Schedule shmedule

I started the summer off very excited about lazy summer mornings not having to get out the door for the bus, pre-school, swimming lessons, etc. Then I started to worry. Did I really only sign my 6-year-old up for a total of 2 weeks of morning camp all summer long? And my almost 4-year-old for one week of 2 hours a day? Lazy days are great and all, but I began to worry that instead of the dreamy summer I imagined, my days would be filled with whining asking for "just one show" and proclamations of "I'm hungry, can I have a snack?" (minutes after finishing a meal). I figured we would be at the beach or field tripping it to a museum at least once or twice a week, but I wanted a fall back for the days that we were sticking closer to home. I created the one above and we followed it (mostly) the first full week of vacation. I started this blog post way back then (two weeks ago) and wanted to be able to share it and tell you how smoothly it went. But truthfully, it was a little bit over-scheduled and instead of having the calming effect I wanted it to have, it kind of stressed me out. 

The following week was a week of vacation in the woods of Upstate New York in a place where there are definitely no schedules. Days on end where the toughest decision was choosing between the pool, the lake, a trip for ice cream, or laying in a hammock (not as relaxing as you'd think with a one-year-old jumping on you). 

When we returned from vacation a week ago I decided that the schedule was probably not going to work out so well for us. We filled this past week instead with some great summer activities including a beach day, time with family, exploring nearby towns, a musical performance of The Little Mermaid at The North Shore Music Theatre, and more trips out for ice cream than I'd like to admit. 

For us, the trick seems to be to have something to get us out of the house by mid-morning, even just a trip down the street to the library. And then when we get home, the girls seem more content to make their own play. We usually need to get out again for a quick errand or bike ride in the afternoon if we don't already have something else planned. 

So in the end, even though my crazy organizational mind was craving a serious schedule, we seem to operate better with a much looser plan on how to fill each of our days. 

Now, if I could only find the time to fold the giant piles of laundry lurking in practically every corner of my house.