Out of the Mouths of Babes (or My Four Kids)

The girls are out outside playing with Silly String. I bought a dozen cans at the dollar store. It will take them about five minutes to go through them all, but then they'll need to change clothes and clean up the mess. After all that, I'll feel just fine about letting them watch tv for a little while. And I'll feel fine telling them to 'find something to do' on their own, the next time they ask for ideas.

I do have their summer planned. But I do not micro-manage. And I do not plan EVERY minute of their day. I plan chunks. Chunks of time with me. With my ideas. Then, I feel footloose and fancy-free [aka: guilt-free], leaving them to themselves to fill the REST of their day.

A few more details about Our Summer of 2012:
No one starts their day before 8am.
I am officially "Mom on Duty" at 9am. Before that, they manage themselves. (As a side note, the tv has not been turned on before lunch, for the past three days...the kids don't want to use up their TV time too early!)
Tucker is not allowed to sleep past 10am.
The twins (9yrs old), get ready for bed and 9pm, and hang out in their room until I tuck them in at 9:30.
Tatum (almost 12) gets ready for bed at 9:30. (I tuck her in at 10).
Tucker (almost 14) stays up til 10. He's in his room after that. Lights out around 11.
We have TWO tvs in the house. One in the living room, with an Xbox 360. One in my room.
The kids are in charge of their own breakfast most days (Mondays I cook a big breakfast for them).
Lunch is pretty casual...everyone makes their own, unless I have one of the kids make lunch for us all.
(Just a few facts to set the scene for what goes on around here.)

Today is Wednesday...and Wednesdays are especially for OUTDOORS. We will go to my Dad's pool most Wednesdays. Or to a park. Or to Six Flags (we have passes). At this point, the girls have finished with their Silly String and everyone is outside throwing a baseball around.

Wednesday night is Kid's Cooking Night. They will be making/serving barbeque sandwiches with applesauce and tator tots. Tatum is making chocolate cupcakes and Paige will be making her famous lemonade. Every Wednesday, they'll prepare something different, and get the table set and cleared.

I asked each of them, before starting todays post, what THEY think makes the summer "work" in this house. Here are their responses:

Tucker: We get along with each other. We are occupied. We have a schedule. We have lots of free time. We have books to read that we like. We get to play video games and watch tv, we just have to manage it ourselves.

Paige: All the crafts we get to do and the time we spend together. The times we get to have you. You let us earn more tv time and screen time with extra jobs. We really spend time together. I like my bedtime, so I know I get enough rest. And we don't have to take naps anymore.

Tatum: You give us responsibilities for ourselves which will help us later in life. We have jobs we know we have to do. And you change the jobs every week so if we stuck with one we don't like, we know we won't have to do it again next week. You let our bedtimes and the things we get to do, grow with us. I get more opportunities than the twins because I am older. I get lots of time to talk with you.

Haily: Everyone contributes. I know what we're going to do every day. I like that we have routines and I know what you expect. I know what I am going to do and what everyone is going to do. I like that you plan it for us and then do things WITH us, rather than sending us away.

Mom thought: I ask my kids questions ALL DAY LONG. I find when I ask THEM, they don't do as much ASKING of ME! I don't assume to know their thoughts or feelings about things. I make myself ASK them, and give them time to answer. I'm hoping this will help them be better (more effective) communicators as grown-ups. I want them to know their own thoughts and feelings about things; their daily lives, their family, their friends, themselves, their faith. I really want to know them...and want them to really know themselves.