Vacation

The Webster definition of Vacation is:

A scheduled period during which activity is suspended

Webster has never been on vacation with my family.

Despite a rocky first day, our 5 days at Lake Norris, TN were really nice. We had the added joy of Daughter's bestie (who is moving soon. can't think about it or I will cry. again) with us and the boys loved to torture them endlessly.

I learned a few things on this trip that I want to share, to help you have a successful "vacation" this summer.

1. Less really is more when it comes to all things vacation. Pack your bag and then take half out. Pack your lake toys and then toss them all bcz the best time the kids had was the afternoon, into evening, when they did jumping off the dock contests. No floaties needed.

2. Go with people you can stand in close quarters. I was lucky to go with my folks and my brother and his wife and son. I don't think too much about this combination, but over drinks one night, my dad pointed out how lucky we are that our family gets along. Too many people we know are estranged from their family. I can't imagine not liking my family, they have gotten me thru so much.

3. Meal planning is key. Talk with the people you are traveling with and make sure the main meals are covered. Oh, and bring a griddle. Made lots of grilled cheese on it for lunch!!

4. Take lots of pictures and be sure to have them printed. I plan on doing an album for Daughter and her friend for her when she moves. Though her brother's bugged them endlessly, they will never forget how fun it was to push them off the dock.

This summer is going too fast, as usual, but I am happy we had a good vacation. Sets the tone for the summer. Hoping the rain lets up soon so we can go to the pool more. Ok, I don't really wish this, but if I can get to the library and get a good book, I may look forward to it more.

Lots of new things coming my way and I am excited to share them with you. I am back to eating a lot less processed food and actually scheduling my workouts on my calendar. Have lost 5 lbs in 5 days since I have been home from TN. 

Tomorrow is Middle child's championship baseball game. Please note, they were in 11th place out of 13 teams, so this is a BIG DEAL!! I am really excited for him. Rec league has been good for him. I work Sunday morning at the Assisted Living Facility and I am really looking forward to it. I miss them and can't wait to see them again. I am fortunate to be able to work when they need me.

I hope Summer is treating you all well. This can be a tough time of year with boredom  and the kids driving us nuts. I find myself in time out a lot. Seems to work.

One last shot of vacation, love everyone in this pic. Dad took it but I love him, too!!

Texting/Facetime and your kids

I was trying to think of a witty way to bring this up, but honestly, there isn't really anything funny about it and I am just going to put it out there:

If you have kids that text or use Facetime, please let them know you will be checking their texts and restricting Facetime.

We have always checked Daughters texts and made sure we know all her contacts. So far so good, have not had a problem yet.

My concern stems from texts that my Middle child is getting from girls and stories from friends about texts and/or Facetime incidents.

It's not even the content so much that concerns me, it is 1)the time he receives these texts and 2) how if he doesn't respond immediately, these girls get pissed.

It had gotten so bad that I sent an "all recipients" text to his address book clearly spelling out his rules with the cell phone. 

Want to know them? Here they are: 

His phone is turned off and handed to me at 10pm.

We check each and every text he sends and receives.

He cannot access links to anything, so don't even bother.

If I find anything inappropriate, the senders parents WILL be notified .

I don't think this is excessive and of course some of his lady friend recipients had some choice names for me but you know what? I don't give a crap. There is NO reason 11 year old girls need to be texting my son after midnight, then demanding to know why he isn't responding.

I wish these girls would realize that their daily happiness is not dependent on some boy, their worth is not based on how quickly a boy texts them back, and that they don't have to be so damn demanding to get a boy's attention.

Girls, that turns the boys off. 

I never would have thought having boys would be harder than having a girl, but man oh man, this is way harder than I would have thought.

The morale of my rant is this: Parents, please set clear rules on the phones/itouches and make sure you follow thru. They may be annoyed but we are the rule makers here, not them.

Cat