Summer, summer, summertime. Time to sit back and unwind.

I keep seeing these wonderful Summer Lists all over the internet, and I thought we’d make one of our own, and I’d make a cute thing like this to display the ideas. So I asked the kids, “Hey kids! Tell me some fun things you’d like to do this summer.”

And here’s what they said.

Poppy
Play in the lion pool.

Put pots on your head.

Do some Puzzle Buzzes.

Make your own book.

Make funny faces.

Get very close to Mama head.

She has already played in the lion pool (it’s inflatable, and it’s in the yard), she got very close to Mama head while I was taking dictation, and she worked on her “Puzzle Buzz” book on and off all day. So it looks like she’s having a bang-up summer thus far.

Pete
I would like to play Rock Band. I would like to play some rocking songs that I like. And that’s all. I must think of some more things. I’d like to play Rock Band, and I’d like to play my favorite video game on there. It is called Pacman. And I’d like to do my other favorite thing. It is called go to the movie theater and watch movies, and I watch DVDs at home. That’s all, Mommy.

So far we’ve done everything on Pete’s list except play Pacman. Looks like my work’s nearly done.

If you’re looking for some great Things to Do This Summer Lists, I’d recommend The Artful Parent’s. She’s chock-full of great ideas.

Striving to make our ordinary life a little bit extraordinary

"Blue Sky & Blossoms" by Andrew McFarlane
'Blue Sky & Blossoms' by Andrew McFarlane
I’ve been trying to write a Type-A Parent Conference wrap-up post since Sunday afternoon, and I haven’t yet been able to “write my mind the way I want it to read.” I wanted to provide you with a rundown of the sessions* I attended and talk to you about the lovely people I met. But the words just haven’t been there.

I think it might be because I’ve been entirely fixated on one sentence:

“Reclaim what is absolutely extraordinary about everyday life.”

It was the first thing I jotted down during Patti Digh’s keynote speech, and I’ve been turning it over and over in my head ever since. I think I definitely embrace the ordinary here, but I don’t know that I’ve been going out of my way to make our every day — specifically, the kids’ days — extraordinary. I’d like them to have fabulous memories when they grow up. Memories that lead to the inevitable conclusion: “Our childhood was so wonderful. Our mom was the best, most wonderful, most Mary Poppinsish in her whimsy.” But that’s not going to happen while I’m busy folding laundry and (gasp!) checking Facebook.

So where am I going with this? I don’t know, exactly. Maybe a pledge to make our days more awesome? How does one go about creating whimsy? Probably by turning off the technology, for one thing. That seems like a counter-intuitive take-home message from a social media conference, but there you go. And it’s a good time for it, too. Rockford is on vacation next week, and we will be pursuing Relaxation and Fun and not much else.

This is not to say I’m breaking up with you, internet. That would never happen, because I love you too much. But I’m going to try to disconnect just a little, at least for a few days.

*Fadra wrote an excellent summary post of what she attended, and we went to many of the same sessions. Read “Fadra Went to the Type-A Parent Conference (and all i got was this lousy T-shirt)” for a very good wrap-up.