Here I am, an urban mom, spending my whole summer at the cottage…what am I going to do with myself! Funny I should ask. This is the first year I have spent all summer up north. Needless to say I was a bit nervous so I did some pre-planning. I invited all of my close friends, those I would see often in the city, up for at least a few days. There are usually two or three families here at a time. Fun! Fun! Fun!
My cottage is not exactly rustic which makes it easier. There are 5 bedrooms and a boathouse bunky. It is air conditioned with full laundry facilities. We have a beach area and a dock as well as a bunch of different boats to choose from. Still, the closest Starbucks is miles away!
The plan is that our days will be busy…relaxing that is. One thing I think I have done really well is not plan too much.
You can find me here until Labour Day where I will be diarizing my summer for all to read. How am I going to keep it cool? Stay tuned.
Post #1 – We’ve Still Got It!
It is hot. There is no other way of putting it. We have four other families here and we have been very busy. After the kids went to bed last night we moms took our baby monitors and headed down to the dock for a cool evening. Armed only with a cocktail and a bathing suit, I was ready to hang with the gals. Summering at the cottage is harder work than I thought!
I didn’t prepare myself for all of the cooking. I also didn’t think about the dishes. Although we are lucky enough to have a dishwasher, with four other families here there is still a lot to be done and by the end of the day, we were wiped!
So, here we are down on the dock talking typical girl-talk (like does your tummy ever look normal again and where do you buy a good support bra) when my friend Leah yells “what the h#*?!” and there, before our eyes, are 3 teenage boys drifting by in a little motorboat spying on us with binoculars! As soon as Leah yelled they took off and we nearly died laughing. Of course, we spent the rest of the evening (and really most of the following day) congratulating ourselves and each other and how we’ve still go it!
Definitely keeping it cool at the cottage!
Emily is an urban mom to a 10 month old daughter and 3 year old son. She’ll continue to Keep It Cool throughout the summer so check back soon and please share your comments below!
Coo Coo Ca Choo Mrs. Robinson!
🙂
When I have guests up at the cottage we plan the meals and chores and rotate everyone though them. Sometimes Grandpa Cooks with my Sister in Law and one of my friends kids. But then they are off the hook come clean up time. I mix families and generations in each spot and believe it or not everyone has fun.
Cook, Clean Up, Water front tidy, Bathroom clean up, Post Dinner vacuming are some of the chores we divy up. Nice to see you best friend’s hubby working with your Mom in law to get the dishes done. Or your Sister with your friends Teen age son cooking pancakes.
Parents working with their own kids often tangle but when kids work with other adults they don’t bring the old battles to the task. And it gets everyone communicating and getting to know each other better.
Amazing how some hormone heavy teenage boys can fuel the ego! Looking forward to your next post.