To my regular readers, I hope you didn't miss me too much. We were on vacation and I barely touched the internet (not including checking email on my phone). Now we are back and it's the first week of our regular summer schedule which includes, drum roll please........ summer camp twice a week--the first time ever I will regularly be child-free!!!! That's right, T and L will both be at camp from 8:30 to 1 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Whatever shall I do with myself?! Today was the first day and I think I'm gonna like camp days, heehee. :-)
And since it's Tuesday, I present to you (in no particular order) the Top Ten Best Things about the kids going to Camp:
1. Alone time. Obviously. Alone time for mommy is such a rare and precious thing. Prior to this momentous day, my alone time has been limited to one or two solo errands per weekend.
2. Shopping alone. Okay, I've shopped sans kids before (weekend errands, remember?), and I didn't plan to do it today. I had planned to do nothing but watch a chick flick, but the number of things I needed from Target kept adding up, and if I didn't do it this morning, I'd have to do it with kids, and nobody wants that. So I went to Target after drop-off and it was glorious. The store was practically empty and it was particularly lovely to be on my own.
3. Watching whatever I want. Again, it's not that I never get to watch what I want, but when I do, it's usually a tv show at the computer. I haven't watched a movie by myself in the living room in I don't know how long. So for my first camp day, I decided to watch an entire chick flick. I was bummed to have to go to Target first, but I did manage a whole movie. Sadly I chose a dud: Dear John. Did not like it at all. :-(
4. Camp gets the kids outside. We live in Phoenix where summers are HOT. It's like other people's winter--you just don't want to go out in it if you don't have to. By enrolling the kids in camp, it ensures they play outside at least twice a week, taking the burden off of me. They play in sprinklers and stuff first thing in the morning.
5. Zen mommy. My hope is that relaxing and/or being productive while the kids are away will restore my spirit so I can be more patient. It's too soon to tell. T threw a major tantrum before her nap that kind of destroyed today's zen, but I did keep my cool during said tantrum so that's a good sign.
6. Productivity. I let myself off the hook today, in honor of celebrating the first day of camp, but on future camp days, I'm hoping the child-free time will help me get stuff done, be it regular (neglected) housework or extra de-cluttering. Fingers crossed!
7. Friends. I love that L gets to keep hanging out with his friends and I'm hoping T will make some new ones (she really has no friends of her own yet).
8. Getting T ready for school. This is the school T will attend in the fall (with the same kids if not teachers) and I think this is a great way for her to get acclimated--with fewer kids and extra playtime.
9. It frees up naptime. On camp days when I've spent the morning either relaxing or getting things done, I'm hoping I'll have the energy and patience to be there during T's naptime (instead of my current habit of relaxing/hiding) and maybe even do crafts with L while T sleeps.
10. Other perks for mommy. Today, because I was crunched for time to finish the movie, I ate lunch in the living room. Without setting a bad example for the kids. And I can eat wheat--like frozen pizza or (Thursday's treat perhaps?) doughnuts--because L isn't around to be tempted. And just generally doing whatever the heck I want. Boo-yah!
The tricky part will be not eating everything in the pantry while the kids are gone!!!
Will you have any child-free time this summer?
For more Top Ten fun, head to Oh Amanda.
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