Well friends we have officially started summer break and let me tell you I'm gonna need a few chill pills if you have any. We had an amazing family vacation last week. Literally amazing. There's nothing better for me than having NOTHING on my agenda and TONS of family time. It literally fills my cup to the brim. I think it helps that the house we go to has plenty of space for us to all get a little space if you know what I mean?!?!

Yesterday was not my finest day. At one point or another I texted Amy to tell her that I thought I needed an emergency supply of Xanax. It wasn't a few moments later and I texted Aaron sort of a confessional/SOS text saying only this, “I don't like myself.  I've been so mean to the kids”. UGH. It wasn't pretty friends. I knew it. I confessed it. And tried so desperately to change my behavior/attitude towards Summer break.

I truly LOVE Summer break. But it's also so hard sometimes. Anyone else feel this, or just me?

I think coming home from vacation was hard on all of us. I've told you all before that re-entry is hard for me when I come home from vacation, and just maybe it's hard for my kids as well. I think we all secretly wished we were back at the lake on the boat without a worry in the world. Instead they were home with a mom that was trying to grocery shop, get Story's hair done (hello, half of my day gone), unpack, figure out what we might do every day with all of our time, and still trying to savor every minute of the day. Just so we are clear here, I savored nothing yesterday, except my own crappy attitude.

I'm not sure what was wrong with me, but I'm happy to report that day #2 of Summer was 100x better than yesterday!! I started with an eyebrow wax, which isn't necessarily awesome within itself, but for a split second I was having adult conversation even though she was ripping my hair out of my body. Then I had one of my most favorite podcasts interviews ever with Emily, and then it was all kid stuff. We went hiking, and to the library, and then played outside for a while. I truly was present and enjoying them. I love those moments.

Just having a plan today made all the difference in the world. Summer is hard for me because I feel as though my personal time is ripped away, which is crazy because only 2 years ago I had a preschooler, and let's be honest you don't even know how to say personal time when you have a preschooler!

I'd love to hear how you keep your sanity during the Summer. How do you keep your house from turning into a dump? How do you keep your kids brains from turning to mush? How do you establish some sort of routine? 

We have established the 2 hour a day media restriction and you would think that I told Cayden I was rationing his food to rice 1x a day for the Summer. Seriously it's basically the worst thing I have ever done to him. But seriously I can't have my kids playing games all day long for 8 weeks. We also have to read for thirty minutes a day, and basically this is just everyone on their beds for 3o minutes so I can let my brain breath for a minute.

I printed off our calendar tonight and am filling it in with fun stuff around Austin to do, and let me tell you we are blessed to live in a city with a million things to do. I seriously love planning things for our family to do in the Summer. Either I love filling in a calendar, or I really do just love doing things with my kids. I'm not sure, but none-the-less it's fun to get out of the house and do things.

I'm hoping that the Summer of 2015 is one to remember for the Ivey family. I want to make memories with my kids, and give them room to breath and be creative on their own. I also want to let them just be kids and eat ice cream, never shower, and stay up late just because.

What's your schedule during the Summer? Do you have a routine or just let your kids do whatever they want?