I'm fortunate to be home all summer when the three kids are off from school. Well, I use the word fortunate loosely. Some days I wish I'd signed them up for an away camp. The girls are 15 and 12 and fight nearly 24/7. Seriously. It's tough raising a diva and a tom boy. You'd think they'd stay out each other's way, but no. They insist on telling the other what is wrong with their music, clothing, food, make up, friend, and vocabulary choices. Even the way they breath, roll their eyes, laugh...fight. *sigh*
The Little Guy is 10 and is content being a couch potato. However, being the terribly mean mom that I am, screen time is limited. After his initial whining, he's content playing with his Legos for a bit. And by noon all three children are bored, insisting we do something, not thrilled with the chore charts and reading logs. While this mom is quite content lounging by the pool with a book. The kids, however, only like to swim with friends.
So, the more the merrier. The Rice household is a much more calm and peaceful place when the kids have friends over. Sure, it's louder, but the noise is laughter, playing, friendly competition. My children have wonderful friends who like the siblings and actually enjoy playing in a big group.
There's so much splashing and jumping and monkeying around in the pool right now that I moved myself to the patio (still keeping an eye on the kiddos) and am actually able to write a few sentences without being interrupted. Six kids...easier than three.
It's strangely odd that less food is eaten in the house with six kids then when it's just my three. Constant grazers, my tribe. Today they're so busy playing and...being kids that I had to call them in from the pool to eat lunch. Their friends are happy. The kids are happy. I'm happy.
The Little Guy is 10 and is content being a couch potato. However, being the terribly mean mom that I am, screen time is limited. After his initial whining, he's content playing with his Legos for a bit. And by noon all three children are bored, insisting we do something, not thrilled with the chore charts and reading logs. While this mom is quite content lounging by the pool with a book. The kids, however, only like to swim with friends.
So, the more the merrier. The Rice household is a much more calm and peaceful place when the kids have friends over. Sure, it's louder, but the noise is laughter, playing, friendly competition. My children have wonderful friends who like the siblings and actually enjoy playing in a big group.
There's so much splashing and jumping and monkeying around in the pool right now that I moved myself to the patio (still keeping an eye on the kiddos) and am actually able to write a few sentences without being interrupted. Six kids...easier than three.
It's strangely odd that less food is eaten in the house with six kids then when it's just my three. Constant grazers, my tribe. Today they're so busy playing and...being kids that I had to call them in from the pool to eat lunch. Their friends are happy. The kids are happy. I'm happy.
I love my summers, the view from my backyard, the beaches close by, the mountain hikes only steps away, but what makes summer vacation the best is when my kids are laughing and are happy. What's your favorite thing about summer?
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