School is out and this means I have all three of my boys at home 24/7. I don’t send my boys to camp so I have to keep them entertained all summer long. I even create a summer camp at home experience for them. To learn more follow along my “Summer Camp at Home Series” on the blog, YouTube and Instagram. I love this time of year and having the opportunity to spend time with my boys but it can be a challenge. I follow five tips that help me keep organized and sane during these long summer months.
Tip 1: Set in place my “Five Summer Camp at Home Concepts”.
The five concepts are: create a theme, have a kick-off celebration, create a schedule, create rules and responsibility, and have an end of the summer celebration. Each year I create a summer day camp experience to maximize everything that summer has to offer. During my college years, I worked at a summer day camp. There I picked up a few ideas on how to keep kids engaged and thriving. Check out my post to read more about these concepts.
Tip 2: Create a weekly meal plan.
I love to cook but with all the activity in the summer, I’m too busy to come up with meals on a daily basis. It also seems to me that my food budget goes up in the summer. With the boys at home all day they are constantly wanting something to eat. Several years ago, I created a weekly meal plan. This plan helps me reduce stress, ensure we have healthy meals and saves us money.
Mercado Home Weekly Meal Plan
Dinner is our biggest meal and where I spend the most time cooking. I have streamlined dinner to cooking the same types of meal every night of the week. Each night follows a theme: Meatless Monday, Taco Tuesday, Whatever-Left Wednesday, Takeout Thursday, Fun-Food Friday, Simply Saturday, and Slow Super Sunday. I will be sharing in more detail in a future post.
Lunch is the easiest meal of the day and usually requires no cooking. Lunch is all about foods that we can pack and carry. I try not to make anything that requires me to turn on a stove or oven.
Breakfast, as we are told, is the most important meal of the day. I have to admit I’m not a big breakfast person so this is always the hardest meal for me to prepare. I keep it simple but make sure I provide foods that will nourish, wake up the body, and get us through the day. I always serve a protein and fruit. Like dinner, I have a set meal plan for each day of the week: Monday Oatmeal, Tuesday Pancakes, Wednesday Eggs, Thursday Cereal, Friday French Toast, Saturday Brunch, and Sunday Bagels.
Tip 3: Get a head start the night before.
Creating a schedule is one of my Five Summer Camp at Home Concepts. I plan out a daily schedule for the boys and myself. I take time to look at what is coming up the next day. See if there is anything I can do ahead of time. A few things I can always do are pack bags, prepare lunches and set-out clothes. Very important not to trade preparation time for bedtime. Not getting a good night sleep has sabotaged many days for me no matter how prepared I was. Doing at least one thing to prepare that can give me a leg up the next day is a win in my book.
Tip 4: Schedule daily rest time.
Everyone has to rest, children and parents. Having a scheduled quiet time or nap time during the day is important to help settle my brain and body. Not resting causes irritability, crankiness, and behavior problems. I try to rest when the kids rest. This is easier said than done and some days impossible. A few things I do during rest time are close my eyes for at least 15 minutes, read, write, color, or listen to soft music. I love to use defuse essential oils to create a calming atmosphere. Also, I make sure my boys and I are getting the amount of sleep required each night. Good night sleep is vital to have the energy to take on the day.
Tip 5: Take time for self-care.
This is the hardest to do for me because my boys are still young. And someone or something is always needing attention. I try to get up an hour before my boys. It helps me feel like I accomplished something for myself. I like to start out my day by meditating, reading the Bible, and praying. I also try to maintaining good health habits through diet and exercise to keep my body strong. I’m big on goal setting but a busy summer can prove to be difficult to accomplish goals. I set a few short-term goals that I can do during the summer. Most important for self-care is to schedule time away from my boys to recharge. I’m blessed to have family and friends that I can ask to watch my boys for a few hours so I can go do something fun. Date night with my husband is my ideal way to spend my time without the boys.
My mommy friends see all that I do with my boys and ask me all the time how I do it. I always say the same thing it’s all about being organized and staying motivated. These five tips help me to do that. The thing about these five tips is that I have to keep on top of them otherwise if I don’t things get a little crazy. When it gets crazy my stress level rises and I become a mess. During the summer, I am more focused on following these tips but they serve me well all year around. Even the year that my boys went to half day summer camp I still implemented these tips. I like sharing when I find something that works because it may also work for others out there.
Always simply fancy,
Ruth Angelina
What are some of your parent tips to keep yourself sane can your kids happy? Share under comments.