How's That Summer Bucket List Coming Along?

so what about it?

are y'all having FUN and making lots of MEMORIES this summer?

been working hard on that summer bucket list?

well, don't worry.....there's still time!

if you're planning a beach vacation,

check out these cute things.......

(click on the photos to be taken to the shopping site)

an adorable personalized little dolphin beach bag filled with beach toys.

and.....

a personalized chair and umbrella set.

or if sleepovers are in your future.......
this bag is a MUST!

Personalization Mall is one of my favorite places to shop....
check out one of those three above for gifts or just for fun:)

(okay, okay.....no more shopping:)

well.....nothing major.

this outdoor chalkboard is such a COOL idea from Lowes......

but who has time to put the pieces together and assemble? 

 I guess if you need it this big,

maybe.

but you could paint chalkboard paint on any old framed mirror or picture

you find at a garage sale.

Or just buy a piece of ply wood, sand and seal it REALLY good,

then paint on a frame and hang it up.

TONS of summer fun:)

I saw this at Holiday Crafts and Creations.com.

But then again, these flower balls are made from paper flowers you put together.

personally, being the lazy person that i am,

i would buy styro balls from your craft store, cheap, bright flowers and styro glue

(or hot glue) and voila.....

you have pretty flower balls hanging from the trees for summer parties!

how about a "twist" on a favorite board game?

spray on dots to make a HUGE twister game in the backyard.

have you heard of those 30 day photo challenges?

how about buying the kids a throw away camera and making a challenge for them?

then, put together a little album for show n tell in the Fall.

ideas for daily photos are as simple as;

*what you had for breakfast, lunch...

*favorite summer snack

*BFF

*summer splash

*bike photo

*family photo

*their bedroom

*favorite stuffed animal/toy

*ice cream photo

*find a bird/butterfly photo

*picture they colored/drew

*something orange/blue/pink.....

*flower

*something they found.....

anything really!

can you tell i really like this idea?

and Mom...while they do their little photo shoots,

sit back and have yourself a little

 Peach Flip

~frozen peaches, lemonade and sprite in the blender

SOOOOO GOOD!

that's it for today.
except one quick reminder.........
fun little summer moments spent at home,
 doing simple things like playing in the backyard, coloring or taking photos
 may be the best gift you can give.
think about it.......
in a world of iphones, computers, video games and sports camps,
giving kids the chance to have quiet time, unstructured time may
sound crazy but with school around the corner,
very much needed!
i don't know it all,
far from it.
some days i think i know very little!
but i know one thing.......
i wouldn't trade lazy summer days with my girls when they were little
for all of the camps, activities and games in the world.
just hanging out is good,
which is why the focus here is time together,
HAPPY times together.
XOXOXOX
Suzanne

Summer Fun......the COOLEST tip for a fun summer is......

i know the pressure out there...

to keep the kids busy,

get them in the best camps,

expose them to the most activities,

make sure every minute of every day

 is filled up because if you don't,

they might not get into Harvard some day:)
 i'm not here to say NO camps, EVER.

i understand that camps are a real help sometimes.
and fun.  some are really fun.

but seriously,

this is

SUMMER.

time to relax, kick back and have fun.
and not just the kiddos.
you have fun too...WITH them if possible:)
be a kid.
sleep in.  spend time together.
fly by the seat of your pants, without plans.
so many kids are over-planned in the school year.
 chill a bit in summer time.
this is childhood, right?

i remember growing up, before the era of camps.

we swam in backyard pools,
ran through sprinklers,

picked wild strawberries in the field behind our house,

swam in backyard pools,

caught fireflies,

rode our bikes...even creating a track for our own

motocross races.

we played football, daydreamed, ate popsicles, built forts,

had kool aid stands, played tag...

flashlight tag, cartoon tag, cereal tag, freeze tag and
hide-n-seek.

when we got thirsty, we drank icy cold water from the hose.

(and guess what? we never got a deadly disease from it, either:).
in fact, if we had come in the house,
asking our moms for a glass of water (no bottled water yet)
they would have told us to go get a drink from the hose.
and stop coming in and out of the house.
play outside already!:)  hahaha ...the good ol days!

after we drank, we squirted each other or watered the driveway.

we came in when the streetlights came on

or when our moms would call our name from the front porch.

we had mosquito bites,
 dirty feet from slipping our shoes off and playing in the grass,

and we came in just in time to take a bath, have a snack
maybe watch a tv show

and go to bed.

no video games...THANK GOODNESS!
we were responsible for making our own fun, thank you very much:)

now it seems summertime is no different than the school year.

pack lunches

set the alarm, hop in the car and get busy.

 maybe kids today love that.

but have they had a taste of the simple life recently?

they may get "bored" but did you know that's a good thing?

they NEED to learn about quiet time and solitude once in awhile.

perfect time to read, color, play with dolls or cars.

create.

imagine.

cool stuff like that:)
and by the way...here's a thought.
UNPLUG the computers and iPads this summer.
at least some of the time.

trust me on this one, 

if you get in the habit of entertaining your child, being the full time social director 

for every minute of every day, 

you are setting yourself up for some tiring, frustrating years ahead.
because they will come to expect it and you will hate the words
"i'm bored".

growing up, i had a friend next door name Donna, and her mom used to say
"i'll show you bored if you say that one more time"!!! LOL

all i'm suggesting is to resist the pressure a few days each week or so
and enjoy summer with the kids.

maybe you have amazing ideas for a fun summer.

if so, great!

you rock!!!:)

but if you need a few, i want to share some with you.

i mean, nothing is terribly original.

some of it i came up with myself, much of it i found through other sources.

but if it gives you one idea...COOL!

i'm sure you've seen the "i'm bored" jars all over pinterest.
COOL idea...but as you can tell, i am not a fan of that phrase.
so instead i suggest to you a fun jar...like this:

just type out simple, fun ideas on strips of paper.
make a rule...they draw one each day, or on a rainy day.....
anything you choose.
here are some great ideas.....

that should get you started on a fun jar!

and another idea out there that is super cool and can be used instead of a fun jar is a

SUMMER BUCKET LIST!

you can treat this the same way 

OR

if you have older kids, make a bucket list of activities they would like......

and you would be willing to do.

some ideas are vacations or day trips, if they want to do a few camps, they can choose which ones they MOST want to do here,

random activities like roast marshmallows, go snorkeling...

then, pick out a few favorites and make a note on a calendar.

make sure to leave plenty of family down time...

time to just hang out, you know?

so are you ready to have a chilled out summer?

 i'll post other ideas that are fun throughout the next few weeks and i promise......

no preaching:)

except for this next thing.

because i so believe it:) 

xoxoxox

Suzanne

Summer FUN.....

before i start on summer fun...

yes, i have a new blog look.

the name comes from my other, usually neglected blog.

i'm merging them and running with the "cool mom" name.

because i'm bored.

and because i found i was putting things on my blog

 i could often care less about.

seriously.

(bad as that sounds:)

now i have to say, i wouldn't want to be a

"cool" mom according to the world's standards.

but when my daughter's friends said that all the time,

despite me being one of the stricter moms,

i took it as a TRUE compliment:)

we had tons of fun while keeping our

morals and values intact.

so i'm taking my blog back with a fresh twist.

i figure it will keep me young...and maybe a tiny bit cool......

if i lighten things up and have FUN.

and what is more fun than SUMMER???

and i have some fun stuff for you!

we did a lot of simple, cool stuff in the summer.

and now with the handy internet,

i've put it all together with the amazing ideas found on there

just to bring you......

i truly believe with all my heart that summertime

with kids is something to look forward to.

now, i don't have the ideas or resources that some of the biggie blogs do,

but i can still pass on a few ideas.

and if those ideas help just one mom have a GREAT day

with her kiddos, 

it was well worth it.
and with over 1000+ hits on my blog every day,
there has to be one mom to say.....
COOL!:)

and by the way, summer fun is not just for kids.
it's for moms, too:)
i don't have a set schedule of when i will post for summer.
i don't do well with schedules.
(they tend to freak me out:)
plus, i have to blog about all the OTHER things that make me happy,
like decorating, eating, sleeping, eating, shopping, eating.....
(notice a trend there;)

but i do have some stuff ready for tomorrow
so don't be a stranger.
and don't feel you have to be a young mommy.
the last thing i would want to do is narrow down
my reading audience to just one age group.
which is why i promise to shake things up a bit every now and then!
in the meantime, i want to share a book that inspired me
and helped to make our summers fun.
if you see it, grab it.
it was just full of fun stuff to do!

warm summer hugs,

Suzanne

Summer Fun or Cures for Cabin Fever.....

wow.....2 blog posts in a row.....must be a record:)

my girls are grown so their cure for cabin fever would most likely be 

SHOPPING:)

but when they were younger, we sometimes needed something to shake things up a bit.

I told you about our annual "Camp Mommy" awhile back...

but here are some little ideas that I think might also be a big hit!

1.  water balloons...always a winner! 

 why are some people so against this?  

we had a blast each and every time....

and notice I said "WE".

water balloons are not just for kids:)

2.  the trusty lemonade stand.....

 or cookie stand, cupcakes, candy....all yummy:)

3.  okay, this is SO cool....make your own "I Spy" or "Find It" game.

 (sorry....I couldn't think of what you call these)

anyway, fill a water bottle with rice and little toy trinkets from around the house.

set a timer and each child gets to see how many items they find.

LOVE this one:)

4.  Button Art!  Isn't this pretty?

 I think this calls for a whole blog post someday, don't you?

but for now, buy a whole bag of cheap buttons and let them go at it.

you could draw a design and let them fill it in, make letters....

 Hey....this is a great Christmas gift idea!!!

5.  And for a healthy, delicious snack...

fruit in a waffle cone!  

 (okay.....what brilliant person thought of this?:)

there you go...ideas for the kids who are bored, for a rainy day 

or a day that is just TOO DANG HOT to play outside! 

(we have a lot of those down here:)

and remember.....YOU have fun TOO!

XOXOXOXOXOX

Suzanne

Groovy Yummy Cool Amazing Summer Treats...

whew!

they better be good after all that:)

trust me, they are.

if you can't find an idea here that doesn't make you do a handstand...

or at least WANT to,

then i've totally failed today.

and I DID NOT fail, okay?

so here goes...

 (recipes below)  

1.  Rainbow Coated Oreos

2.  Pumpkin Pie Popsicles

3.  Strawberry Shortcake Kabobs

4.  Strawberry Sundae in a Cup

5.  Veggies and Dip in a Cup

6.  Watermelon Sticks and Dip

7.  Strawberry Shortcake Popsicles

8. Painters Palette Cupcakes

9.  Rainbow fruit Kabobs

10.  M & M Ice Cream Sandwiches

so, how'd I do?

pretty GROOVY... and YUMMY... and COOL... and totally AMAZING...

just like I said:)

some of it is self-explanatory but here's what I know:

1.  Rainbow Oreos: dip in melted colored chocolate.

2.  Pumpkin Pie Bars:  visit HERE for instructions

3.  Strawberry Shortcake Kabobs: alternate JUICY strawberries

with cubes of angel food cake. 

4.  Strawberry Sundae in a Cookie Cup: .  Use the roll of 

sugar cookie dough.  bake in mini muffin pans and indent cookie

while warm to form a cookie cup. scoop ice cream and

strawberries inside the sugar cookie cup.

5.  Veggies and Dip...dip of your choice.

6. Watermelon Sticks and Dip...your choice again.  

I like the marshmallow fruit dip and kids LOVE things cut into 

sticks so this one is a sure thing:)

7.  Strawberry Shortcake Popsicles:  go HERE for instructions

8.  Painters Cupcakes:  self explanatory.  palettes can be found at Michael's.

9.  Rainbow fruit Kabobs:...yummy AND pretty!

10.  Cookie Sandwiches:  another sure thing...easy too!

have FUN creating cool treats this summer!

before I forget... day 3 of the photo fun is a picture of my hand.

who wants to see MY hand???

exactly!

but maybe Jordie and I hand in hand on the beach.

can't beat that...and it IS my hand:)

now on that note, I'm definitely outta here:)

XOXOXOXO

Suzanne

Summer Fun, Marshmallow Love and Photo Fun too...

hey friends, i'm back...

and getting ready for a GREAT summer!

(hey...it HAS to be better than last year, right?)

so.........

HAPPY SUMMER!

if you're looking for a few summer FUN ideas,

look no further than THIS:

 pretty cool, huh?

don't say I never gave you anything.

this poster could SAVE you this summer...hahaha

and have you heard about the 30 Days of Photo Fun?

check it out...

i'm giving it a try but if you know me, there might be a few days 

i miss and have to catch up on photos, like today...

day 1 was actually yesterday:)

day 1-self portrait

  

day 2-favorite shoes

 what can i say...i love wedge sandals...

and FLIP FLOPS!

who cares what they say on What NOT to Wear...

they don't live in Florida...

land of the flip-flop:)

why don't you join in?

i THINK the only rule is you can't use old photos...

because if we could, you KNOW I would have used an old photo

for my self portrait:)

lastly...i LOVE marshmallows.

peanut butter and marshmallow sandwiches, 

marshmallow topping, marshmallows in my cocoa,

plain marshmallows, cute marshmallows.

 do you get it?

I LOVE MARSHMALLOWS!!!

so i was really HAPPY (my word of the year:)

to find this sign...

 so CUTE:)

okay lovely friends,

start shooting photos and having some summer fun!

XOXOXOXO

Suzanne