40 Ways to Keep Summer from Slipping Away

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It's more than halfway through July. I paused a moment or two this morning to put to paper my intentions for the rest of the summer. I find that if I'm intentional, I'm better able to fully engage in the moment. I don't want to let a second of summer's goodness slip away unappreciated. So, I resolve to

  1. Make sure it is Mama in prayer that my children see first thing every morning. Much preferred to Mama pounding away furiously at a keyboard.
  2. Exercise both morning and evening. Evenings, with Mike.
  3. Eat three small meals a day, nothing more.
  4. Keep my kitchen Whole30 compliant.
  5. Sit down and eat together every evening.
  6. Completely refurbish the Homemaking Notebook, update routines, discard the unnecessary.
  7. Paint the house.
  8. Limit social media to pre-determined times of day, for very small, pre-determined periods of time. For me and for my children. 
  9. Actually shut down the computer when finished instead of merely closing the lid or clicking "sleep."
  10. Sew something for an hour (or more) every day.
  11. Polish up the Alphabet Path and make two week lesson plans for every letter, transferring them to PDF so that I don't have to consult the computer for my lessons. And update that tutorial.
  12. Make peach jam.
  13. Whittle my Google Reader down to the top ten most inspiring blogs. Check in with them once a week. Read books the rest of the time
  14. Keep my Instagram circle small. I treasure those snapshots of the lives of intentional women.
  15. Stick to the "more prayer, less coffee" routine.
  16. Take myself off every junk mail list and unsubscribe from all email blog feeds.
  17. Keep a Mason jar of fresh flowers on the center island in the kitchen every day.
  18. Visit every playground in my neighborhood at least twice before September 1st.
  19. Make in-real-life play dates once a week--for me (pedicures might be involved).
  20. Keep the first and last hours of every day free from digital interference.

 

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21. Go to Adoration at least an hour a week.
22. Indulge in unlimited pillow talk. Sleep in if necessary.
23. Make a fresh pitcher of fruit infused water every morning. Drain it by the end of the day.
24. Keep my cell phone completely off in the car.
25. Plan a date night once a week.
26. Help Mike plan a 25th anniversary trip for September.
27. Watch the sunrise with Nicholas.
28. Kiss them goodbye when they leave the house. Every one of them. Every time.
29. Take Karoline fishing. Let her sing. Sing with her.
30. When someone--anyone, everyone--speaks to me, look him/her in the eye for the entire conversation. (Unless we're sitting and doing handwork together;-)
31. Stand in the pool and let her jump to me. Over and over and over.
32. Go to a Brad Paisley concert with my absolute favorite 17-year-old and his darling girlfriend and her awesome mom.
33. Finish knitting "Katie's" sweater so Karoline can wear it this fall.
34. Read five picture books a day to a child on my lap.
35. Pray the rosary together every night.
36. Tell my kids how much I love to watch them play.
37. Lots of bubble baths, followed by kid massages. 
38. Say "yes" to as many crazy, creative kid ideas as humanly possible.
39.Let Sarah paint my toenails.
40. Help Kristin plan a Christmas wedding.