Surviving Summer Vacation

My sister presented me with a funny wall hanging. It's a picture of a completely stressed out/exhausted toddler and the following quote: "Any idiot can face a crisis - it's this day-to-day living that wears you out" (Anton Checkhov). I guess she knew from experience how my first week of summer vacation might play out!!!!


After our super day at the park on Monday, things went downhill. It has not stopped raining, and the kids are literally bouncing off the walls. On Wednesday, we counted the hours until it was time for our favorite library program. I packed up the kids (2 of whom were tired and screaming), and we headed over, only to find out that we were 6 days early! My mom was brave enough to visit us mid-week and agreed that my livingroom looked like a scene from "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium." You know the part when the toystore became possessed? Flying bouncing balls, screaming youngsters, chaos in every form imaginable...

The week culminated with a scramble to the doctor's office for my postpartum checkup. I had to transport 2 sleeping boys from their beds to the car while reprimanding my firstborn for tracking mud over my freshly mopped floor and putting the finishing touches on my grocery list. I was halfway to town (my heartrate had just returned to a safe range) when a timid voice in the back seat reminded me that I had forgotten to put shoes on my two year old and asked me how I was going to carry both him and his baby brother inside in the pouring rain. At that point my two options were to burst into tears or laugh hysterically at the challenge ahead of me. I am pleased to say I opted for the latter response.

I was so relieved when a good friend and fellow homeschooling mother of 4 (also with a newborn) called me in a panic, admitting that their vacation wasn't going so great either and suggesting that we might all need a little more structure. We brainstormed together on how to keep the little ones out of mischief and their mothers sane. The kids and I now have a scheduled time of family devotions, chores, and assorted memory work in the mornings (catechisms, poetry, Latin...). On a good morning we can complete all of this by 9:30 and be ready for the 9 or 10 remaining hours of play before Daddy comes home.

As for my own personal projects, I have begun a monthly cooking coop with my mom and sister. Each of us is cooking 21 meals to share with the others. My mom is doing the chicken dinners. Krista is cooking the beef/ground turkey stuff, and I'm doing the assorted pork, beans, soups, casseroles that don't really fit into those other categories. I'm really excited to see how it works out! Hopefully we'll all save some time and money in the process. Feeding a large family on one income is a daunting task these days...

My garden is flourishing with all of this rain. I have a remaining 1/3 to plant as soon as the sun comes out.

Other goals for the summer include fitting in some local field trips for the kids, keeping up with 10 loads of laundry and cloth diapers each week, organizing my curriculum for the fall, and providing the kids with a huge dose of fun in the sun. All we need now is some sun!