The Miley Cyrus Connection---It's a Good Thing!

             Can I be annoyingly happy for a post?  Typically, I spend my life envying the stay-at-home moms (SAHM) who get to take care of (only) their children while I shuffle off to conquer the education of 18 kindergarteners. But for the next two months, like Hannah Montana, I get the "best of both worlds!" I used the quotation marks to emphasize I am singing that line.  June and July are full of uninterrupted days with my own children. We will cook meals, clean and organize our house (like a good housewife would) AND we get to enjoy outings together, which I try to do daily as a quality time together activity.   I get to feel (mostly) like a SAHM.  Yet, even better? I still get a paycheck.  Hence the best of both worlds, home with my children and a paycheck to boot.
               This afternoon was the start of the SAHM season, after a dicey meeting at work. The meeting was dicey only because my children were WITH me at the meeting while we waited for my teenager to finish band practice and pick them up.  Unfortunately, band practice went LONG and my little kids embarrassed me at my workplace relentlessly. But I digress, at noon, our meeting was dismissed and summer break could begin!
                 I was ready to go live it up!  I was dressed, my kids were too, but 12:30 p.m. meant lunch and a nap.  After cooking a fine meal of macaroni and cheese, I tried to encourage my son to take his nap.  He wasn't going for it. So I did what any mom desperate to enjoy her new-found freedom would do. I bribed him, telling him that when he awoke, I would take him to Chuck E. Cheese.  Mission accomplished. Down my boy crashed, and soon after, I joined him (this is very strange, I am usually not a napper, but today's nap felt good--who knew?)
               Upon waking, all kids (even my teen!) remembered the promise, and shoes were on.  I grabbed some refillable Chuck E. Cheese cups they give out a parties and will let you refill for free, a few tokens and tickets we had leftover from our last trip, and my daughter's report card.  I call this scrounging for anything that will help you save on an outing, and we also scrounged online for coupons to use, too.
               Who knew my three kids could have so much fun for $10. Yes, that is all I spent for them to play an hour.  My younger daughter had brought her report card, for which they gave her another 10 free tokens. Fun was had by all and when they money ran out, they cashed in their tickets and chose a prize.
             We left Chuck E. Cheese in a complete downpour. Of course, I offered to run to the car and pick up the kids at the door, but even that 20 seconds out in this rain left me completely drenched.  I hope my kids remember fondly me running out the door as I screamed from the rain as a bolted to our car.
             On the way home, we stopped by for a free Redbox rental I had been emailed earlier that day, which is perfect since Friday night is our movie night.  I popped popcorn over the stove (yes! you can do that!) and we all gobbled up the buttery goodness.
              Altogether, my first day of summer mom cost me $10.20.  I am looking forward to finding many ways we can enjoy this special time without emptying my bank account.