This post is sponsored by Red Baron but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

Summer and the Sunshine. Perfect time to explore and enjoy bright days. For most summers or summers till last year. I took my kids to their grandparents and family back home. Just the way my mom took us when we were young. As an adult, those are such amazing memories for me. My kids learned so much related to relationships, respect, and care over the years. We are truly blessed.

Fun times with Grandpa and Cousins-A picture from 2 years back. I wonder what grandma is doing!

But this year, the challenge to entertain the kids is totally on mama!! We are staying home for the summer. So my first question was how do I pull off a summer without much chaos and make it less chaotically enjoyable? Well, my friends, I have a plan. But, but, but, the complete end result would be known by the end of the summer. But 3 weeks into summer vacation I can tell you it’s working.

Here are few tips to help you get over your summer with less chaos.

Have a Plan

First things first. You got to plan. Does not matter if you are a working or a “stay at home” or “stay at home and work from home parent”. No school meaning you got to think what to do. You also want to keep in mind that you want the summer to be fun for the kids. It should not be like an academic year. So if you are sending them to summer camps, plan for some fun camps. If it’s individual classes look for classes that your kid would enjoy!

Try to be on Schedule

No school(you will be seeing these two words repeated over and over again) meaning kids will not wake on time in the morning. There is no rush to go to school. Which is good. But you want to make sure you keep few things in control and on schedule so that when they transition from back to “back to school” days they are ready. Put timelines on when they can have screen time and when they have to call it a day and wrap up.

Try to keep your schedule simple

Seventy-five days of no school does not mean we have to fill up each and every day of our calendar. Keep your days less stressful. It’s a break to break-free from the everyday routine. So keep it simple. This is what I did. I choose two classes for kids on set times and days. The remaining days and times would be the park, set screen time and the rest of the time I am going to let feel bored. You are going to hear this a lot. Mom “I am bored”. Let them be bored. We rush to engage them. Don’t do that. Boredom leads to creativity. You don’t give in.

Have Theme Days

Have your days planned based on themes. Like Monday Crafts and Painting, Tuesday STEAM day, Wet Wednesday, Friday – Slog on Sofa Day 🙂 etc. Believe it or not. Kids love structure. Having Theme days will simplify your days. This brings me to my final and most important Tip! Meals!

Keep Meal Plans Simple

Throughout the week my cooking pattern would be like a graph which has peaks and valleys. I would have days where I would have elaborate cooking and there would be days where I keep it super simple.

One day would definitely be “The Pizza” Day. I wonder if there would be any day without Pizza?? Hmmm..I know the answer is No way! Here is the funny thing. My son till he was 6 years old he never had pizza and now each time he eats a pizza he eats as if there is no tomorrow. I usually make the dough and pizza at home. But there will be days where I just don’t want to put that effort and I would still want it to be something that we could enjoy at home.

Well, I found one pizza which solves my two problems. One is which tastes just like homemade pizza and other it has to be my time savior. It has to get done just in time before the hell breaks loose. So the Pizza is….”The Red Baron Pizza!”. The first time we ate my son got so excited and yelled “Mom it tastes so yum. Just like the way you make at home.” Wow.. a Huggggggggge win! In my heart I know I am not even close to how yum the Red Baron Pizza tastes. But, hey! my son loves what I make. Getting back to the mealtime.

This week I was so swamped with my work and kids’ classes all at the same time. I did not want to over stress myself. So to solve the chaos that could erupt I quickly turned to Red Baron Cheese Pizza in my freezer.

I usually have cut vegetables at any time of the day. My kids love nuts and dates with their meal. On our way back my friend gave us fresh plums from her garden. I must tell you the Red Baron Pizza was a Mom win for the day!. Never Fly Solo mama. Take the help when you need it.

Yep, When bellies are full you start to bring out your true self!.