Well, the kid’s out of school, and summer break has begun!! I’m not exactly sure why people get so excited about this…for me, I have to admit it’s a bit stressful and exhausting.
I’m a work-at-home mom. My job is sitting in front of the computer, doing graphics work for MWR, designing posters and flyers and web ads for functions on the military post. And if our daughter’s home full time, this means I have to try to keep her busy and supervised, while also trying to give my job my full attention. Arg! It gets very stressful sometimes. And since she’s got some separation issues, she wants to make sure she’s never far from me at all times, and I’m okay with that.
But we have found some solutions! We’re doing summer day camp at a place that has wi-fi, so I can technically be in the building while still being able to work from my laptop. It takes a little effort, but everyone’s happy.
We’ve already had a pretty busy summer so far! We got a new pet rat to give Myla’s pet rat Skunk someone to play with. Her name is Doodle (the little one on the left), and she’s SUPER sweet. 🙂
We saved a baby bird from the middle of the road on our way back from the gym one day…She could fly a little, but the closest nests were above some storefronts, so I was afraid she’d wander back into the road. Instead, we put her in a nearby forested area, so she could find her family again and be safer.
We have been sending dinosaur packages to friends, and building a 2-foot tall robot (which was her big birthday gift this year, and we’re ALMOST done with her!) on the weekends…
During work time, Myla keeps busy with art projects…
After work, I squeeze in some doodle time while she does summer things (I do summer things, too, I just don’t last as long as her!)…
And at night time, I have a little time to watch a grownup movie on the couch and draw by myself for awhile…
I’ve also been keeping busy with a few commissions…
And Myla and I have some projects we’ll be working on together…We’re going to be painting a small mural for Hope Outdoor Gallery in Graffiti Park in Austin. We’ll be painting a prosthetic leg to contribute to the Painted Prosthetic Project to help military veterans. And we’re going to paint a pair of Vans for a show to raise money for help for families and research into rare children’s diseases. Yay for doing good things!
And Myla’s a Girl Scout, and just bridged from a young Daisy to a Brownie level! And since the Scouts are out for the summer, we’ll be working on a couple of art and nature projects to earn a couple of patches for her new Brownie vest on our own. We started things out this weekend by making a bee pond for our garden.
In the meantime, we both have decided to start collecting patches and pins on our own denim shirts. We each got a shirt, and have started collecting patches and pins from such places as Stay Home Club, Frog and Toad Press, and Spider Stitches Parlor. We especially loved the “Friend to Bugs” patch!
So that’s the start of our summer, and it’s already a busy one! Most importantly, my husband is supposed to return from deployment some time in July or August (you never know for sure with the military)! So we’ll be doing some fun things like chalking the driveway and making some signs for the house to celebrate him coming home.
So has summer started yet for you? How are you keeping busy this summer? What new projects are you working on?
busy mockingbird 
It sounds like you have a hectic, busy but fun-filled summer planned. I hope you will be sharing some of your summer activities on the blog. I would love to see them.
My four boys get out of school next week. I usually do a fun home schooling style project with them over the summer to keep them stimulated and keep them entertained. My oldest son has ASD so he really needs structure and routine too – something we knew to be true of him a decade before he was diagnosed, it’s just who he is. Last year I taught them History of Art. This year I am not doing anything quite that focused for a change, however, just because dealing with a wide spread of ages at this stage is a bit tricky. I am, therefore, doing a pot luck activity thing with them whereby each day we need an activity for (since some days we will take trips) we will pluck a piece of paper randomly from the pot and will do whatever it suggests. Some will take a few days to complete and others only last an hour. That works well for us since it means we balance out free time with structured, focused time and days at home playing and doing activities with days spent going for walks or taking a trip. I have never done anything quite this loose and free form with them before so it is a bit of an experiment. Fingers crossed that it works out.
Oh and I am hoping to embark on a challenge to draw 100 faces (or more) in ink and watercolour.
That sounds like a lot of fun! It’s good to balance activities out with time for them to do things on their own, too. Sounds like you’ve got a great summer coming up!
Thanks. I hope so.