summer of self sufficiency

I love the early summer mornings......sun shining just so,  birds chirping, breeze blowing....enjoying my cup of coffee silently on the deck with just my two furry sentries by my side.

 

The Back yard is SAFE!

That is,  until all H.E. double toothpicks breaks loose and the crazy day begins with making breakfast, packing lunches, planning dinner,  racing to swim practice, then back and forth to various lessons/activities, dropping off picking up,  etc.  honestly,  it's EXHAUSTING.

He laughs.......

  So I have decided to make this the summer of self sufficiency.

these clowns need to start pulling their own weight around here!  ha ha.

i'm half joking,  but also quite serious.

Yesterday it began with teaching my son how to scramble his own eggs,

I mean,  he's 13,  surely old enough to know these things by now.

note Fiona is unloading the dishwasher.....

In todays society I can't believe how many control freaks we have out there that never let their kids do anything because they want it done right and don't think their kids are capable of doing it.

 well  we're not doing our kids any favors by not letting them try.

I can't tell you how many stories I've heard of kids going off to college and seriously not knowing how to do even the most basic of things to take care of themselves because their parents always did everything for them,  that's NUTS!

I don't want that to happen to my young folks.   They need to learn these skills.  It also may help them to appreciate and understand just how much work it takes to run a household or a business.   Today's kids NEED this!  They have been given everything and have no clue about what it takes to work hard.

In fact my son actually enjoyed making his own eggs!  he also enjoyed washing the dishes too!  He had his ipod playing while he did it,  and claimed he wanted to do the dishes everyday because it was kinda peaceful.

after I peeled myself off  the floor from shock,  I was quite excited at the prospect of having some extra help around here.

  I have been running 3 households lately...  The shop,  with it's gardens and rooms inside,  My mom's house,  where I've been staying for the past 3 weeks while she's out of town.....doing her gardens and mainting her household,  along with our own house and garden.  I am a little fatigued.  So the extra help is awesome.

good for me,  AND good for THEM.

 I actually Love staying at my mom's...the house I grew up in.....they don't build them like that anymore... with it's french doors, and solid oak floors.....

and original porcelain light fixtures.

the yard and garden makes me so happy...I could spend all day there....

Now Little Fiona is my happy little camper and helper. Singing at the top of her lungs everyday.

she has always been a willing participant to the mundane household tasks, (she's actually doing laundry as we speak ha ha) is this a natural girl thing?

being the strong independent female that I am, I would hate to think that us girls are naturally born to do these tasks......but in our household the girls work HARD.

but we also play hard too :)

we lounge by the pool.....

go to outdoor summer festivals.....

paint and create.....

soak up the goofy sights and sounds of our town.....

read books,

and eat ice cream at the Washtenaw dairy......

cuz ya gotta balance it all....work and play.

People always are amazed at how I am able to accomplish these things,  well,  I will tell you that I don't watch t.v..... I wake up early.....and go to bed late...I am certainly not perfect,  and I don't always get everything done.   But I try my best,  and expect the same from my people.  

They will make mistakes,  they won't get that dishwasher loaded the right way,  or they'll mow the lawn a little crooked,  but it's O.K!  Everybody has to start somewhere.

So on that note,  I am off to go deal with todays crisis that just developed,  Pearl killed a chipmunk in the back yard in front of Fiona.

Hard to believe such a cute exterior masks a natural born killer....

after a short discourse on terrier natural instincts, getting to pet the cute little dead creature before it was buried, all is well..........for now .....cuz even little white dogs have their jobs to do too ;)

XOXOXO

 

Comments

[kristen]

i love you and think of you often, sistah. keep on keepin' on.

[Julie]

I'm glad you blog. :) It's always such a treat!

Love to see kids taking on responsibilities and learning basic life skills. You're a wise Mama.

[Eileen Gianiodis]

Agreed on the making the kiddos self-sufficient ... I think I live that life (minus two households)!

[art cant hurt]

you are a STRONG WOMAN! love it! aaaannd....helps me feel "less square" as a parent that's doing the same thing - teaching how to do loads of laundry, cook, clean, maintain basics of ones room, locker, etc. because i absolutely want my kiddos to be contributors to our great land - not takers ;)
ENJOY your summer friend!
take care!

[julie]

We are having the Summer of Personal Responsibility (sometimes called the Summer of Picking Up Your Crap). Now when my kids ask where their suit, goggles, etc. are I can simply say "I don’t know...I didn't touch it". Wishing you all a happy summer :-)

[Lor]

Your dog is hilarious! So cute and adds such a fun element to your post. I have the same red and white polka dot spoon rest on my stove.I taught my son how to make coffee when he was 9, an important skill in this house, lol! Have a great day!