Cruise Director

Take a deep breath with me.
There are only 2 weeks left of the summer holiday.  Labour day is around the corner.  The nights are getting cooler.  There is a crispness in the air once the sun goes down that makes me look for my favourite hoodies and dream about school supplies.

I know.  Some of you are not happy that I am wishing away what's left of this summer.  I'm not. Trust me. However, I would be lying if I did not tell you that though this has been a great holiday, I am anxious for fall and our return to routine.   The reason?  Exhaustion.  Burn out.  Being the stay-at-home parent this summer has been a very busy job.  It's more than parenting now.  I've been our family's cruise director!

Dress up at the children's museum.

Every morning starts the same way here.  "Mom, where are we going today???".  Ugh.  Every morning I serve up breakfast, chug back my coffee and google "things to do".  Seriously.  What did our mothers do without the internet???  I am incapable of making any fun without the internet holding my hand.  With a few keystrokes I can find the location of the nearest parks and "fun" ratings for local  splash pads.  I can find recipes for homemade playdough and moon-sand, craft ideas and the words to long-forgotten skipping rope rhymes.  The schedule for museums, public swims, playgroups, story times and a listing for the entire children's content for Netflix  is all at the tip of my fingers.  Sounds easy, right?  Don't be fooled,.  Because all though all of this information is free-flowing, accessible and plentiful, it still falls upon me to make it all happen.   Every. Single. Day.

Playdough.  Always a favourite around here!

Classy times in our "above ground" pool!

So many parks- so little time!

I believe that James and I have put a lot of effort into providing our kids with a "fun" summer holiday.  We've been very busy- and that's no accident.  There's always a bag near the door, ready to go.  Sunscreen.  Wipes (I learned the hard way not to forget these!).  Snacks.  Towels.  Hats.  Wine.  (Just kidding!!!).  You should see (and smell) my mini-van.  I remember my dad joking with me once that it would be easier to just turn it upside down and shake out the cheerios and goldfish.  This is life with 3 kids.  It's messy and chaotic and it's all mine!


So I will try my best to embrace these last few weeks of summer.   I've worked hard, but played hard too. We've made plenty of great memories and when I sit down at the end of the day (most days) I feel that I've done my job.  It's not a Carnival Cruise, but this family's had plenty of entertainment to sail through this summer.  Now I must start compiling my winter list!

Picnic lunch at the water park.