ah, ah, allergies....

I am dizzy with allergies, or a cold, or whatever is making my ears ache. What a different direction the thoughts go when I don't feel well. I don't want to do anything....but I still have to. Poor me. Today is the day of salvation, I have much to be thankful for, God has been good to me. I am trying to pull myself up by the bootstraps, to encourage myself.

The kids all went to school today, but it was like pulling teeth. A few of them did not want to go, namely Suzanne, Jonathan, and Sonja. They were having a SLOW contest, to see who could miss the bus. They did not SAY this, but I sensed it. Suze did not eat even one bite of her English muffin...it was a yummy one, crunchy like she likes it, with real butter and strawberry preserves...Sonja did not eat hers, either, she did not get dressed until the last minute. (now, I have had my muffin, with my coffee, I need to get Camille and Charlotte Claire to eat those that the school kids didn't eat, because I don't want them to go to waste. And if they don't want them, ......)

The days are long, it is the very best time of the year. It doesn't get dark until after their bed time, so they are so reluctant to be tucked in. And they are excited because they know summer vacation is just around the corner, and their crazy mother probably doesn't help things, saying, "Go to bed, in just a few weeks you can stay up lots longer!" Last night my oldest, Emily, was over for a visit before going in to work, so she tucked them in and they just love her so much, they were anything but calm and sleepy.

Okay, I know I am delusional.....here is how I think of summer:

1. Relaxing.....

2. Unscheduled and blissfull...

3. Warm and breezy...

4. Staying up and laughing, having random deck parties and playing in the candle wax....

5. Going on adventures...

6. Taking the kids out to Chinese ( I purposely haven't done this at all lately, we are going to do it when they get out of school)

7. Sleeping in!

8. Going in the pool three times a day....

9. Cooking on the grill and eating on the deck....

Yes, summer is fun....here are some of the not-fun things...

1. When the kids stay up late and I haven't had a minute's peace all day...

2. When they get up earlier than they would on a school morning.

3. The Grand-Central-Station-Kitchen that never closes and never gets all the way clean.

4. Going through food like crazy.

5. Wet bathing suits.

6. Wet towels.

7. The heat and humidity....not bad when one is out in the pool, but when one is cleaning up the house, ouchie.

8. The air conditioning in the van does not work.

9. Trying to please both the older kids and the younger kids. The younger kids are game for anything.

It doesn't matter how many things I come up with for the second list, I am still like a kid, SO EXCITED for NO MORE PENCILS, NO MORE BOOKS!!!!!!