07/11/2019

Summer Parenting

Today marks the very middle of summer for my crew. We have been out of school for six weeks and we have six weeks left before school starts.

Only six weeks left? We love summer!

This is the moment each year that I realize that I need to slow us down. We have done a couple of camps and explored the fun spots of our city. We have enjoyed having visitors come into town. And, we are still in the midst of baseball season. Harlan starts his World Series Tournament tomorrow, and we should be able to hang up our baseball bag in a few days. Can I get an Amen? Oh, and also some sunscreen, bottles of water, and deodorant since the heat index for the next few days in Dallas is 110 degrees.

My boys are now 11 and 8, and the one thing that I’ve learned over my last 11 summers is . . .

NO JUDGEMENT!

No judgement when it comes to summer parenting.

I am fortunate to be able to work from home on writing projects, and spend the summer with my kiddos. I have other friends that work full-time or part-time, and are back and forth with their kiddos. I have friends that don’t work, and still manage a little alone time for themselves because . . . summer.

So, wherever you are at this moment, please know that you are awesome and doing the best you can!

NO JUDGEMENT

I start out each summer with some AWESOME ideas. Here are a few for this year . . .

1. My boys have summer reading assignments for their school. Not only will they read those books, but so many more. Each night at bedtime we will read together, and they will read on their own for both enjoyment and in order to earn fun treats.

2. There will be no crazy, all day snacking. In fact, I will have healthy snacks out in a basket, and they can choose two per day. No more snacking. Just eating nutritious meals three times a day.

3. There will be only 20 minutes of screen time a day. If they want to earn more, they can read more or work on a sport of their choosing for a certain amount of time.

Don’t those sound awesome? I had some great intentions back on June 1st. Bless my heart. Because, today on July 11th, my reality is a bit different that these lofty goals.

Reading: Both boys aren’t even halfway through their summer reading assignments. Put together they haven’t read ONE book. But, hey, we are having too much fun over here, and I don’t feel like pulling teeth at this point.

Snacking: I think Harlan had an apple and some peanut butter once. Do gummies count as nutritious? It’s basically fruit. Oh, and chips have become a decently accepted side dish for dinner in the Beucler household. You want Fritos or Tostitos with that, honey?

Screen Time: I am still a stickler on this because I can’t stand when my kids have their faces and brains attached to a screen for too long. They get what I call “screen time eyes”. All glossy and dazed. And, then the boys get super whiny. Can’t stand it. But, the 20 minute rule is definitely out the window. It is more like an hour or so throughout the day. Hey, it allows me to get stuff done, so I am truly not complaining.

So, summer parenting . . . it is a jungle out here. Wherever you are in your parenting journey there is NO JUDGEMENT!

If you are wrangling your toddler through a local museum at naptime because it is 100 degrees outside . . . go for it!

If your kids are knocking out a chore list every morning with no complaints while you have coffee . . . more power to you, and please come to my house and teach me your ways.

If you count swimming as bathing, I totally get it and I am currently right there with you some days!

If you just like to throw all responsibilities out the window each summer and HAVE FUN, then come over and hang out with me!

That is pretty much our go to each summer. We have a ton of fun. We will get the reading assignments done (with just some minor bribing on my part), the kids will find their way to a handful of healthy items to put into their bellies, and I will make sure my kids don’t fry their brains with screen time.

After this baseball tournament is complete, and we have all dropped five pounds from sweating in the Texas heat at a baseball diamond, you will find me doing my best parenting in pajamas or a swimsuit.

For the next six weeks, we will slow down. We will enjoy each other. We will enjoy the doing nothing. We will be bored. We will eat chips. We will stay up late. We will finish watching every single Marvel movie . . . only two left! And, we will just enjoy.

More of this . . .