I have recently returned from a Chesley Lake cottage trip with my friend Lisa and her three boys. The notion of spending two days and two nights in a small cottage with seven small kids wasn't one that conjured up ideas of leisurely reading trashy mags while sipping gin and tonics, listening to the water lap upon the sand. I was quite certain that this would be one of those family experiences as opposed to a family holiday.
However, given our circumstances, I think we rocked it. Lisa suggested to me the first day that we have a bit of a daily schedule at the cottage. I laughed, of course, because this felt like such an ever so camp-like thing to do, but then I realized that a schedule would be our key to survival. After all, seven kids pretty much counts as a full cabin, don't you think?
So here it is:
- early wake up
- cereal breakfast
- kick kids outside while prepping lunch/doing breakfast dishes
- take kids to park when fighting/meltdowns begin
- return from park and feed kids quickly, especially those cranky babies who can barely keep their eyes open
- (this is the best part) mandatory quiet time of one hour (while mommies sip coffee, eat a square of fine chocolate, and read trashy magazines)
- kid dessert (as post quiet time treat - who doesn't love a bribe?)
- outside play time (moms do dishes/prep supper)
- early dinner
- t-ball at 6:15
- ice cream at the tuck shop
- home for PJs and bed (a bit of a drawn out procedure, alas)
- weary mommies now slug glasses of wine, salty snacks, and one mommy (yours truly) learns to play cribbage
- bed....ah, bed.
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