10 things to survive the season

1. An indoor tent. maybe ten bucks. Sure, there are countless gorgeous themed ones that sell for a couple hundred dollars, but the kids don’t care. The tent provides hours of fun.

2. Emergency Supplies. a secret closet filled with art supplies, Dollar Store toys, sidewalk chalk, play-doh, bubbles etc. It’s a savior for rainy days, or if I just feel like being a hero for three seconds.

3. An inflatable pool. There’s a pool in our neighborhood, but when I’m alone with the kids we rarely go. The ratio of three to one in the water is just too challenging for me, so we mostly use the classy one our backyard. They don’t seem to mind.

4. A Plan. Whether it’s the zoo, petting farm, play-dates with friends or a trip downtown, it’s helpful to have a plan for the day. Otherwise the age old sing-songy question of “what can we do now?” slowly kills me. I prefer “when can we leave?” and “when are they going to be here?”

5. Free movie schedule. Did you know that most cinemas offer special kids movies all summer long?

6. A Mother’s Helper. Find yourself a 12 or 13 year old neighbor. You can pay them well below minimum wage and they’re eager, respectful and generally good with kids. And if they live within walking distance? Perfection.

7. Alcohol, and lots of it.

8. A Library Pass. I’m not the biggest fan of the library– the stress of keeping books in perfect condition and returning them on time is just way too stressful for me. But, come summer, I need all of the free air conditioned places I can get. And I’m grateful to have story-time hosted by someone other than me.

9. Ice Cream, for bribery purposes.

10. A Vacation. Without trips to look forward to, summer would just be three long months made up of never ending days.