Growing up, summer meant a few things:

1. Me saying: "MOM, I'm bored." (OFTEN!) To which she would reply: "Saying you're bored is actually just boring." (Add this to a list of things my mom said that I now totally agree with as a 30-something.)

2. Family trips and playing wildly and endlessly with my cousins.

3. Turning raisin-like after hours in the pool.

4. Watching too much MacGyver (seriously, what little girl liked MacGyver?)

Now with my own rambunctious 2-year-old, I find this summer is anything but boring. Living a hurried city life, I have the tendency to over-plan even when it comes to my family. So as a busy mom, my goal this summer is to slow down.

I want to enjoy every moment of our last summer as just the three of us. (Once "baby sissy" arrives things for SURE won't be boring. Exhausting yes, boring no!)

So, this summer I pledge to slow down, and put the phone away while I am with Mila. I will chase her at the park (as much as a HUGE pregnant person can). I will join her on weekly ice cream dates, savoring her sweet voice as she says, "I love this." I will enjoy watching her kick the soccer ball (hilariously, in every direction except towards her target) instead of thinking about the heat or tomorrow's work.

Because here is the truth: being a parent can sometimes be monotonous and frustrating. Let's all be honest. Even this very morning, after I asked Mila three times to stop whining and STOP!!! jumping on the couch, I found myself losing my patience, almost willing my babysitter to show up already. But then I took a deep breath, forgot about my impending day, and my pulse slowed. So I could appreciate the saucy way she looked at me and said, "one-two-three time out!" Was she putting me in time out? Maybe I deserved it. I had been worried about work, the emails coming in, and at the time it was easier to be frustrated than to be present.

And so this summer we will slow down and I won't take my daughter for granted. I will try to laugh at the frustrations instead of worry. Life is sweet and it goes by too fast. All of the sudden my baby girl is playing soccer -- and putting me in time out.

Gratuitous photo of MacGyver... just because.