Hello Summer!

Hello?  Remember me? I'm the one with all of the boys?  No?  Maybe that's because it's been awhile... one month and three days to be precise... since I've blogged.  That's a long time in blog land, and while not a first, I can't remember the last time I've been that far behind.  There is no catching up.  Because, frankly, it's all a blur.  I can catch up from the end of school until now, however, and try to be a teensy bit more consistent in writing.  That should be easy peasy with everyone home all day, every day, right? Let me live in my delusion. I'll come to soon enough. 

Come with me back to 8 days ago, on the last day of school. I had one kid home with an ear infection, and the other with asthma symptoms plus a slight fever.  Much to their utter dismay, they missed that last day of school.  Try as they might to con me all the rest of the year into staying home when they "didn't feel good," there was much sadness to miss that last day.  I can't blame them. No one wants to miss the fun stuff.  We were also disappointed to be missing a pool party later that day.  Mother Nature helped us out with that one as it rained all afternoon and evening, postponing the party to the following day. 

Everyone was well enough Thursday for the pool party and off we went.  Bring on the summer! Let the good times roll and all that fun stuff!  Until, at 2 AM Friday morning Zack began the stomach virus that proceeded to take us down, one by one, all the way until Monday.  Thankfully, that is over. The kids bounced back faster than I did... and I won't linger on that topic. 

So, Tuesday brought a renewed energy and a desire to have!fun! But first, I had different plans.  The boys were disappointed that I had planned to have them read and do chores and even write a little before our fun began.  But, we did it and stayed on schedule for that day.  Then we went to the pool! 

Wednesday, it was going to be tricky to get all of our stuff done around all of our fun. There will be days like this, and that is when I will have be a little flexible. It is summer after all, so we skipped our writing practice and just read, and then went off to playgroup, followed by lunch and swimming at the pool.  (Let me just say how well the guys sleep after an afternoon at the pool.  I still have to find the magic balance so they aren't falling asleep too soon and waking up at bedtime.)

This brings me to today.  I woke up with dark circles under my eyes, despite getting plenty of sleep.  We didn't get to our school time because I was busy trying to find cheaper car insurance (saving the rantings about how much I hate getting car insurance quotes for another day- which luckily for you means never because I'll forget!) Our big plans include staying home and resting, because everyone is getting a little crazy out of sheer exhaustion.

Our challenges of summer are as follows:

Me: Staying organized, staying focussed, and not letting the little things get to me.  I have to figure out the balance between getting things done (and making sure the boys are involved in this) and having fun.  Without completely exhausting us all.  I also had a pretty good routine going to get all of my stuff done. That is having to be completely revamped.  It is a work in progress. 

Eric: Tolerance, tolerance, tolerance.  He struggles when there is chaos.  Unfortunately, there is a LOT of chaos when everyone is home. 

Mark: Learning when to quit and not pester the crap out of his brothers.

Zachary: Oh Zachary... he has to learn to listen and OBEY (rather than ignore) and learn that the cuteness factor can only get you so far in life.  Your dimples can't save you every time little buddy!

Benjamin: The poor guy just isn't dealing very well with all of these people on his turf.  He loves having his brothers home, but there is a lot of acting out and tantrum throwing right now. He may have to start napping again if it doesn't stop soon.

So, there you have it... week one of summer is in the bag!  Only 10.5 more to go.  We'll make it!