Summer of 2009
It’s September 1st and fall has officially arrived. As I sit, wrapped in a blanket, chilly from 55 degree winds blowing in, I am finding myself somewhat reflective about the past three months.
Although a welcome break from the Minnesota winter lock down, Summer was somewhat of a bust. With my normal manic enthusiasm, I had spent the entire winter planning the fun and exciting things the kids and I would do all summer. In my dreams, we hung out at the park every day, went camping—first in the back yard and then in the real world, we hung out with friends at the pool, had family barbecues and, in short, experienced general summertime bliss.
What really happened was we spent 9,000 hours split between the Matas Backyard Waterpark and the Matas Family Room. It was kids running the hose or endless marathons of Spongebob.
We skipped camping in favor of setting up the tent in a bedroom because, apparently, it was “too hot, too sunny, too buggy and too dirty” in nature. We embraced our inner hermits, joining in a total of only four playdates—ALL SUMMER. (Other adults? What are those?)
We tested the babies’ level of stubbornness by repeatedly trying to get them to enjoy swimming at the “big” pool as opposed to screaming, sitting with their NUKs and cuddlies or eating the entire time.
(Final score? Mom = 1 Babies = 50)
We did have some fun times, too. The big kids found a mutual love of all things trains and have finally learned to play together with minimal fighting. The babies are somewhat less insane and have all but stopped trying to swing from the dining room chandelier…they still like to dance on the table though! And we had a lovely trip to Duluth where Gooseberry Falls was a hit all around.
Even though we didn’t do all the fantabulous things I planned, summer allowed us to rest and recharge. We are now tanned and relaxed, ready to face a fall of “first days” like kindergarten and preschool and very literal first days for a new baby come Halloween.
We’ve got our new backpacks, a mini-van full of car seats and gas and enough scheduled activities to keep the crazies controlled.
Bring it on fall! We’re ready!
Although a welcome break from the Minnesota winter lock down, Summer was somewhat of a bust. With my normal manic enthusiasm, I had spent the entire winter planning the fun and exciting things the kids and I would do all summer. In my dreams, we hung out at the park every day, went camping—first in the back yard and then in the real world, we hung out with friends at the pool, had family barbecues and, in short, experienced general summertime bliss.
What really happened was we spent 9,000 hours split between the Matas Backyard Waterpark and the Matas Family Room. It was kids running the hose or endless marathons of Spongebob.
We skipped camping in favor of setting up the tent in a bedroom because, apparently, it was “too hot, too sunny, too buggy and too dirty” in nature. We embraced our inner hermits, joining in a total of only four playdates—ALL SUMMER. (Other adults? What are those?)
We tested the babies’ level of stubbornness by repeatedly trying to get them to enjoy swimming at the “big” pool as opposed to screaming, sitting with their NUKs and cuddlies or eating the entire time.
(Final score? Mom = 1 Babies = 50)
We did have some fun times, too. The big kids found a mutual love of all things trains and have finally learned to play together with minimal fighting. The babies are somewhat less insane and have all but stopped trying to swing from the dining room chandelier…they still like to dance on the table though! And we had a lovely trip to Duluth where Gooseberry Falls was a hit all around.
Even though we didn’t do all the fantabulous things I planned, summer allowed us to rest and recharge. We are now tanned and relaxed, ready to face a fall of “first days” like kindergarten and preschool and very literal first days for a new baby come Halloween.
We’ve got our new backpacks, a mini-van full of car seats and gas and enough scheduled activities to keep the crazies controlled.
Bring it on fall! We’re ready!
(Just keep that nasty winter away as long as you can…)
Posted by Betsey Matas at 9/1/2009 2:52 PM 
Categories: Mom, Parenting, Family
Tags: Kindergarten Twins Pic Minneapolis kidundated Summer Minnesota
Categories: Mom, Parenting, Family
Tags: Kindergarten Twins Pic Minneapolis kidundated Summer Minnesota
Love Gooseberry! Your minivan sounds totally bad-ass.