//giphy.com/embed/6lCwBzmdoKduo?html5=true

via GIPHY

April break is over, and both my children and I have summer on our minds. There are six more weeks of school, and our goal is to survive it. We were fortunate to have a week of amazing, warm, sunny weather for last week’s school break which really clicked all of our brains into summer-mode. We unpacked the shorts, there are s’more ingredients perpetually stocked in our pantry, and the massive Ikea tote of beach toys has returned to its home in the minivan. If you haven’t already, you should read this classic piece by Jen Hatmaker, because this is my brain right now. There are some things that we will have to accept just are not happening now that we remembered how lovely beach trips and popsicle playdates at the park are. Here are a few we’ve all agreed to give up on at this point:

1. Fancy packed lunches are over. Lunch is more…minimalist…than it was back in September. A banana, a sandwich, maybe a baggie of pretzels? The days of cute notes have passed us by.
2. “School” outfits are so last winter. Gone are the days of “school shirts versus play shirts”. Tie-dye for 5 straight days? How colorful!
3. Bedtime is getting later. I’ve always been a stickler for early bedtimes. 7:30 for my younger son; 7:45 for my older son. However, when my “baby” is about to turn five and the sun goes down a little later each night…I’m more lenient.
4. Dinner is more…casual. “Tapas Night”, also called (by my kids) “Snacks for Dinner”, is less of a special treat and more of the norm. Spring sports have arrived, and there’s nothing wrong with hummus, veggies, and pita wedges two (…or three…) nights of the week, right?!
5. Laundry has taken an even further backseat. If household chores were in my minivan, laundry wouldn’t even make it into the third row; it would be way back in the trunk. Folding clothes is my least favorite thing, and it’s even less appealing when it’s gorgeous outside. If my family looks a little rumpled these days, this is why.
6. Ice cream time is all the time. Last week, during school break, we ate ice cream almost every day. There are so many good ice cream places nearby, I cannot resist them in the warmer months!
7. Sandy vehicles. During my first summer of motherhood, I vacuumed sand out of the car frequently. Now, I have come to accept that I drive a roving sandbox from May–September.
8. My children will have bruises on their legs from now through October. Am I raising two future stuntmen? Perhaps. Contests of who can jump off higher ladder rungs on the swing set, “swing wars” (which is basically crashing into each other on swings), intense foot races, tree climbing, scooters…you name it, my children were bruised by it, probably just this past weekend alone.
9. We will need 2x as many groceries as we do during winter. Active kids = more money on food. The food budget is out of control these days.
10. Our thoughts will drift to summer plans every hour. I tell my children that school is not over; there are six more weeks, and lots to learn during those weeks! However, I know every “you know what I was thinking?” will be followed by “Can we….this summer?” Can we go to the Cape? Can we get the Vermonster sundae at Ben & Jerry’s? Can we have a sleepover at Grammy and Grampy’s? Can we go fishing? Can we go now?! And honestly, I can’t say I blame them!