Alexis and the Not Bummer Summer
I've never felt anything beyond fleeting guilt about Alexis being a full-time daycare baby. OMG I AM A TERRIBLE PARENT THAT POOR CHILD IS CLEARLY NOT LOVED WAAAAAH.
Sorry. It's true. I think the kid has generally been better off spending a few hours a day with someone who was getting paid to 100% pay attention to her as she socialized with other kids her age. If things hadn't played out that way, I can pretty much guarantee she'd still be spending her days hiding in the corner reading books and not talking to anyone.
Hrm. Silence. That might have an upside ...
ANYWAY.
I love hanging out with the kid, but she most definitely needs time around others who see the world differently than I do. And she knows it.
Every day since school let out I have heard the words, "Can I please go to summer camp?"
Sure, kid. We'll go ahead and spend $1000 per month for you to go hang out at summer camp while I don't have a job. SURE WE WILL. I guess we can just leave that pesky mortgage unpaid. I'm sure no one will mind!
Needless to say, we could be in the midst of the most miserable summer of Alexis' short life. She's stuck hanging out with me all day, every day. Oh, the sadness!
Instead of letting her sit around and whine about how she isn't at summer camp (which is really nothing more than daycare for school-aged kids, but don't tell her that because she'll end up there again eventually), I asked Alexis to make a list of the things she wants to do this summer. I told her to dream big because I want to make the most of this rare time we have together. We're going to party hard this summer, dammit, and she might as well enjoy it!
Her idea of "partying hard?" This.
In case you can't read Alexis-write, she wants to play hide-n-seek with me (Do I have to actually look for her? AHEM.), read books, go shopping, SLEEP IN, go to the park, play music, go outside, and go to 77 Kids.
BACK THAT TRUCK UP.
She wants to sleep in. SLEEP IN.
Alexis wants to sleep in.
So why the hell has she been up by 7:00 am every single day so far this summer?
It's a good thing she's so stinkin' adorable.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Reader Comments (12)
Better get to 77 Kids QUICK - They are closing lots of stores.
I'd be all for sleeping in until 7 a.m. too. Yeah, I have an early bird in this house. UGH.
Enjoy checking off the list! :)
@Will Reynolds--Actually, American Eagle is selling off the brand for non-performance. It's not "some" stores, it's ALL. And SOB. I seriously have cried about losing that store and website. And so has Alexis.
SO. STINKING. ADORABLE.
In case she gets tired of playing hide and seek and sleeping in, the summer that I was unemployed I found a few not-so-expensive summer day camps for my then-8-year-old. For instance, Michaels does some 1/2 day craft camps, that are really cheap. And, the Boys and Girls clubs do week-long camps that are less than $100 for a week. It's nice to have a summer at home, but it's also nice to have a few things to break up the monotony!
So cute! I wish I could get my 13 yr old to sleep in past 7 am!
How about Vacation Bible School? They are generally between $20 and $30 for the week (which is either mornings or evenings). At the one where I just taught, one mom told me that her kids talk about VBS more than they do Disney and another mom told me that she wishes they had it every week, that her kid loves it so much, and that the church should charge way more. Alexis did not list swimming, but I also recommend taking advantage of free swim lessons at the county pools (if you are close to one). My kid is a good swimmer, but it helps with her skills, she gets to socialize, and on the last day, they turn on the wave pool.
My kid's list would look similar to yours (except for 77 Kids). She really just wants to spend time with me (and her friends). And when I get tired of playing Barbies and babies with her, I try to remind myself that she will be young only once and I will eventually find a full-time job.
Good luck with that sleeping in thing!
That is a fantastic bucket list for summer!
My kids (sadly) didn't put "Sleep In" on their lists. :( This morning, I spent 45 minutes filling up approximately 150 water ballons (not an exaggeration - we have 4 kids plus me) and I just finished hiding them around the yard, Easter egg style. In about half an hour we are going on a water balloon "hunt" and once they're all found they get to throw them at whomever they want (most likely me, which is why I hid a stash in the sink in the garage ahem). I AM MORE EXCITED THAN THEY ARE!! We tried making a water balloon catapult yesterday...but we broke the yardstick. Family Fun mag had the idea for a Summer Advent-ure calendar. You basically hang ideas and/or souvenirs from clothespins for some/most/all of the days of summer. If I was tech-savvy I would put a link here but I'm sure you could google it.
We also have other things on our list but some of them are for rainy days and I don't have high hopes of doing those any time soon (Does anyone know a good rain dance? Do it CO first...).
her, too?
Monkey has twice slept in until 10, but that's only because he was kept out on the boat or swimming or at a friend's house until the ungodly hours past midnight.
The princess... she's up at 7 everyday. KILLS ME :-) Damn good thing they're cute
Do not ever, never ask her what her idea of getting up early is. I have an idea that would be a very bad idea. Very.
love, love, love that picture of alexis!
and her heart. that list was priceless.