Mom's Summer 'To Do' list....and a GIVEAWAY!

I know you have seen them....on blogs and Pinterest.....those

cute lists of ALL the  activities/experiences your

kids and family hope to enjoy over the summer.  I give credit to Meg for

starting the trend, cause I happen to think she is 'the bomb' of

a mom and a trendsetter to boot! 

Well, maybe it's because I have older kids {or a bad attitude},

we didn't do a list this year.  Whatever.  I know we will do 

all our favorite things, I don't need a giant chalkboard

reminding me that we need to have ice cream sundaes.....

{but if you DO have a giant chalkboard reminding you

to eat ice cream sundaes - way to go!}

Plus, by mid-August I begin to feel like Julie McCoy

the perky cruise director from the Love Boat {remember her?}, 

making sure EVERYONE is having fun....but me!

So this week, the LAST week of school, I sat down and wrote 

a "Mom's Summer To-Do" list.  

Yes, I did.  

I think a lot of us moms sort of get busy with giving our kids the perfect summer

and end up counting down the days until school begins somewhere around

August 1st.  Don't get me wrong, spending precious quality time

with our babies is important and fulfilling, but some 'mommy time' sprinkled in on a 

regular basis keeps everyone sane - not that I speak from 

experience or anything like that......

My theme for this summer is 'BALANCE'.

My list includes lots of fun stuff - al fresco dates with my husband, 

evenings with girlfriends sitting on my patio, going to the 

farmers market, hiking.......

Also on my list is to GET CREATIVE.

This year, I had the privilege of participating in Jeanne Oliver's

online course Creatively Made {Rediscovering the Beauty of Your Gifts}.

Do you know Jeanne?  I only know her as an internet friend but

hope to be able to meet her in 'real life' someday.  She 

has a generous and encouraging spirit. 

Now mind you - I am not all miss crafty but I do consider myself 

creative and Jeanne's course is for EVERYONE!  I really

give credit to Jeanne for inspiring me to be more

creative, cause like having some summer mom fun, creativity

can also fall to the wayside in the midst of a busy life.

Jeanne is offering the class again - beginning Monday, June 18!  It works like this -

you get a code to access the online videos and can watch them at your leisure .  Jeanne

will keep the videos for this course available to all participants until

the end of October.....so if summer gets away from you, you will have time

to catch up when the kiddos head back to class!

And guess what?  Jeanne has generously offered to giveaway THREE spots

in the online class to readers of Forever*Cottage!  To enter to win:

* Leave me a comment telling me what you would

have on your "Mom's Summer To-Do List".

I will close the comments on Saturday at midnight PST and announce

the winner on Sunday {a rare blogging day for me!}.

If you can't wait to see if you won and want to sign up for 

Jeanne's class go HERE!