WFMW - The "MOM! I'm Bored!" Edition

This week Works For Me Wednesday has a theme. A theme which I'm waiting with bated breath to read other people talk about because my kids have no plans for the summer at this time.

That's right... three kids... no day camp... no play dates... no summer vacations. Prepare for the nightmare.

Being a mom who works from home, I'll have to keep the little buggers occupied somehow and I certainly don't want to do it by plopping them in front of Nickelodeon and Discovery Kids for 12 hours a day (though there may be days that does happen - judge me not, my friends - this is to preserve my sanity.)

Luckily for me, I am in an area that is just filled with absolutely great parks nearby. In fact, just tonight, we had a little family cookout at one of our local parks and we'll probably do it again some time this summer. The Man cooked up some burgers on a charcoal grill while the kids played on the playground and met new friends. I made a salad with one of those neat salad kits you can buy in the bagged lettuce section of the grocery store (didn't even need a bowl, just dumped everything in the bag and shook!) and we had some potato salad from the deli. The kids had a great time and my kitchen didn't even get messy. :)

We have parks with baseball fields, tennis courts, basketball courts, racquetball courts, water fountains for the kids to run through on really hot days, nature trails, and of course, numerous playground equipment setups to appease the heart of any bored summer child.

We'll also spend some time geocaching this summer. Geocaching is a great way to spend time as a family and it's equally fun for kids and adults. All it takes is a GPS, an account with Geocaching.com, and some tiny little trinkets of any kind. You log into your account, plug some coordinates into your GPS, grab a couple bottles of water, some comfy shoes, and a few McDonald's toys and be on your way. You hunt out a little container somewhere in your area, enjoy the scenery along the way, and swap your trinket for another one in the cache. We've found some parks in our area we never even knew about and found ourselves in some really interesting areas! There are caches pretty much all over the world so no matter where you are, there's sure to be something to hunt for.

We'll also probably spend a few days at the beach or over at my mom and dad's house swimming in their pool. Inevitably, though, there will be some days when I need to stay home and the kids will have to manage at home. So what kind of activities will they be doing?

I've always found it great to give them a craft activity. My kids are great if I say something like "I really need you guys to make a nice card for (insert name of relative who has a birthday coming up/isn't feeling well/just had a baby/etc)." They get all competitive and flashy and draw all kinds of pictures and junk. When I'm feeling froggy I'll give them glue and construction paper and scissors and let them make three dimensional cards. Heck, maybe I'll even go buy some pipe cleaners!

I've also baked up a bunch of sugar cookies and let them go to town decorating them. Who says it has to be the holidays for decorated cookies? We have glittered sprinkles in every color of the rainbow!

In the end, if I can't think of anything else to do with them and they're still telling me they're bored I'll just have to say what my mom always said in response to that complaint.

"Go clean your room."

For more Works For Me Wednesday tips on how to keep YOUR kids busy this summer, check out Rocks In My Dryer!

PS - Have you commented on my book giveaway yet? What the heck are you waiting for? :)