Design Your Summer (Part 2)

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Happy Summer!!

With the official reopening of Michigan yesterday (i.e. all Covid restrictions lifted), it’s time to take this season by the horns and make up for lost time – safely, of course… and with grace.

This week we’re digging into how to design a fun summer.

Whether you have aspirations for major travel, a road trip, a staycation or none of the above, it all starts with a plan!

One of the most helpful summer planning tactics is the summer survival kit.

That’s a fancy way to say, the “ready for anything” collection of stuff that moms stock and keep in the car for the season. It includes things like sunscreen, towels, sweatshirts for the inevitable too-cold air-conditioned spots and more!

Summer Survival Kit

• sunglasses
• sun hats
• beach towels
• bottled water
• snacks
• baby wipes
• diapers/pull-ups/swim diapers
• potty seat
• plastic bags
• mobile chair to hook onto a picnic table
• change of clothes
• diaper bag
• swim suits
• blanket
• fold-up chairs
• hand sanitizer
• first aid kit
• toys
• books
• coloring packs
• chargers
• tissues
• paper towel/napkins
• paper plates & plasticware
• aspirin
• umbrella
• sweatshirts
• nail clippers (doubles as scissors for cutting tags, etc.)
• back up sports equipment
• external phone battery pack
• unisex hoodie (so anyone in the family can throw it on)
• reading material
• paper and pen
• quarters
• stash of cash

… what would you add to the list? (comment below!)

The List: 15 new resources for moms, published weekly…

6 skimmable articles to offer perspective on this week’s topic, 8 informative and/or entertaining podcast episodes to make the chores fly by, and 1 insightful video to inspire you to move forward with grace.

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📖 6 Skimmable Articles

🎗 Awareness   🏡  Home    🗂 Productivity    🥗 Wellness    🧗 Growth    👨‍👩‍👧‍👧  Family

🥗  Have you created your summer bucket list?

“It’s about finding the joy that still exists inside you after more than a year of pandemic life — kids and adults alike. Get the first few ideas out. Now keep going, because that’s when the ideas get ridiculous and really fun.”

Read Here are 100 things to do this summer with or without kids.

🗂  It’s time to shift to the summer time management mentality!

“Summer can be a nightmare in time management for working parents, but these tips will help you manage it all.”

Read 7 Ways Parents Can Be More Productive During Summer

🎗 Don’t leave home without these travel tips!

“As Americans get vaccinated and start traveling again, some destinations, types of trips, and rentals are booking up this summer.”

Read Our Guide to Last-Minute Summer 2021 Travel

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦  Free, fun and kid-friendly? Count me in!

“[c]heck out our ideas for free things to do this summer, because spending less money means more chances to go out and embrace all of those in-person experiences once more.”

Read 40 Free & Fun Things to Do This Summer

🏡 Book a date night and share this list with your sitter!

“Whether it’s day 1 or day 48 of summer break, there always comes a point where I run out of ideas for keeping the kids entertained during the summer. We’ve put together a list of fun activities for summer fun at home, and most require little or no preparation. Because let’s be honest… mom wants a break too.”

Read 75+ Ideas for Summer Fun at Home in 2021

🧗🏽‍♀️ Fun and goals in the same title? Okay, I’m curious.

“Now I know summer is all about getting outside, enjoying the sun, taking mini-vacations, and relaxing at the beach, but that doesn’t mean you can’t fit some goals in that will help you reach your dreams and desires!”

Read 32 Fun Summer Goals To Boost Your Personal Growth

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🎧 8 Podcast Episodes

📰 “Summer is upon us”

“Summer is upon us, which means vacation travel. happy healthy reviews safe and fun travel information to make the season memorable.”

Listen to happy healthy | Summer 2021 Travel Planning (8 min)

👸🏻 “The go-to shopping app”

“The most-downloaded fashion app is now Shein, and it’s created a new behavior: Real-Time Fashion. Yelp whipped up data on how you’re dining, but it tells us more about Yelp than the recovery. And Sinclair is launching the 1st nationwide regional sports network”

Listen to Snacks Daily | “A $6 handbag beat Amazon” — Shein’s real-time fashion (19 min)

💡 Computer Chips & Rental Cars

“A complex global supply chain is straining under pent-up post-vaccine demand. NPR’s Scott Horsley explains what’s going on”

Listen to Consider This | Why Everything is More Expensive (12 min)

🤰🏻 Do you sometimes feel like a ‘dormant volcano’?

Hear discussions on “the job description we’ve somehow accepted for motherhood, how to know whether your partner is a co-builder or an assistant, and how to make the invisible load of caretaking visible—and potentially bearable. “

Listen to We Can Do Hard Things | Is our exhaustion a sign that we’re CareTicking time bombs? (64 min)

😎 A brief interaction…

⚠️💣”When Hallie was 17, she spent a few minutes with a stranger who changed her life. A decade later, Hallie sets out to find her.”

Listen to Heavyweight | Hallie (16 min)

🧗 “We all screw up”

“What comes afterwards can make or break a relationship. In this episode, psychologist Harriet Lerner shares her tips for apologizing well and moving forward.”

Listen to Life Kit | You’re Probably Apologizing All Wrong (17 min)

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 “She’s so quiet that sometimes she even feels invisible”

“When she stays after school one day to study in the library she accidentally gets locked in overnight! Much to her surprise, she ends up making friends with someone else who tends to feel invisible: a sweet ghost named Amy who has been living in the library that her father built almost 100 years ago. “

Listen to Little Stories Everywhere | Maeve The Invisible (20 min)

⏭ Once the darling of Silicon Valley…

“Now under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Elizabeth Holmes is forced to answer tough questions under oath. The claims that Elizabeth had been repeating are under fire; the woman who once had all the answers, suddenly seems to have none.”

Listen to The Dropout | The Downfall (41 min)

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🎬 Insightful Video

Invite your kids to tinker this summer

“When given tools, materials and guidance, these young imaginations run wild and creative problem-solving takes over to build unique boats, bridges and even a rollercoaster!”

Watch Gever Tulley | Life lessons through tinkering | TED (4:05)

That’s The List for this week!

Do you have go-to tips to book summer fun… or a take away from this week’s list? Drop us a note in the comments!

As always, we hope our newsletter inspires you to get your ship together and get through your week with grace.

Have a good one and please reach out if we can be helpful to you in any way!

Love & Grace,

Rachel & Amanda

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