Floating Around In A Giant Swan

Yesterday some friends and I took our kids into Boston to go to the Common. In all of my years of life I had never been to the Boston Common, so it was really fun. Although they predicted sweltering heat and afternoon thunderstorms the weather turned out to be fine. Hot, yes. But no storms. We almost cancelled, but decided that since we live in New England that weather reports really don't matter that much and we should go anyway. So glad we did. We rode the Swan Boats which were great. And cheap! Only $2.75 for adults and $1.50 for kids. Granted it is only a 15 minute ride, but still. The kids loved it. After that we walked over to the other side of the common where they had a playground and places for us to have our picnic lunch. I'm not sure why eating on the ground has such appeal for kids, but mine love it. After that the kids were begging to go in this:

I had no idea that the Common had this Frog Pond spray area. It is a giant shallow wading pool that was filled with kids. No one had brought any bathing suits or towels, but with the intense heat beating down on them there was no stopping the kids. They just threw off their shoes and shirts (well, the girls left their shirts on) and ran in with their clothes on. Even though they have spent countless hours this summer swimming in lakes and jumping into backyard pools, jumping around in this particular body of water fully clothed seemed to give them more thrills than if they were swimming with dolphins in a clear blue Caribbean Sea. Of course, all we mothers could see were parasites and germs floating around in what basically was a giant tub filled with children. Although they put chlorine in it every day and drain it and re-fill it every 10 days (pray we were on day 1!) it still gave us the heebie jeebies. But the kids loved it, and that's all that is important. If they get a sty in their eye, well, don't come crying to me. I told them not to put their heads under the water!

Togetherness

"I didn't do it, it's her fault!"

"He hit me!"

"Stop it's my turn to say my words!"

"She pushed me first!"

"He's poking me!"

"She's laughing and it's not funny!"

The children have been bickering like an old married couple, while alternatively hugging and laying all over each other, loving like the best of friends. It is hot and cold, fire and ice with these two lately. All the togetherness has taken it's toll. Besides one week mid-summer when they each went to separate camps, Jack and Abbey have spent their summer together. To the lake, together. The zoo, together. Grampy's house, together. Park, together. Outings, together. On and on and on it goes. I am usually with them as well, but I do have work and an occasional break for mental health reasons, but for some reason we may forget that children. . . siblings. . . need a break from each other just as much as we do. In regular life we do not spend every waking moment of the day with our spouses, thank the Lord, and if we did we definitely wouldn't like it. So in this regard I can safely say that I am more than ready for summer to wrap up and the school year to begin. Jack will head into first grade next week, away from his family (and most importantly his sister) for 7 hours, 5 days a week. When he returns they will hug and be grateful to see each other, for the first 2 - 3 minutes, anyway.

Morning Madness

Only 2 1/2 more days of school for us here. Finally, some time off from dragging Jack kicking and screaming out of his bed each morning and hurrying him through everything to make the bus on time. Is this a boy thing? Or are some people just predetermined to not be morning people? I am not essentially a morning person, but I got over it. Sure, I would rather be in bed, but I make myself get up, get moving and get things done because I have too. My husband is NOT a morning person in the way that you would tiptoe around a hibernating bear you stumbled across while looking for blueberries in the forest. Unless the house is on fire, I'm not even bothering to wake him up. Sure, some wives may want to stand over this sleeping husband holding a large kitchen knife and dreaming about stabbing them while they snore away amid screaming and yelling and children demanding food, drinks and activities, but I would never do that . . . really. I never have. I swear.

On the other hand, my daughter gets up and going pretty well, she brushes her teeth and gets dressed, and doesn't really fight it. But Jack. Once I finally do get him up amid screaming protests of "just 5 more minutes, 1 more minute" I then have to essentially follow him through his routine to make sure it gets done. If I hand him his toothbrush and leave the bathroom to say, tend to my own getting ready for work needs, I could come back 3 minutes later and he is just standing there. In a stupor, not brushing, not doing anything. It drives me crazy. If left to his own devices it would take him 10 minutes to pull on 1 sock! Arghghgh . . . of course, I'm sure on Thursday morning he will be up bright and early, because when there is no school to go to, kids seem to change their whole attitude about getting out of bed!

Oh Ye Relaxing Weekend

Whoever said that weekends were relaxing didn't have children. Even when you don't go anywhere and have an entire weekend "free" (like we did this weekend), mommies don't get to relax. A typical laid back summer day is work! Let us go over a "normal" hot summer day at home.

First, fill up the little pool, no too cold, let the hose warm up, fill up the water table, put the kids in bathing suits, wait. . . wait, lather them with sunscreen, bug spray, hat, don't forget some sort of shoes so you don't step on a rock or a bee, out you go with Daddy.

Take a breath.

Back in to the house, need special fishy thingy and Mermaid Barbies for pool, and cars, want a drink, when is lunch, can we eat outside? Make lunch, deliver outside, clean up lunch, get more drinks.

Take a breath, open up a Smirnoff Ice, take 1 sip, put it down, forget it until 2 hours later when you stumble across it again and it is warm.

Pool now too warm, fill with cold hose water, get out ring toss game, find missing water guns, bikes come out, want sneakers, need new dry clothes, re-apply sunscreen, cheer and say things like "good job, you are so fast on that bike."

Take a breath, open another Smirnoff Ice and drink half of it quick while you can.

Swimming again, into suits (no, not wet suits. . . gross, new dry suits), scoop millions of bugs out of pool, help fill water guns, get sprayed (good because you are frickin' sweating now) get more drinks.

The day goes on like this in a loop until dinner & tub and jammies are done. Now, you drink like 3 of those Smirnoff Ice's and go to bed because you are exhausted!

I did manage to break free and go with Suzy to see "Sex and the City" last night and have a couple of drinks. It was as good as the show, which I really liked. We didn't really care what we saw, hell, we were just glad to be out of the house!