Saving Summer

Yay! School's out, no more teacher work days, and soccer is over (at least for another week or so). This is me doing a happy dance:

And then it hit me. I'm not free to do what I like. I have kids. Two of them! 

Can't write because the kids alternate between being wound up and thoroughly bored. Can't relax because daytime TV is seriously lacking in the quality department. Can't clean because a) hubby took vacation time and b) the two small beings who live with us have turned into whirling dervishes destroying everything in their wake. 

So what's this teacher~writer~mom to do when school's out?  GET EVEN. 

This summer I'm getting smart. I'm putting my teacher training to good use and setting up . . .  (cue melodramatic super villain music) . . . 

ROUTINES! 

Each pint-sized human who lives under my roof (myself included), has one of these lovely forms posted in their bedroom. It's a thing of beauty, ain't it?

No TV time until their morning routine has been completed and verified by me. They each must be showered, deodorized, and have shiny teeth and an even shinier bedroom before they receive any electronics time. For additional electronics time, they may do a math assignment on the computer via TenMarks, read a book for 30 minutes, force mom to exercise, and do extra chores around the house (like feed Igor, our ofttimes slightly neglected tortoise). 

Surprisingly, all has gone well so far. No big complaints from either small humanoid AND our house is pretty well clean by now. They ask prior to turning on  the television or vegging out in front of Mindcraft. Better yet, when I say TV off . . . they do it! Without whining! How great is that?


And, as if that wasn't enough . . . 



To help avoid all the annoying questions I get a million times a day, such as . . .

"Where're we going today?"
"Can we go to the ice cream shop?"

"Are we gonna do anything fun?"

and my personal favorite, as it always comes at 8 a.m.,
"What are we having for dinner?" 

I posted this sign right outside our bathroom. Now the kids know exactly what's on the docket for the day. Only problem is, now they bug me about when we're finally going to run our errands.

Summer's only just begun but I have high hopes I'll survive. With my new routines in place, I just might tackle every task on my house repairs chore list AND still have enough time left over to finish writing Assassin P.I. 

So what about all you moms and dads out there. How do you survive summertime with your kids? Any tips you care to send along?