Moms Summer Bucket List

Summer Bucket List 2015

We are enjoying our 3rd Summer, and celebrating the nearly three months of fun with a Bucket list. As we approach the end of the school year we draft our list of things we want to do over the summer. Then of course when the kids aren't nearby mom at the things that are education related that I would like to accomplish over summer. Pinterest helps me find lots of different ideas and I do keep a summer bucket list on Pinterest. When you come across things during the year it's nice to be quickly reminded when you want to find the idea, that's where Pinterest is a brilliant idea. 

Of course my kids are brilliant at their ideas out. We don't need the time to Pinterest because some of the things they come up with are just fantastic and simple. My older son can write already so he comes up with his list draft of himself. Younger son and baby girl brainstorm with mom and I jot down their ideas. The reason I write down their ideas because it's showing them the credibility that what they say adds value to our conversation and what we want to do with our lives.

In my business life I am a marketing and event planning consultant. My strengths are in the planning, project management process, as well as budget management. So the skills translate into my personal life and to many summers and spending with my family out and about. Lots of our Summer Bucket List is lots of things that are for free, and within the surrounding Chicagoland area (have car - will travel).

So the next series of posts that I am drafting, will include the adventures on our summer bucket list 2015, The weekly playdates with our cousins and friends that live in the surrounding area, as well as our lazy days we enjoy often. 

As an aside, on my personal bucket list will be how to capture obvious fantastic moments that we share into a photo album. I struggle with keeping up on our scrapbook/photo albums. I still have to make my baby girls maybe scrapbook and it's three years later. And touching up my younger son's scrapbook, and I'm throwing all our 2000 and pictures into a Photo album. And fairly good at checking into places on my Facebook page as well as posting pictures from the days events, and I heard there's some great apps out Facebook pictures into an album, and I think this may be my solution or summer bucket list by year. 

Happy Summer 2015!

Make Mistakes, breathe, reflect and Laugh.Out.Loud 

Getting to know your kids, interview questions

Getting to know our kids can be a little easier than usual. Sometimes we adults struggle with what to talk about with kids. They really are similar to us adults. They have interests, desires, want attention and respect.

I came across some first / new date questions to ask when you are getting to know someone. I narrowed them down to a version for "getting to know my kids."

Pick one question, or two, go ahead and interview you kid/s, and know that their answers will be fun and hopefully you'll learn something new.

I keep this list as a note in my iPhone. When we are at a restaurant or bored in the car and we need a distraction... I will reference the list. Really, this has been such a fun occasional activity. Go ahead - try it!!

These questions have also encouraged conversations to guide the kids naturally on situations that happened at school. Like fighting, arguing, or hurt feelings. And how to cope and talk it through. 

1. What do you like to dream about?
2. What is your best memory this school year?
3. Who is your hero? Why?
4. How would you describe your family?
5. If you could change anything about yourself, what would it be?
6. What are you most proud of yourself for?
7. Who is the kindest person you know? Why?
8. What do you like most about your best friend?
9. What is one thing you would like to learn to do well?
10. If you were an animal what one would you be and why?
11. When is the last time someone hurt your feelings? How did you react?
12. Do you know someone who is going though a hard time? How can you help them?
13. What is the scariest thing that happened this year?
14. If you could keep only one thing, out of everything you have, what would it be?
15. Who do you think is really successful? Why?
16. What’s the best thing about your teacher this year?
17. When do you feel misunderstood by grown-ups?
18. What three words best describe you?
19. What’s something that makes you angry?
20. What’s the best compliment you ever received?

Young Son and Baby Girl on our daily walk. They took off talking on one question without mom.

Make Mistakes, breathe, reflect and Laugh.Out.Loud.

Summer Bucket list: Lincoln Park Zoo

Lincoln Park Zoo, First Day of Summer Bucket List 2015 > > My younger son graduated kindergarten, we actually call it the end of year celebration ceremony (we believe you don't "graduate" until high school and then college. We want to hold school standards in a high regard, and if the kids keep having these "graduation ceremonies" then they will start to lose their value. (Their 8th grade graduations will be recognized with a small family dinner at a restaurant of their choice.) 

Younger sons first day of summer starts this Monday, or my older son still has one additional week of school. I asked my younger son what he wants to do on his first day of summer, he said let's go to culvers for ice cream. I said are you sure there isn't more you want to do, we have a whole day of fun we can have, so he said let's go to the zoo. 




And so we did, on Monday we hit the zoo first thing in the morning with our popcorn made it home. We saw the animals that he wanted to see and that he picked. Baby girl did not mind at all her brother making all the decisions that day. Then we drove straight to culvers and thankfully since it's about 30 minutes from the zoo both the kids took a nap in the car on the way there. 

> > It was an all fun day! > > 

Tuesday we were bums, and got started on Father's Day gifts (which is coming up this Sunday) and I finished my sanding and painting of frames. Its gonna be a rainy week to boot. 

I had looked up some ideas on Pinterest and questions to ask the kid regarding their dad. And I knew I would make the handmade card for him. That night of making Father's Day cards, baby girl told her dad she's going to make him a card with the sun on it. Well that was not on our list, so of course we added that to the list and made her card the next day.

Make Mistakes, breathe, reflect and Laugh.Out.Loud


Lincoln Park Zoo, First Day of Summer Bucket List 2015

Summer Bucket List: New Parks, Bowen Park Waukegan Il. Week 7 2015

Summer - week 7 > > After visiting Il. Beach state park, we made a pit stop at Bowen Park in Waukegan. We spent the entire day collecting rocks, playing in the water, snacking and playing. It was empty, with only a few other people on the beach. We like walking thru the nature center to access the beach, quiet, natural, and beautiful. > > As for the park, its off route 137 and It.Is.Huge!!! There is a map of all the activities, including this spinning cage, a 2-story climbing spider web, sprinkler, and so much more. My daughter loved the 2-stories to climb up for the slides. They are fast and fun. > > Monkey bars, surfboard swings, really so much more. The kids had a blast!! 

Make Mistakes, breathe, reflect and Laugh.Out.Loud.

Vogelei Park, Splashpad and Safety Town, Weekly Cousins Playdates andSummer Bucket List, Exploring Area Parks

Vogelei Park came up in a splashpad search for Elgin area. Our first of many weekly cousin playdates was here. A very fun park, small splashpad, but water and kids always is fun - small or large. 

We snacked under a tree... (I always bring food and snacks with me when I am out with the kids. We keep bottled water in the car, but bring our own too in the "go bag." We have hats, sunscreen, bug spray and crackers and fruits with us always!! I have a change of summer or winter clothes in the car depending on the season, with an extra jacket or hoodie, for All.Of.Us in a bag in the trunk, also 3 kid size small blankets. If I use something its quickly replaced so I am not in a jam next time.)

It was really nice. Theres a little walking path, over a bridge which kids always like. A mini pavillion and a safety town!! We brought our plasma cars and scooters for the seven kids to pretend play, it was a huge hit!

Bathrooms are super clean too. 

There are many native prarie flowers allowing for super bug observations. We are going to have to start shlepping our nature journals with us. We saw dragon and damsel flies, red ahpids, a new type of beetle, bees and beautiful plants.

For some reason the address on yelp is linked to Blackhawk park in the area. Vogelei is actually located at the cross intersection of Golf and Higgins road.

Lastly they have the Northern Illinois Raptor Center here. While I didnt see it I did read that they have paid learning sessions. I may explore that for a birthday party here?

NEW UPDATE :: YOUTUBE CHANNEL INFO ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THAT BLOG

Our family has had many adventures through the years. Mom, the @Minstr0Interior had an a-ha moment . . .  Suddenly I See what we will have filled our life with, ADVENTURES! We travel, craft, sing, dance, collect insects and spend loads of time together. Sometimes too much time together. Our kids have recently begun to document their own adventures, and so this channel was born. Enjoy our adventures. Or not. WANT MORE? If there is a blog post accompanying this video we will share it here. Sometimes we will include the ingredients list of the craft or recipe, or the itinerary of our trip. In the meantime click play. 

From our family: 👍 + 🙃 + ❤️ ( Thumbs up, emoji face, hearts! )

See It Live >>> 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2mGpujQIVgxdfTImFnQuLA

Make Mistakes, breathe, reflect and Laugh.Out.Loud. 

Learning about Spittlebugs, First Week on our Summer Bucket List 2015

Last week we went on a walk at our local Nature Center, and I found these bunches of bubbles on plants. I assumed it was some sort of insect but I didn't know what it was. My daughter shouts enthusiastically now, it was a Spittlebug!! 

I remember being on a trip to Wisconsin Dells and feeling these six drops of rain falling on me from under the trees. However it wasn't raining. That trip was last year when I was already paying attention to the bugs around me. I still did not know what it was, until seen this at the nature center. They had a handout on programs they had which included learning about spittlebugs which I assumed was this little creature. 

Free learning at nature centers, these activities eat up our day! 

Make Mistakes, breathe, reflect and Laugh.Out.Loud.

Our Summer Bucket List 2015, free fun with kids all summer long

We are enjoying our summer and anticipating the nearly three months of fun with a Bucket list. As we approach the end of the school year we draft our list of things we want to do over the summer. Then of course when the kids aren't nearby mom at the things that are education related that I would like to accomplish over summer. Pinterest helps me find lots of different ideas and I do keep a summer bucket list on Pinterest. When you come across things during the year it's nice to be quickly reminded when you want to find the idea, that's where Pinterest is a brilliant idea. 

Of course my kids are brilliant at their ideas out. We don't need the time to Pinterest because some of the things they come up with are just fantastic and simple. My older son can write already so he comes up with his list draft of himself. Younger son and baby girl brainstorm with mom and I jot down their ideas. The reason I write down their ideas because it's showing them the credibility that what they say adds value to our conversation and what we want to do with our lives.

If you are reading this post, please post a comment below on what you liked - or didn't  - about this read. Does the topic interest you and you want to know more? Submit a question and I am happy to tackle it.

In my business life I am a marketing and event planning consultant. My strengths are in the planning, project management process, as well as budget management. So the skills translate into my personal life and to many summers and spending with my family out and about. Lots of our Summer Bucket List is lots of things that are for free, and within the surrounding Chicagoland area (have car - will travel).

So the next series of posts that I am drafting, will include the adventures on our summer bucket list 2015, The weekly playdates with our cousins and friends that live in the surrounding area, as well as our lazy days we enjoy often. 

As an aside, on my personal bucket list will be how to capture obvious fantastic moments that we share into a photo album. I struggle with keeping up on our scrapbook/photo albums. I still have to make my baby girls maybe scrapbook and it's three years later. And touching up my younger son's scrapbook, and I'm throwing all our 2000 and pictures into a Photo album. And fairly good at checking into places on my Facebook page as well as posting pictures from the days events, and I heard there's some great apps out Facebook pictures into an album, and I think this may be my solution or summer bucket list by year. 

Happy Summer

Make Mistakes, breathe, reflect and Laugh.Out.Loud