Courtney Burkholder

“Mommy, what are we doing today?”

These six words are the bane of my current existence.

We started out the summer with a bang … camp, vacations, lunches with Dad, trips to visit family, outings with friends, and the simple enjoyment of hanging out at the house and getting reacquainted with our toys and pets. It was wonderful. It was exciting.

But now, after two months of blowing-and-going, not to mention 60-plus days of rainy-day doldrums, the toys are boring and my brain is in shutdown mode.

So what do you say when those six words creep into the conversation over cereal and bacon at the breakfast table?

“I don’t know,” was my first response. “What would you like to do?”

“Let’s go to Sea World! No, Fiesta Texas! Mommy, can we go to Dave and Buster’s? Please! Let’s go to Game Works! How about a movie?”

Schlitterbahn, Chuck E. Cheese, Splash Town, Incredible Pizza Factory. The requests vary, but the suggestions have one common denominator: They’re expensive and require excessive energy on my part.

I listen to their excited pleas in horror, feeling guilty that all I really want to do is crawl back in bed, feign a bad case of stomach cramps, and watch Court TV until Daddy gets home to take over entertainment duty.

Now, this really isn’t like me. I consider myself a real mommy trooper. I don’t squirm away from the big activities. In fact, I embrace them. We’ve already been to Schlitterbahn, which in my opinion, is worth double points in the book of good mother sacrifices.

But I do have my limits, and going from one all-day, expensive activity to the next, is too much for this mommy.

If you, too, are struggling with these last final weeks of summer, here are some suggestions to get you through the month without breaking the bank or killing yourself in the name of a good time. This is the point in the article where some authors would give you a list of economical activities to do with your children like making sock puppets, shoebox time capsules, or whipping up some homemade play-doh.

Come on … you know me better than that! Though I applaud those creative mommies, my kitchen is pretty much closed to messy arts-and-crafts projects. We will beat this problem using some good, old-fashioned common sense.

First of all, one “big” activity a week is the limit – and you, Mom, determine the options. Let the kids take turns choosing between acceptable activities, though you retain veto rights. Then plan the activity for the end of the week, so they have something to look forward to and work toward.

If the activity is expensive, take time to explain this, and “save up” for it throughout the week. Eat lunch at home instead of zipping over to EZ’s, play with the old video games instead of renting new ones, and invite friends over to the house to play instead of going somewhere for entertainment.

This helps children understand that fun summer activities actually cost money. Learning and understanding the value of a dollar is so important for children, and this is a great way to teach this concept.

My kids must also complete their daily “work” to earn the privilege of the activity. This includes keeping their room and playroom clean, following through with their chores, completing daily reading without complaint, and most importantly, getting along with each other.

Failure to do any of these things can result in the loss or postponement of the activity.

Do you see where I’m going with this?

Spreading out the fun will not only ease the pain to your pocketbook and your back, it will help to teach your children a valuable life lesson. Anything they take time to earn will be appreciated and enjoyed that much more. Good luck!