a Year's worth of fun

Instagram knew the new year was coming and kept blowing up my feed with "12 months of..." ideas. I saw date nights, mother/daughter days, girl's nights in, the list was endless. My family and I do plenty, but I thought this would be a fun little craft for me to give my family something to look forward to. It also guaranteed one on one quality time during stressful or hectic weeks. I called my friend, scheduled a chill day, and packed all the scrap paper and markers. 

We tried to theme out each month depending on if we are camping, traveling, or doing something local. My friend joined in and did some of the same ideas for her daughters, so we can have fun together. They are not all outings or expensive. Some are easy, at home events. Some are nature based or food based. We switched it up. 

I ended up doing a year's worth of activities for my husband, too. I had the time. I had the paper. Why not? One huge sheet of paper folded in an envelope and done. 

January: plan a resale shopping day and do lunch. Husband: Let your wife take you to dinner (we have some giftcards to use).

February: watch the movie Valentines Day and bake heart shaped cookies. Husband: go see a comedian at the Metrocentre. And so on and so forth. Picnics, Souptober, a day at the beach, and so much more will be coming. 

I love all the New Year's challenges so much more than resolutions. They give us something to focus on for growth and happiness. Resolutions make me feel committed and then disappointed if I fail or forget. I even added directions to the envelope: Open on the first of the month. Then we discuss together and put it on the calendar so the plan is legit. Here is to a Year's worth of fun!!!

when your kid can make her own plans

When your kid starts to make their own plans, EVERYTHING changes. I am no longer on hold, text-a-athon participating, and voice mail leaving. She just lets me know, I confirm, and then it goes on the calendar. This means time. And anyone grown woman knows that time is a valuable asset. Time is money. Time is key!

On the second week of summer, my kid went to a Wednesday afternoon "party". They grilled, played volleyball, baked a cake, hung out. I gutted the basement and cleaned every last cobweb, bagged garbage, bagged and delivered donations, and reorganized some stuff. It was wonderful. When I was finished, I drove to grab her and didn't even have to get out of the car.

Now let's not overlook camps. When she was younger, we would sit and discuss all the fun opportunities she had in this area. STEM camp was a hit 2 years in a row. Art camp and painting camp also scored big. We have never really done sports camps until this year. Free day camp was great when she was younger. All I needed was 8am-12pm to run errands or go to some trainings. 

Now she goes to camp at her gym. She will randomly pick a day and I drop her off with snacks and a smile from 10-3. This is also a great plan because it's just down the road. She comes home sweaty, sore, exhilarated from running, bouncing, jumping, and playing. BUT... last Friday, she went to camp and I went to get a pedicure. She acted like it was the end of the world! 🤣

I use my time wisely while she is gone. I try not to just clean or organize. I make simple plans, read, nap, swim, whatever. Now I know NOT to tell her what I did while she was gone, though. Who knew?? As sad as I get knowing my little baby face is growing up, every time we unlock a new chapter it goes great. And I must say, there is nothing better for my sanity than her coordinating her own social life! 

passing the torch

When the state gives you an entire day off to vote, you plan to vote early and make the most of your day! We decided to ride our bikes to go rock the vote, then come back for a day of fun. Why bother with Netflix and chill. Maybe a girly spa day? Nope.

We rearranged the den for maximum fun and that's where we shall begin. What started with: vote, read a little, get some lunch has become: do it ALL. She even wrote it in order of fun. THEN she went back and labelled. This is a girl after my own heart! The labelling and details are reminiscent of my own life. Neat and orderly (on paper, at least!) with lists everywhere.

"Do we have to vote, though? We have so much fun planned." Uh, yes! We do! I told her it is our patriotic duty to vote. For women, this is important. Susan B Anthony would be so proud :) 

We can have fun afterwards. Clearly, my morning has been laid out for me. I plan to pass the torch for my little go-getter organizer. She, too, loves making lists and organizing. I need to pass the torch tomorrow and show her that we can work and play and make a difference all in one morning!

thinking twice makes us extra nice

We have all been in a situation where you get invited somewhere and have to check the calendar first. Well, thanks to Covid, we ask more than just what date and time. The list includes: Where? Inside or out? How many people? Is everyone well? Is everyone comfortable with that?

Our family calendar is usually full of fun. This year has been a time for new fun in the form of bike rides, parks, outdoor or digital play dates, take out, camping verses hotel stays, day trips instead of plane trips. We have canceled trips, concerts, festivals, baseball games, and much more. But we still smile. We still laugh. We still enjoy. Covid can't take all that away, too!

And now we just add an additional layer of courtesy in the mix. Thank you, but not this time. We appreciate you thinking of us. Do you mind if we stay outside? Thanks for your support on this.

Maybe, just maybe, all of this will remind us to be kind. Just think twice to be extra nice. To choose kind. Kind words. Courtesy. Empathy. Remembering that we are all in the same storm, but we are each steering our own boats. And what makes people feel better, happier, calmer than kindness and nice???

new year, new plan

It started when my stepson was younger. He would always ask when we were doing this, that, etc. So every year we would buy him a fun calendar and every month we would fill it out together. He knew when he was seeing his mom next, I avoided all the questions and it was something for us to do together. Boom. Mom win. Then it became our thing with our daughter, too. Now she gets a calendar for Christmas (I know... we are practical AND dorky!). Yesterday she asked me to hang up her new wild animals calendar and we filled out January, part of February and some of March. I got, "Awww. No more?" when I hung it up. Yep. If you start them early, you CAN teach responsibility, time management, ownership, appreciating all gifts big or small, and (hopefully) that a bit of dorky goes a long way :)

Sunday is lazy day

We were in a parade this morning and my daughter had a blast waving paparazzi style to everyone. Afterwards we ended up at home with no plans and we were actually OKAY with it. We constantly move, go, plan, do and as fun as our lives are, this is sometimes exhausting! My daughter was able to call a friend and walk over to her house which meant laying around and watching football for the adults! Today's life lesson: embrace cancelled plans, don't feel like you constantly need to be in motion, and get a house 2 doors down from your daughter's best friend :)