Summer on a Budget

One of the perks of being a teacher is having the summers off; it's a nice break, considering the increasingly demanding nature of the teaching profession.  However, one of the downsides of summer break is not having a paycheck for two months.  So, one of the challenges I face in the summer is to have fun with Ethan, keep my sanity, and not spend too much money.  I'm definitely a "throw money at the problem" kind of girl, so it requires some planning on my part to avoid breaking the bank.  

As I've discovered over the last week, there are plenty of free activities around town to do with kids, TONS, actually.  I found a website that has been extremely helpful.  It lists pretty much every free activity there is to do with kids in Rochester in one place so I don't have to spend time trolling various websites to figure out what to do. 

Where I get stuck is with finding things to do at home with Ethan.  Since he's still so little and has a short attention span, I need to have new and unique activities ready to keep him occupied, but I can't afford to go shopping every week for new or even used toys (I think I'll need to do a post soon on my love of baby/toddler consignment shopping!) Fortunately, Pinterest has helped immensely.  I get plenty of ideas for activities and toys from Pinterest, and most of the materials involved I already have in my house or just call for a quick trip to the Dollar Store.  We made a trip to the Dollar Store Monday, and so today, since it's rainy and Ethan is feeling a bit under the weather, I broke out the goodies - a package of pom-poms and a set of ice cube trays.  For a whopping 20 minutes, Ethan busied himself placing the pom-poms in the ice cube trays, dumping them out, and then starting over.  He even enjoyed just putting the pom-poms back into the zip-loc baggie.  What I like about this activity is that it can grow with him as he develops.  Right now, it's all about hand-eye coordination, but as he gets older and understands colors, categorizing, and counting, he'll be able to use these items in other ways.  All this for only $2, yes, that's right, only $2!!! (re-read this line in your best infomercial voice).  

Nap-time

Oh nap-time .....what a love-hate relationship I have with you.  I'm pretty sure I can say this with certainty. EVERY mother looks forward to nap-time.  Whether it's because of the 1-2 hours of uninterrupted time to shower, get dressed, and then do whatever chores need to be done, or whether it's because we just want to sit down and have some time to ourselves for the simple things - a cup of coffee, a few pages of our summer beach read (minus the beach) - nap-time is a beautiful time.  And, if you're lucky (and right now, I'm still one of the lucky ones) your child might take two naps a day, which means you get to have twice as much time to yourself.  Heaven.

So, if naptime is, "heaven," to quote myself, why the hate?  How can a person hate nap-time?  It's not nap-time I hate, so much as the feeling I get when nap-time is over, when I realize that for all of my grand ideas of what I could accomplish in this precious alone time, I actually accomplish little to nothing. Case in point, this morning, which inspired this blog post.  For whatever reason....ok, maybe I do know the reason....ONE margarita at a jewelry party last night along with the guilt of spending maybe more than I should have on Silpada jewelry...I woke up exhausted with Ethan at 7am.  After breakfast and some uninspired playtime with Ethan, he rubbed his eyes at 8:17am, which meant he went down for his nap by 8:18am.  So what did I do?  Did I clean my kitchen?  Did I fold and throw in some laundry?  Did I call the vet?  Did I shower and get dressed?  Did I throw dinner in the crock pot?  Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. I went back to bed.  And it was glorious.

But, now it's 10am and I feel like I've wasted my morning, Ethan will be up any minute, and I'm not even dressed.  It's going to be a looooong day.

Day 1

Today was the first official day of my 2nd summer with Ethan, and overall, it was a pretty good day.  The weather report said it was going to be super hot (fingers crossed 88 degree days are not the norm this summer!) so I decided we should get some outside play time in early before it gets too hot, so after breakfast I loaded Ethan into the stroller and we headed towards Perinton Park.  We strolled down the canal path where we saw some ducks splash land into the canal, pointed at trees, and practiced our ABCs.

We arrived at the park and made a beeline for the new toddler playground.  There was a staircase for him to climb, a slide, and a ramp, but there were also plenty of areas on the new playground where, with one wrong step, Ethan would be splat on the brand new mulch.  Ethan's 16 months now, and fearless, so he kept me busy chasing after him.

The rest of the day was a typical day in the life of a toddler - blocks, books, snacks, naps, errands with Mama, etc.  

There were a few hiccups to our day.  Hiccup #1 - Naps.  I think Ethan might be getting ready to drop down to one nap a day :( He spent a lot of time fussing in his crib before both of his naps, but yet, he still slept for 2 hours each time.  I better go see what the Sleep Lady has to say about this.  Hiccup #2 - We ran out of coffee.  Need I say more?

Getting Started

When my little guy was born 16 months ago, life as I knew it completely changed.  Blah blah blah...sleepless nights, puke, crying baby, whatever whatever...  Motherhood hasn't been easy, but I've been blessed with a happy baby and a supportive husband and family.  I was fortunate to be able to take 6 months off from work so I could be at home with my little guy.  I wouldn't trade that time for anything, but to be perfectly honest, once that first summer came around, I was going stir-crazy!!!  I loved spending time with Boo-bear (one of Ethan's many, many nicknames), but after countless hours of tummy time, singing made-up songs, baths, books, swaddling, shushing, swaying, etc... I was craving adult interaction.  Unfortunately, being a slightly nervous new mom trying to maintain a strict nap schedule with a 4 month-old in the middle of an oppressively hot, humid summer, I was not very eager to leave the house, which only made my feelings of isolation worse.

Fast forward one year.  In the last 12 months I survived my first summer home with my baby, put my kid in daycare, went back to work, and juggled (struggled?) balancing career and family responsibilities.  So, here we are, June 23rd, and Ethan and I are about to embark on our second summer.  Did I mention I'm a teacher?  From late June to late August I get to be a summer-only stay-at-home-mom and will be one for the foreseeable future, at least until he's 18.  Gulp.  Don't get me wrong...I love my kid, but it's going to take some planning to make sure we're making the most of our summer days together and that I don't lose my mind.  So, here's where this blog comes in.  This blog will be a record of our summer days, the good, bad, fun, silly, messy.... our adventures in the second of 19 summers.