I love summer and obviously so do my kids, but as a full-time working mom it hits differently. I still look forward to al fresco meals and weekends at the pool, but there are much more logistics involved now that my kids are not in daycare. Here's a look into our summer this year!
First, I want to acknowledge I have the privilege of working remotely. I realize this gives me more flexibility than those that have to go into an office. I also have the income to pay for full day camps, and we all know how freaking expensive these camps are.
The weight of scheduling falls on me, and I have almost every summer week scheduled by March 1. That might sound crazy to you but the most affordable day camp option for us opens up in mid-March and it sells out within the first hour or two. Alex really has no idea what's going on in the summer when it comes to our kids' schedules, but I make sure to put every camp into our apple calendars. He also goes into the office 3 days a week, and leaves very early for week to beat traffic and exercise at his office gym.
Last year I made a HUGE mistake and put my kids in a lot of half day camps. I learned real quick that 9am-12pm was not ideal when trying to take work calls, and I was in the car most of the morning. This year my requirement for camps is that it ends no earlier than 2pm. Thankfully there is a local full day camp that is semi-affordable.
I try to mix it up a bit between camps because my kids do get bored, so we are rotating with general day camp, baseball camp, art camp, church camp and gymnastics camp.
Turner started going to overnight camps the summer before he entered 3rd grade, and he absolutely LOVED it! We've continued the tradition now every summer, and next year I'm going to sign my twins up so they can all go together for the week. Full disclosure I work with Pine Cove to promote their camps and in return Turner goes for free, but I 100% would pay for it if I didn't collaborate with them. Turner is also going to Camp Eagle for a week overnight so I'm excited to hear his experience.
Now to the fun part! We take a lot of weekend trips in the summer, and I try to take at least 1 to 2 full weeks off for larger vacations. Here's a look at our travel schedule this summer.
- Los Cabos, Mexico: Adults-only trip (Turner will be at overnight camp and my in-laws are watching my twins while they go to day camp)
- Rockport, TX: 3 day beach trip to the gulf with my sister, nieces, mom and kids.
- Mo-Ranch: Annual weekend trip to the TX hill country with friends + kids
- Boston/Cape Cod: Our big trip for the summer is visiting Boston and the Cape Cod area with my dad's side of the family. The whole fam damily will be in tow, and we are renting a big house on the cape that has a pool. I've been to there twice as a kid because my Grampa was from that area, but this will be the first time Alex and my kids have been to Massachusetts. I don't have many activities planned, but I'm already dreaming about the mass amounts of clam chowder I will be consuming!
What do your summers look like? It's easy as a working mom to get overwhelmed, but I'm trying to focus on "slower" mornings and less busy schedules due to no sports!
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