- Bugs - I get attacked on the regular and because my blood must be superbly exotic to them - they dine on me like an all you can eat Chinese buffet. Seriously.
- Sleep in - I know that was ridiculously funny being a parent. But I don't have to worry about homework or getting up early to get the kids to their various school taxi/daycare locations. That allows me to sleep in as long as the kids let us. So far - 7:30am - and that was only because they went to bed after midnight the night before!
- Sunshine and warmth - which means we don't need to layer our kids up and have to worry about the sun disappearing between 2-3pm. So far, *KNOCK ON WOOD*, we've actually had a summer where I am tanning and it hasn't rained much! :)
- A lot of people in Finland complain about it being so bright and the sun never quite sets (ever) - but that's what black-out curtains and melatonin is for.
- Berry season - This was more of a bonus - but anyways! Self-explanatory.
- The kids have daycare and school: No teacher is paid enough in my opinion for doing a good job keeping our kids occupied so we can work/study! Especially the teachers/care givers with trickier kids or special needs ones....
So here's the thing - I typically (and still kind of do) dread summer holidays every year because the kids don't have a regular schedule, they eat more (since they're not in daycare) and we have no idea what to do with them that wouldn't bore US or THEM after a couple days!
Now, this summer seems to be going okay so far.
Here's our typical schedule - times are flexible of course:
- 6-7:30am: wake up - if it's just M-Girl crawling in our bed - I toss her the iPad with "Big Hero 6" set up on it and she gets to watch her "May-Max!" quietly while Hubster and I get a few more minutes to snooze.
- 8-9:30am: Breakfast and dishwasher emptying/re-loading
- 10 -11am: Hubster takes V-Man out for a hike with the dogs.
- 10am - 1pm: I either take the younger two to the playground or to do errands and meet a friend. This way they're separated and V-Man doesn't get beaten up by M-Girl and so on.
- 11am - 12:30pm: Lunch somewhere here.
- 1-3pm: NAP TIME! GLORIOUS NAP TIME!!!
- While they nap - depending on how early they woke me - I'm either napping too or off to the gym for 1-1½ hours. Or I take an evening class for an hour.
- 3-5pm: Play outside - get the kids a snack if they're hungry and see ya. Go play in the front yard nicely.
- 5-7pm: Supper.
- 7pm: take a melatonin
- 8pm - 6:30am: SLEEP!!!! BEST PART OF THE DAY!!!! (For them - I usually blog or work on something or watch television until late - plus walk the dogs.)
So that's what we're doing so far and it's working. Nobody has died or freaked out too much and we managed to go for a walk twice to the major grocery store - 1 hour walk - and they survived. M-Girl has her pram of course as back up - but we managed just fine!
We are also NOT stressing about sticking to a particular schedule because that is ridiculously stressful on US as it is.
What is making a difference too this year is that the kids are older, they're listening a little better and understanding each other more.
Now that I'm all side-tracked and trying to keep my 24-hours promise of having this done and up properly - what we have done for the V-Man is made him a sensory toy that only he can play with.
So what this is - is a sniffing jar.
I bought from a local craft store, about 12 of these in a box and I filled them with whatever spices I could think of that would be interesting for him to smell.
Off the top of my head:
- Cinnamon
- Tex-Mex
- Dill
- Cumin
- Curry
- Pizza Mix
- Fennel
- Pepper
- Nutmeg
Just as some examples. I didn't label them - because he's not going to really care right now.
The point of these jars, and I have Overnight Care to thank for the suggestion! - is that he can sort them as he wants, and he can open and close them (life skill!) and smell them.
Have you ever walked by a candle or perfume aisle and not sniffed things? Well, maybe if you're extremely sensitive - then probably not!
I love smelling things!!
Well, that's what this is for the V-Man. It overpowers his senses - from what we can tell - in a good way - and he's happy.
He can easily hand me a jar and ask me to open it and close it after we both smell it - then he puts it away and gives me a different one.
He doesn't like when they're toppled in his box - they have to be nice and neat - something we're learning about him!
Out of the three kids, V-Man is the most meticulous when it comes to eating an ice-cream sandwich at the store. He's very neat and immediately wipes his fingers (if need be) on his t-shirt or in his hair....
I am working on activity boxes or "task boxes" for him - and this is the first one.
It was fairly affordable to do - I had all the spices handy and didn't fill the jars with much. The craft jars cost me about 7€ - but of course, if you're fortunate enough to have a dollar store or jars yourself - it's even cheaper!
I got a clear plastic box from the candy section of my grocery store. They fill up the bulk sections and leave the boxes for anyone that would like to have them.
The jars are plastic by the way - in case the V-Man tries to break them or drops them by accident or throws one.
The jars are plastic by the way - in case the V-Man tries to break them or drops them by accident or throws one.
Happy Summer! Enjoy it and indulge into your guilty pleasures if you need to!
BIMU
BIMU
No comments:
Post a Comment