How I Spent My Summer Vacation

We just got done with our week of vacation at home.

The vacation fantasy: It would be a wonderful, restful time where I would be able to enjoy both relaxing and getting caught up on things so that when I returned to work I would be rejuvenated and ready to take on the world. The house would be clean. I would somehow find a way to finally potty train Natalia. The children would finally relax with me home, and would start sleeping in and enjoying their summer vacation. And we would have wonderful memories of fun family adventures. And I would emerge from it all, a beautiful butterfly!

The vacation reality: Our vacation wasn't terrible, but it was, well, wonky. We never found a groove. The kids didn't sleep. At all. I tried scheduled, I tried unscheduled. It was all a disaster. The first day of vacation they got up at 6:15, the second day at 5:45, the third day at 5:15...I was seriously afraid that by the end of vacation they would be getting up for the day before Jeff and I even made it to bed at night. We made the mistake of letting each kid pick out a fun activity which sounds great, but with four kids that pretty much filled the week. And because we were so busy, when we were home the kids couldn't switch into independent play time. (Although frustrating, I can't get too mad at them for this. I'm pretty bad about this myself. When I've been super busy and things calm down I find myself wandering around confused rather than finally tackling the things that have been piling up or GASP! actually enjoying the down time.)

I won't say we will never take a week off to just stay put again, because it was nice in many ways. I found time to read a book and watch a few movies. I have no idea how I would've gotten ready for a vacation right now, and we do live in a great place to vacation. (On multiple trips to visit the grandparents I've talked to families at rest stops (when you have four young children, people often feel compelled to talk to you!) who are on their way back home to the Midwest after spending a week at the beach, and they looked at me like I had two heads when I told them we were heading away from the beach and to Ohio for vacation.) And I even managed to get a project done! Bunk beds are assembled. At least mostly. We are still lacking a ladder and rails for the top bunk. And the kids did have a good time. I'll just chalk it up to a lesson learned and next time plan better and with fewer activities (if that makes any sense).

As so often happens, the best moments of the week were the ones that were unplanned. The kids turned the girls' new bunk beds into their clubhouse and spent hours sitting on the bottom bunk playing. Natalia noted that it was "hurricane-ing" all day on Thursday, and in the evening, we let the kids play on the front porch in the storm. I had a gift card burning a hole in my pocket, and I took the four kids on a solo trip to Olive Garden. They, amazingly, sat there for an hour and a half quietly playing and making polite conversation. (I think bodily fluids only came up once!)

Some other great moments of the week:

The Butterfly Whisperer at the Aquarium.

Ree saved up her money for a Play-Doh ice cream shop and spent the week making "treats" for her siblings. There was surprisingly little jealousy, although in the process Mike did talk us into finally giving him (and his siblings) a weekly allowance.

Sparklers before bedtime on the Fourth of July.

The hurricane dance.

Mom's Summer Vacation

My kids always ask me when my summer vacation will be. They figure if they get long stretches of time off in the summer, I should too. I love the way they think. I could definitely go for some time off when the weather gets warm. Maybe even enough time...to be bored? Okay, so that's just a dream in a house full of four kids and two dogs, but it is a nice dream to have.

I am happy to say that my summer vacation started at lunchtime yesterday, and for the first time since we've had kids, I am using my time off to stay home. I suppose this could be defined as a "staycation," but that term always makes me think of people who have compromised, people who would love to be in the mountains or at the lake or at the beach, but finances just won't let them. I'm not sure I've ever heard anyone talk about their staycation with a true smile on their face. This was instead a very deliberate choice to just stay put.

As we zoomed through May and June and all of the activities surrounding the end of the school year, I realized all I wanted was a break, and we don't do a fraction of the things "normal" families seem to do. I suppose I am fairly isolated, typically just talking to co-workers and my best friends, but I ended up socializing with a much larger network of families as we attended this myriad of activities. I quickly came to realize that Ree was apparently one of very few children her age who didn't attend at least three activities per week. While that may work for others, I just can't do it. I'm not sure my children can either.

So this week, I hope, will be quite the opposite. We are planning on doing things and heading places, but we will be spending a lot of time at home too. Last night I got to make a big dinner, and one of my highlights of vacation already was heading out on the porch last night with all four kids to shuck corn before dinner. It is one of their favorite cooking activities, and one we hadn't made time for yet this year. I'm glad we got the chance.

So maybe I don't get weeks off like my kids, or months off like kids in traditional schools, but at least when my kids have asked lately when my summer vacation will be, I can tell them the exact dates.

Camp Jewel

We are finally done with school for the year. Hurray! For the most part, our whole family loves year round school, but it was time for a break.

Ree was so fried at the end of the year that when I asked her if she wanted to sign up for dance and art camp, she promptly said no. I asked on several occasions, and the reply was always the same. No thank you. She would prefer to spend the summer at home, reading books. She is so my kid. Love her!

Despite not wanting to go to camp, we are not without camp activities. Ree took it up herself to set up a day camp for her siblings. Several weeks ago she started planning her camp, careful to ensure the hours correlated with when she was free. I found this sign hanging in our main hallway.

It was no surprise that the kids spent that entire morning playing camp. What I hadn't expected was what happened the following Saturday. We'd had breakfast and cleaned up and I was attempting to workout in the living room with the usual chaos. Suddenly I heard an exasperated Ree yell something like, "Hey guys! It's after 9:00. Camp already started!" Amazingly, they all took off running. And stayed in her room. When I got done working out, I found the three stooges all busily doing activities while she supervised.

They were all pretty content to do what was instructed. For Jeff's sake, I hope she does keep to the posted hours, and camp kicks in full-time this Tuesday.

Three Day Weekends

For several years, our weekends were all organized in exactly the same manner. I had the luxury of only having to go to the office four days a week, so I essentially had a three day weekend each week. On the weekends, I spent one day running errands, one day cleaning the house, and one day actually doing something fun with the family. This worked well for us and helped us juggle life with three, and then four, kids.

Only that schedule has been shot to hell for the past 18ish months. Work got hectic. Ree started taking dance on Saturdays. Work got really hectic, and suddenly I was down two day weekends every week like a mere mortal. I still spent a day running errands, partly because it needed to get done and partly because I enjoyed it, and I still spent a day with my family because that's incredibly important to me. But that left no time for cleaning.

This weekend, however, I got a three day weekend, and the old formula was right back in action! Saturday was errand day. The kids "slept in" until 5:15 (which was much more pleasant than Friday morning's 4:40 wake up call. It wasn't even light yet!). I managed to work out, shower, make chocolate chip pancakes with strawberries (soooo good!), and I still had all four kids out the door by 8:05 to run errands. We went to Trader Joe's and Target and only had one major meltdown. At Target Natalia spotted a purple carton of soymilk and decided she needed it. Only no one in our family drinks soy milk. So she then spent three aisles wailing about her purple milk. Despite that little kink, all went well with our plans, and we were home by 10:15. Thankfully, after the hectic start, the day was quite calm and relaxing. I took Ree to dance and killed time reading outside by a Starbucks and shopping while she was in class. It was lovely. Made lunch. The kids refused to nap, so we got to spend a good chunk of the afternoon outside. We were out long enough that Max got to play two rounds of fetch. Made dinner. Watched a movie with Jeff. It was good.

Sunday was the family day. We headed out to the beach bright and early, and we were grateful for our motivation, since the lot where we usually park was almost full when we arrived at 8:30. We met up with the family of a friend from work as well as a family from preschool. We also saw two other families we know. (Hence the very full parking lot!) We had a great time, and, most importantly, wore all the kids out. We grabbed Wendy's on the way home, and by 1:00pm, Ree was the only person left awake in our house. Jeff, the kids, the dogs, and I were all passed out. It was great. But the fun didn't stop there - Sunday night we headed out to the house of another family from preschool. We went swimming and ate dinner and had a good ol' time.

So that meant today was cleaning today. And I was ready! Given that the house is a complete and utter disaster, I went into cleaning time with no agenda. That would only be setting myself up for failure when I accomplished less than 10 percent of whatever insane list of cleaning projects I conjured. Jeff took the kids outside, so I actually got to clean without "helpers." I cranked up Led Zeppelin I to motivate me and hopefully rattle some dirt off the windows, and I headed toward the area currently known as "the sleep room." This is where Leon, Mike, and Natalia currently keep their beds, and the sheets on said beds really, really, really needed to be changed.

It quickly turned into a runaway project that went far beyond stripping the beds. Led Zep I complete, I moved on to Led Zep II, and I still had a long way to go. (And, yes, I was listening to albums. In their entirety. I am pretty sure there are laws against such madness these days, and I don't mind breaking them on occasion.) I should also add the kids don't keep any toys in this room. It's just their beds, their stuffed animals, and some books. Yet is somehow took me an hour and a half to get the place cleaned up. When I was done the sheets were clean, the blankets were straightened, a mountain of dog fur and dirt was removed from the floors, and the room looked essentially exactly the same as when I started. I hate it when that happens.

I had just commented on this to Jeff when Mike saw the sleep room. He came running back to where I was and said, "Mom! You made the room grow!" (Love him! Such great book smarts, so little common sense.) I had managed to rotate an area rug in the process of cleaning. Apparently that made all the difference in the world. Natalia was also awed by her "new" space.

Given the results of today's cleaning binge, I'm almost looking forward to future cleaning projects. First goal is to clean up my schedule and try to find some more three day weekends so they can happen.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was pretty quiet at our house. If anything, we did even less than usual. I spent the weekend attempting to get caught up on work projects, and was mostly just a grouchy pants until I finished.

Anywho, so we didn't do a ton. I received a Panera gift card as part of an early Mother's Day present from my parents, and it was burning a hole in my pocket, so we picked up bagels for breakfast, and the kids and I gorged ourselves on bagels and fruit. Michael liked the breakfast so much he wanted to have it again for Father's Day. I had to kindly point out the one person not indulging in the carb and sugar fest was his father.

Natalia did not let the day go unnoticed, though. At one point she turned to Jeff and announced, "Happy Mother's Day, Dad!" She tries...

We did manage to go strawberry picking yesterday afternoon. There is a berry farm next to our neighborhood, and yes, we know we are spoiled. It was actually the first time out for the season, and the kids were really excited to go.

Despite the look on my little BFF's face, she really was happy to be there. I think her big sister has just convinced here that photos are not cool.

And, in case there was any doubt, we were picking STRAWBERRIES!

They also sell homemade ice cream, and, of course, we had to stop for some after we got done picking berries. After that, we headed to the green house where I got some plants for our little herb garden. Most years we have a nice collection of herbs growing on our front porch, but last year they never really took off. I think the problems were that I planted too late and I was trying to grow from seeds. (We will completely ignore the fact that I may have forgotten to water them or find the right light for each plant.) However, we do have a chive plant that has no idea it is supposed to be an annual, and it is about four years old. Ree and Natalia like to snack on chives, and Natalia often helps herself to a chive on the way to and from the car. They happened to have chives at the nursery, and as she walked by, Natalia picked one and began eating it. She had no idea that wasn't normal behavior when one saw chives. I actually felt kinda bad telling her that it wasn't actually a buffet.

We did not buy any more chive plants, but we did come home with a purple basil plant, cilantro, parsley, and (I think) spearmint. We never seem to eat mint, but the kids love to grow it, and it smells good. After berry picking, the kids were tired, and the three stooges all took naps. While they slept, I worked. I got done, consequently turned into a (semi) normal human being again, and I even had some time to read a chapter of Harry Potter to Ree before the usual chaos erupted again. We had a good dinner, and then everyone pigged out on strawberries before falling into bed. I guess sometimes regular ol' days make for great Mother's Days.

Back to School

Everyone headed back to school this week. Since Ree had been off for three weeks, it kinda felt like the first day of school all over again on Monday. We definitely all had to readjust to the early mornings. I think the trickiest part for me was getting back in the habit of making lunches. I'm not all that great at remembering to make lunches even when she goes to school every day. But I managed to feed her every day. Phew!

The best news, though, was that school was back to the regular schedule. During March the school day had been extended by 30 minutes a day to help make up for the six days we missed this year due to ice. That meant each day ended 15 minutes later. It also meant each day started 15 minutes earlier, and it turns out 15 minutes in the morning makes a big difference. It was nice to get our 15 minutes back.

Another thing that I really liked was the fact that Ree is back riding in the bus. Sometime in January (I think), I had started taking Ree to school due to the timing of her bus and the incredibly cold weather, and we just kept it up. On Monday, however, there was a monstrous line of people dropping off their kids, and it took an incredibly long time for me to get through the drop off line. Not so great when I am trying to get to work. Ree and I both quickly agreed that she would resume her bus riding.

The good part about bus riding is having a few minutes every morning to just, well, watch the morning. It helped that it was around 60 degrees and clear all but one morning this week, but even when it's not that nice, it's a relaxing way to start the day. We typically count the birds flying by, check for vapor trails for planes, and just chat. It's definitely a nice break in the chaos.

Spring Break

It was a bit of an odd Easter. It was cold and rainy and I had the flu. On the bright side, it led to a very relaxing day, which was much needed after the past week. It was Spring Break. Because she goes to year round school, Ree was off for three weeks, but this last week was the official spring break when the boys were off too, and it was a fun, but hectic, time.

Friday, April 11
Our first adventure was the preschool egg hunt. Thankfully, they allow siblings to participate. I had to work that day, among a slew of other things, and Nati described my schedule as "Work, home, work, home, work, home..." Even if that wasn't entirely true, it was a fairly accurate description of what the day felt like for me. (And, yes, I am incredibly grateful that I have a job where I can shuffle back and forth between things like that.)

Saturday, April 12
Saturday morning we went to the semi-annual consignment sale for the local Mothers of Twins Club. It's the one event of the year where the kids get to go shopping and pick out "new" toys, and it's always a big deal in our house. It started at 8am, and I was there with the 4 kids at about 8:04 to ensure maximum selection. I think they were all pretty happy with their choices, and we ended up making quite a sizeable contribution to the Twins Club.

After lunch, we headed to Azalea Fest where Ree performed with her ballet class.

We were able to finding parking easily, which was great, because traffic on the way there had been a nightmare. Walking around, it was easy to see why. The weather was perfect, and the crowds were huge. We attempted to buy the kids snow cones after Ree's performance, but the lines were insanely long, so we ended up heading to McDonald's where we were able to get some ice cream. The kids were also able to play on the shaded playground.

Sunday, April 13
It had been so crowded and so hot, that all we did at Azalea Fest on Saturday was watch Ree perform. So we headed back downtown on Sunday to actually enjoy the festival events. The highlight was definitely meeting Elsa and Ana from Frozen. (Natalia is hugging Olaf the snowman in the photo.) They got to see Spider Man, too, and we ended up eating a picnic lunch at our usual spot for Azalea Fest and Riverfest.

Monday, April 14
Monday brought forth a dilemma. I had planned on taking the whole week off, and then I realized I really did need to work, so I planned on doing family stuff in the mornings and heading in to work in the afternoons. Half days off were better than no days off, and I am hoping for real time off this summer. Only Monday we planned to head to the beach in the morning, and I didn't know how I would manage an afternoon of meetings at work (I was booked from 11:30 - 5), after going to the beach.

I shouldn't have worried. That took care of itself when Natalia got sick around 7:30 Sunday night. She hadn't been feeling right since Saturday afternoon, and the poor kid was sick to her stomach ALL night. She finally settled down around 3:30 or 4am, but Ree started getting sick at the same time, including two rounds where they were both sick at once. I slept less than 3 hours all night, and only in short bursts, so it was clear I was not going anywhere on Monday. I spent most of the day holding Natalia, who was fighting sleep. At one point, she stormed off to her room, where she proceeded to pass out on the floor and sleep for 3 hours. I did go outside for awhile with the boys. There's nothing like two boys in their jammies with their feet in a tub of water.

Tuesday, April 15
Leon got sick Monday night, and Natalia was still incredibly feverish on Tuesday, despite regular doses of ibuprofen, so Tuesday was another day of cuddles and rest. Leon was actually much better by morning. Jeff got everyone else out of the house, and I also managed to work a little while Natalia watched TV and slept. Laptops are wonderful things. Tuesday night, Natalia asked, "Will I be sick forever?" and the poor girl wasn't sad about it. I think she was truly curious. She was also probably plotting and thinking we were going to need some new DVDs if she was going to be sick forever.

Wednesday, April 16
We finally had a day generally go as planned! Everyone was feeling better, and in the morning I dropped Ree off for a playdate with a friend from school while I went into work for a couple of hours. My time at work was a blur, but at least I was able to get a little done. I have no memories of the rest of the day. I have no idea if that is good or bad!

Thursday, April 17
The kids had been promised a trip to an indoor play place, and we headed to Jungle Rapids. The kids had fun bouncing and climbing, although Natalia started getting cranky within 45 minutes of arriving. Thankfully, we had friends arrive soon after that, and Natalia was willing to play for 30 more minutes. We all went to Moe's for lunch, then we went back and played more. Everyone took good naps that afternoon!

Friday, April 18
My uncle was spending the month working from a beach house in Sunset Beach, and we headed down to see him. The weather was less than perfect for the beach - the air never got above 68 degrees, and the water temperature was about 61 degrees. However, we hadn't been to the beach yet this year, and that didn't stop the kids from playing on the beach and in the water for about 3 hours. To make it a true vacation day, much TV was watched and much food was consumed, and the kids are still discussing their desserts (sliced strawberries topped with raspberry/white chocolate chunk ice cream, whipped cream, and almonds).

Saturday, April 19
We got back late on Friday night and ended up not doing much on Saturday. I cleaned the house a little. (I had grand plans of cleaning the house over spring break. That didn't really happen, but I did do a record breaking number of loads of laundry on Sunday and Monday while everyone was sick, and I spot cleaned the heck out of a few areas. That counts for something, right?)

The kids did help decorate one impressive Easter cake. We were cleaning out the candy bowl, and this bad boy contains Peeps, Sweet Tarts, Starbursts, and chocolate eggs. Hello, sugar bomb!

Sunday, April 20
Thankfully we did empty out the candy bowl, because the Easter Bunny dutifully arrived at our house, and the candy bowl was refilled. The Easter Bunny also brings small gifts, and it turned out Mike received a Star Wars Lego set he already owned. Michael was not happy. Thankfully, he quickly calmed down when Ree reminded him that he had lost the main part of that Lego set and when it occurred to Mike that perhaps the Easter Bunny doesn't know all the toys he has. (Oddly, neither does his mother!)

I realized the kids had not bathed since Thursday night (oops!) since we got back really late on Friday and on Saturday night I was already feeling icky and Jeff tucked them in solo, so we took long morning baths today. We also watched the first Harry Potter movie, which the kids had never seen but had been dying to watch. (Especially Ree, since I just got done reading her the first two books.) We had a good, if unconventional, Easter dinner. I didn't really have the energy to make much, so we just had pasta topped with sausage, peppers, and mushrooms. After dinner we watched, "It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown." It was an odd Easter, but not an entirely bad day. Now, back to real life!