End of Summer Mom confessions

Summer is winding down, and I find myself accosted with "BACK TO SCHOOL!" signs everywhere, as well as lots of "first day of school!" pictures on facebook. This has made me realize that the grand plans I had for summer have mostly fallen to the wayside. I had so many fun things I had planned on doing this summer with Meggy, and I think I got to maybe two of them. So here you have my end-of-summer post, of all the wonderful things I did *not* do this summer.

I did *not* wear makeup for most of the summer. But that's not usually limited to summer...

#1: We didn't have lots of playdates. In fact, I think the number of playdates can be counted on one hand... and two fingers. But that's ok, because Meggy and I really enjoy each other's company. We've spent lots of time at the pool just the two of us, and lots of time reading the books I reserved from the library. I love the relationship we have, and spending the summer together just tightened it. Also strained it a bit, but honestly, you can only spend each day every day together for so long.

No nap, going on 5pm, and Daddy has meetings all night. Yay.

#2 I didn't take Meggy to very many parks/splash pads. Because a) Summer in VA is hot and humid, and b) Summer means no school. Which means lots of kids, which Meggy does not like. My toddler is an introvert already. She loves playing one on one with kids her own age, and will even play with up to 3 older kids, but she can't really handle lots of children her own age. But did I mention we went to our pool? A LOT.

Don't worry, the Kindle is just for show. Meggy never lets me actually read the thing. 

#3 I stink at kids crafts. Seriously, s t i n k. That was always my worst thing when I was a camp counselor, and becoming a Mom didn't give me magical crafting powers. We did make play dough twice, and Meggy really had fun with that. Thank goodness I have a mother-in-law who likes to do that kind of thing, otherwise Meggy wouldn't know what it's like to paint with her fingers (not that she likes it on her fingers anyway) or make beads, or cut paper.

Reading books instead of doing stimularive, tactile crafts. 

#4 I also stink at adult crafts. I've been trying very hard this summer to work on my own hobbies, only to find - I don't like very many hobbies. I DID manage to sew three dresses for Meggy, and hope to be able to work on my sewing skills in the future. But I don't like to crochet, I have no talent for paining/drawing/clay-ing or anything artistic. I like to read. I read a lot this summer.

I realize this is a repeat picture, but I made this ALL BY MYSELF.

I made this one too, but Meggy won't wear it. She says its "yucky".

#5 We didn't walk down to Chipotle or Starbucks to have fun mother+daughter lunches together. This is both a good thing and a bad thing. Good because I've been cuttinga lot of sugar out of my diet, so that nixes Starbucks. Bad because we had to pull emergency funds together this summer, which cut out all extra expenses, including eating out. Also, summer is Hot, and I don't know why I thought walking to eat hot mexicanish food would be a fun activity in the middle of the day. Maybe as our finances recover, we can do that once or twice this fall, in cooler temperatures.

Meggy enjoys "sleeping" at World Market more than she likes eating takeout anyway.

#6 We didn't go on any field trips. There were fun things going on at local orchards, $1 movies at the movie theater, get-togethers at the local splash pads... we only did the splash pad thing once. I am not a fun mom. My idea of a field trip is going to visit Meggy's aunties so her stuffed animals can talk to them for a few hours instead of me.

What she does when I say "Smile!"

#7 I'm not really a fun wife either. Between my new diet restrictions, and the fact that I am not a spontaneous person, poor Thomas didn't get many dates with me this summer. We did start working out together. We've seen each other drenched with sweat, kneading out tired out muscles, collapsed on the the floor. That's how you know someone really loves you, when they stick next to you even after seeing the disaster that is post-workout.

The one date we did go on this summer, to a movie at a winery. 

#8 Okay, time for a fun confession.I love family time, and treasure it beyond anything else. Thomas had a very stressful June and July, because he was studying hard for a test for his job. The result of which was he wasn't able to spend much time with us. So we made sure the time he did have was fun for everyone! We made lots of good family memories this summer, from going to the Farmer's Market, to dinner at the local apple orchard, to just being silly at our pool.

Hanging out with Pawpaw, Aunt Tory and Grandma

Meggy Mouse loves her Daddy

Donuts. 

#9 I was going to get better about housework this summer. To that I say HA.

Meggy's already better than me in that department. 

#10 Despite all the things I haven't done, we have had a great summer. We've spent lots of time with family, and Meggy has grown and developed SO much. I'm also happy to report we renewed the lease to our apartment, and will be staying here at least until next summer!

I re-arranged the living room last week, and love the space it's given us. 

The end of this year will bring a lot of changes. Thomas still has lots of studying to do for another test he'll be taking in January. Meggy's Pawpaw is getting deployed for 10 months in the middle of December, so we'll be spending as much time with him as we can before he leaves. Aunty Beka is leaving for Florida in two weeks, and we are SUPER excited to be able to see her on our Disney trip at the end of September! In fact, because of our Disney trip, I am actually super excited about Fall this year, so so long Summer, and hello to a new season!