Summer Survival Kit

This summer was quite laid back in comparison to our past few summers. Chalk it up to 'bringing home baby'. We really did do our share of relaxing and LAZING around the house getting used to our new boss:



Since today is our official LAST DAY Of SUMMER, I have been glancing back at our fleeting days and I thought I'd compile a list of things that made this summer manageable, bearable and even FUN!

Let's start with. . .
Survival Stategy #1- THE FOOD: This summer has been a HUGE "CRAVING" summer for me. Forget about pregnancy cravings. I guess these are "Postpartum Cravings". I literally could not get enough of:



Strawberries and Cool Whip on anything! Waffles, pancakes, angel food cake or just solo. Strawberries made my day this summer!



Indoor S'Mores! I went through BOXES of graham crackers this summer. Could NOT cure my s'more craving. I was always wanting s'more!



Chocolate Chip Cookies!

You know it's bad when your kids say, "Mom, you are making cookies AGAIN???" What kids complain about their mom making homemade cookies? Obviously this is my craziest craving. They started later on in the summer and have FINALLY dissipated. I went for a good two weeks straight baking cookies practically every day! I only made enough to fill one cookie sheet, never an entire batch (I was too scared I would eat them all). I never measured anything, just poured in the ingredients until the dough was the right consistency. I would eat like four or five, make the boys eat some and save the rest for Steve. One time, when the boys were gone and I got the urge to make the cookies, I took some to the neighbors so I wouldn't eat the entire dozen. I KNOW, this is wrong on so many levels!!! I tried to counter act the bad cookie craving with really healthy meals throughout the day to lessen the guilt.

Survival Stategy #2- DAILY SUMMER JOBS:

Okay, this Summer Survival tactic is one I wish I would have thought of sooner. It has made getting the boys to do their work so much easier. During the first part of the summer, I tried to continue with the usual things we did to get the boys to help out around the house (begging, pleading, reminding, bribing etc.) but I found these strategies were not working too well with me being tied up nursing Brayden so much. I felt like the kids were getting kind of lazy and I had a hard time keeping track of what they were doing for allowances (during the school year they each get $2 on Saturday if they keep up on their chores)



So, one night I typed up a list of all the things I wanted the boys to get done each day before Steve gets home. The boy who finishes all items on the list first gets to choose a reward from their jar. The rewards are things like "pick a treat at the store" or "one free hour of computer time" or "one special shoe shopping date with mom," I basically made the rewards things we already needed to get for school or things that were inexpensive/free and fun.

I cannot tell you how much this has helped my summer! Finally, the kids are motivated to get up and work without me having to bite their heads off! Plus, they have learned that doing all these jobs really isn't that hard and can be done pretty quickly. Conner has been SUPER cute about trying to "tie" with Lewis each day. He wants it to be fair and wants Lewis to earn a prize too. Lewis tends to be more distracted when it comes to getting jobs done than Conner. Conner is more like me. Once he gets going, he can't stop and actually really enjoys cleaning and organizing. Most days, both boys have been able to earn a prize from their jars.

I gotta say, I will definitely be doing this again next summer. I loved that I could actually walk into the boys' room and SEE the floor! And their extra help made my jobs a whole lot easier too!



Survival Stategy #3- BIG BROTHERS:



Before we had Brayden, people would always comment on how lucky I was going to be to have two great big brother helpers. I always agreed with their comments and looked forward to the fun Lewis and Conner would have attending to their new baby, but I had NO IDEA how truly HELPFUL and AMAZING they would be! I honestly don't know what I am going to do without them when they go off to school tomorrow? I don't know what BRAYDEN will do?!? He really loves those big brothers of his and lights up the moment they come into the room and begin to play with him. There have been several times I have left the room to attend to other things around the house and when I go back in to check on them, all three of them will be "chillin'" or hanging out in such a cute little way!





It makes me smile every time and I grab the camera to try and capture the moment! When I see these pictures, I think back to the day we found out that we were not going to get our baby girl through adoption. We went to the family services center and talked to our case worker about how to break the news to our boys. They were SOOOO excited to have TWO new babies coming to their house and we weren't sure how to tell them that it wasn't going to work out that way. We told them as we were walking out of the family services building and getting into our car. Of course, they were sad and so was Steve and I. We decided to go to Wendy's for dinner since it was just down the street and it was too late to go home and cook something. As we were eating, Steve said, "I guess it will just be the 'Three Musketeers' after all" (we had mentioned that term to the boys back in December when we found out that we were expecting another little boy). The boys seemed happier to be thinking about that idea again. Lewis piped up and said, "or we could be the Three Amigos!" and then Conner said, "or how about The Three Blind Mice?" Well, that was just about the best thing he could have said. Just the comic relief we needed after hearing our sad news, and really, since that moment-we haven't looked back. We have enjoyed every second of thinking about, preparing for, and enjoying our three sons. It has made this summer soooo special and I couldn't have survived without those two big brothers and all their help.

Survival Stategy #4- SUNNIE!!!


Thank heavens for super awesome sister-in-laws like Sunnie! She has been a LIFE SAVER this summer! Not only has she been instrumental in helping with all of our children's birthday parties this summer, but she has also volunteered to come and get the boys on almost a DAILY basis to take them swimming or to the park or whatever. In fact, she has them right now! They went down to play in the river for their last day of summer water fun! She has a boy a few months younger than Conner and she also brings along Wyatt, another cousin the same age as Lewis. If it hadn't been for Sunnie's willingness to get the boys out in the summer sun, I don't know what I would have done. I tried taking Brayden to the pool this summer and it was a nightmare. He is too little to get in the water and it is just wayyyyy too hot to not get in. So, if it weren't for Sunnie, my boys would have missed out on some serious fun in the sun! I wish I would have sent her with the camera at least once. I have no documentation that the kids actually swam this year!



I just found this one photo! This is of the boys and their friend Andrew from Beaver Dam. They got to hang out with him and another Beaver Dam friend, Jaiden, a few times this summer. It sure is great to have such awesome friends who love my kids and want to have them over to play! These play dates added to our summer survival as well.

Survival Strategy #5- GOOD T.V.


Okay. Look close at this photo. Yes. That is Bill Cosby (being held by the baby in the car!!!) and he is one fun thing that made this summer unique. It started pretty randomly. I was feeding the baby and the boys just sort of came in to my room and started watching T.V. with me while I nursed. Since we have the most basic Dish Network package available, we get like 13 T.V. stations, not a lot of variety. The only shows on PBS that day were "baby" shows according to the boys, so I scanned the channels and found The Cosby Show. I was so excited and I convinced the boys they would like it if they just gave it a chance. We watched for a little while, but I was bugged by one thing. The commercials in between the snippets of wholesome, family, 80's entertainment were horrible! Girls dressed scantily clad and previews of shows with people between the sheets etc. Up until this summer, we rarely watched t.v. We were never around it and it usually came on after the kids were in bed, so all these "commercials" were so upsetting to me! I decided, I loved the little life lesson the boys learned from the Cosby Show that day, but could do without the more PG-13 rated commercials in between. That is when it dawned on me that I could Netflix the Cosby Show! What a fun idea! We started with the first season and watched all those episodes throughout the week when I was nursing or when I needed the boys to quiet down for the baby's nap. We even took it along on our trip to Fish Lake. Such great entertainment. The boys LOVED getting to know all the Huxtables and it has been fun revisiting the episodes with Steve. We totally grew up with this show and it is fun to share it with our boys.
Now that summer is over, we probably won't have time to finish watching the Cosby Show. There are like eight seasons! We have made it through two. Maybe next summer we will pick up where we left off. They just don't make T.V. like they used to!

Survival Strategy #6- ENJOYING THE LITTLE THINGS:


This summer, it has been about the little, every day moments that add up to one great summer! We have never been so relaxed, so content and SOOOOO sad that it is over! Here's to summer!