheese Deluxe

Mac and Cheese Deluxe

7 oz. ziti with lines
2 c. cottage cheese
1 c. sour cream
1 egg
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. pepper
8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese (2 c.)
Paprika

Cook ziti, drain well. Combine cottage cheese, egg, salt, and pepper.Add shredded cheese. Stir in cooked ziti. Turn into greased 9x9-inch baking ban. Sprinkle with paprika. Bale in moderate oven (350 degrees) for 45 minutes. Serves 6.

Happy Summer!

I can hardly believe that another school year has flown by!  Today we have several awards assemblies at the school and our daughter is graduating from elementary!  

On another exciting note, "Power of Moms" is featuring an article I wrote about our favorite summer tradition.  Stop by their site and read it today!

Summer School Work Plans, So Far. . .

I posted my plans for summer in this post.

I didn't want to make the summer stressful with a lot of school work, but I wanted to do enough to keep up their skills for when school starts in the fall.

So far we have been consistently going to the library.

The oldest kids have been turning in awesome book reports on Monday.

We have had "Time Test Tuesdays."

Wednesdays they have spelling tests.

Thursdays are MOM ADVENTURES.

Fridays are home days (I have been cleaning on Friday because we don't have any activities) The kids also work on projects on Fridays.

Balance

Note to self:
(I wrote this about the first week in June, it was extra busy and unusually cool!)

It is good to be busy and active, but there is such a thing as too much!  When my oldest daughter said on Wednesday, "Mom, I think you over scheduled us this week."  We all knew it was an understatement!

We take one kid to summer camp at 8:30 a.m. and head directly to swim team in the opposite direction.  While two kids swim on the swim team I sit on a freezing pool deck and I have two others read to me.  We run an errand and then pick the summer camp kid up.  We stop at home, eat a quick lunch, and take the boys to basketball camp. Tuesday afternoon one kid goes to a library class, Wednesdays are flute lessons, while waiting for them I walk on the track for my exercise, and then we are ready to pick the boys up when their basketball camp is over.  We drive home and get ready for dinner.   Two nights a week the boys have soccer and one night is a swim meet which we are usually gone to from 4:30 until 8:30.  Throw in a date for Justin and I on Friday, family home evening on Monday, some grocery shopping at some point  and what do you have?  A crazy week!

When we made it to Friday of last week.  I took a deep breath and cleaned the house because it had been very neglected!  Thankfully, that was our craziest week of the summer and it is over!  

The problem that I realized with over scheduling yourself is:
You miss the magical moments of life when you are in a rush.
You don't take time to serve when you have too much on your plate.
You become overwhelmed and emotional (especially when you are pregnant :)

Summer Camp.

A typical morning of swim team.

A stop at the park for a picnic lunch.

It seems tha we are constantly pulling in and out of the garage.

This sweetie doesn't want to take naps and miss any excitement, but by the time bedtime comes she is exhausted!

She enjoys going to the library and park with her friend.

First ever swim meet.

MOM ADVENTURE #4

Today I picked a special helper to be my assistant for our adventure.  

This cute guy has been to the big downtown slides a few times, but the older kids have been at school when we have gone.  He was thrilled that we could surprise them and take them to a place they hadn't been.  

Our official "MOM ADVENTURE" didn't start until after lunch because in the morning we had swim team, then we stayed at the pool and swam for 1 hour, and we met a friend at a fun park for lunch.

After lunch we headed downtown for our adventure.  It was a hit, everyone had a great time!  

 We finished off the adventure with frozen yogurt of their choice!  We had such a fun day!  

Summer Stations and Sunday Stations

Summer Stations has really been working well for us on afternoons when I need a little quiet time.  Each kid goes to their own area and we rotate every 20 or 30 minutes.  (I didn't include the computer on the list for summer stations, because I usually need to use it to catch up on something.)

Occasionally, we do a similar activity on Sunday's.