Summer's here and the living is...easy? Whoever coined that phrase wasn't dealing with hot, bored children on the 40th day of summer vacation.

Here are some tips on how to keep your sanity mostly intact until September.

Schedule it! Part of the reason the summer days can stretch on forever with young children around is because there isn't a set time for particular activities.

Unlike the school year when kids are scheduled for most minutes of every day, when you have "free time", often your idea of how to fill that time is very different than your child's. You still have to get things done, but they just want to have fun.

On Sunday night, sit down with the kids and have them pick one or two activities they'd like to do during the week (zoo visit, swimming pool, picnics, movies, bowling).

Make sure you have some suggestions handy. Then, pencil them in (rain day options are a good idea) so they know it's coming and they can feel relaxed, and you can schedule your own obligations around this.

Take a new twist. With kids around, planning meals and getting domestic chores done can be tough.

Have them help where they can with dinner planning and preparation (get the chopping done first thing in the morning before you head out for an activity and your stress level will drop).

Look for small chores they can help you with to earn money or treats.

Trade! Find a friend with kids of similar ages and offer to take them along on your planned activities.

Your kids will have more fun, and you're owed some time off yourself from that same friend. A win/win.

Break it up. Summer day camps are great for kids. But, you still want them to have some downtime, so try to schedule camps one week on and one week off, if you can.

Same goes with lessons and clinics: Don't bunch everything up all at once or the kids will feel stressed...and so will you.

Be flexible. If the summer weather is beautiful today, scrap the grocery shopping plans and head out to a nearby farmers market to pick up your fruits and vegetables.

Or, try out a video game which is actually good for your kids' brains, "Big Brain Academy" by Nintendo will have them fighting to beat each other's scores, instead of each other.

Try to get the weather to work with your schedule, not in spite of it.

Gather together. Invite other kids, and their parents, to outings you know they'd enjoy. You'll get some well-needed adult conversation and the kids will love having a "gang" as well.

Mix together a little bit of planning, a load of flexibility, a dash of creativity, and a freezer full of freezies, and your summer "vacation" may turn out to be just that.