9 1/2 days

when you become a mother of four children there are quite a few areas in life where you just have to let go. i have excepted the fact that i will probably never be completely caught up on laundry or ever have one of those perfectly clean, organized, and decorated houses (well, at least not until my little birds have flown). i have also realized that as long as they are warm.... who cares if they wear those pants with that shirt... or if she has a christmas dress on backwards with halloween tights in the middle of may... that doesn't really matter. i have also embraced the fact that i am a easily distracted and caught up in the moment kind of person who has a very difficult time keeping a schedule (which is one of those somewhat essential things for running a big family smoothly). i have been thinking over last summer lately and although we had a lot of fun... there were many things that i could've done to make the whole season run smoother but repeatedly didn't do. so i made myself a little list today (i love to make lists). a list of summer success guildlines especially for me... are you curious what they are? well, i will share them with you then!

Jenny's Summer Success Guildlines

or how i will survive this season

• try to get some exercise every day but workout three days a week. (working out regularly gives me a boost of energy... never while i'm working out... but if i workout three days a week or more i have more energy overall every day... so i knew i had to make this a priority).
• get outside every day and improve something out there each day.
• sew, draw, and paint every week. (do what makes me come alive).
• get up early most days for some much needed quiet time.

the following three are some simple guidelines that i was horrible about last summer and ended up with cranky kids often because of it.

• make breakfast right away in the morning so you don't end up with hungry/cranky kids. don't get distracted!
• make lunch at noon (even if it's a snack lunch).
• make dinner early(ish) so that you can have a relaxing evening routine w/out hungry/tired/grumpy kids.
• have morning and evening chore rituals every day. this is a habit we always get out of during the school year and it's nice to re-establish it right away. 
• make mondays a big, hardworking, chore day.
• make tuesdays a go somewhere and play day.

i'm going to make a very short list of some goals i would like accomplish over the summer too... but not too many.... that's another lesson i learned from last summer.

"the days are long, but the years are short."

oh... by the way.... my title.... it's 9 1/2 days until my kids are done with school.