Never Again!
We're going crazy here.
I know that's the line I use in winter, but it's happening again. We've been stuck in the house because of bad weather and Penelope. It's too hot to take her out without turning her into a raisin.
Since we're never more than 10 feet away from each other, we've started being mean. Yelling, hitting, tripping, biting, and that's just me.
I decided to suck it up and drag them outside today.
I slathered them with sunblock, packed a lousy lunch (haven't been to the store. It's yucky outside, remember?), and headed to the beach.
As we got there, I almost said, "Forget it. Let's go home." The kids dragged me down to the sand.
It smelled like really low tide, 99% humidity, blazing sun, forgot the umbrella to put over Penny, Calvin hadn't napped, hungry kids because food ran out fast, swimming suit too tight from extra baby fat, grouchy because Jake's leaving for a week, forgot a chair or blanket to sit on, Calvin hates the water and heads for the parking lot every chance he gets, and baby was screaming. Searching for things to complain about, I was a giant black rain cloud.
Never Again. I vowed it over and over. Never Again. This is horrible. I should just stay inside all day every day.
As I sat there wallowing in misery, the mud, and low tide stench, the kids dug through our stash of beach toys and headed toward one of the little streams snaking across the sand bar. Amazingly, they all started working together to build a "pool" for Calvin. Kids started gathering from all over the beach, and suddenly, we had this:
Taken with my phone, and yes, Calvin's doing yoga.
I finally got Penny to sleep, laid her in the wagon, and rigged up a towel/tent to keep the sun off. Friends showed up, making the kids ecstatic, and giving Calvin a reason to stay near by (they had Taco Bell and he knew it.)
We stayed for over 3 hours. Unheard of with a 3 month old, a 19 month old run-away, and this crabby mother!
Finally, Penny got hungry and all the bottles were gone. As we packed it all in and headed for the showers, Tate actually thanked me for bringing them, Miles declared he wanted to live at the beach, and Lucy yelled, "This was the best day ever!" I know she says that every 4th or 5th day, but really, I love to hear it. It's like she's saying, "You didn't stink as a mother today. Congratulations."
Okay, so we might be going again.
Soon.
I know that's the line I use in winter, but it's happening again. We've been stuck in the house because of bad weather and Penelope. It's too hot to take her out without turning her into a raisin.
Since we're never more than 10 feet away from each other, we've started being mean. Yelling, hitting, tripping, biting, and that's just me.
I decided to suck it up and drag them outside today.
I slathered them with sunblock, packed a lousy lunch (haven't been to the store. It's yucky outside, remember?), and headed to the beach.
As we got there, I almost said, "Forget it. Let's go home." The kids dragged me down to the sand.
It smelled like really low tide, 99% humidity, blazing sun, forgot the umbrella to put over Penny, Calvin hadn't napped, hungry kids because food ran out fast, swimming suit too tight from extra baby fat, grouchy because Jake's leaving for a week, forgot a chair or blanket to sit on, Calvin hates the water and heads for the parking lot every chance he gets, and baby was screaming. Searching for things to complain about, I was a giant black rain cloud.
Never Again. I vowed it over and over. Never Again. This is horrible. I should just stay inside all day every day.
As I sat there wallowing in misery, the mud, and low tide stench, the kids dug through our stash of beach toys and headed toward one of the little streams snaking across the sand bar. Amazingly, they all started working together to build a "pool" for Calvin. Kids started gathering from all over the beach, and suddenly, we had this:
Taken with my phone, and yes, Calvin's doing yoga.
I finally got Penny to sleep, laid her in the wagon, and rigged up a towel/tent to keep the sun off. Friends showed up, making the kids ecstatic, and giving Calvin a reason to stay near by (they had Taco Bell and he knew it.)
We stayed for over 3 hours. Unheard of with a 3 month old, a 19 month old run-away, and this crabby mother!
Finally, Penny got hungry and all the bottles were gone. As we packed it all in and headed for the showers, Tate actually thanked me for bringing them, Miles declared he wanted to live at the beach, and Lucy yelled, "This was the best day ever!" I know she says that every 4th or 5th day, but really, I love to hear it. It's like she's saying, "You didn't stink as a mother today. Congratulations."
Okay, so we might be going again.
Soon.
posted by Alison at 7:26 AM
4 Comments:
Your bravery paid off. Congrats! Setting one foot out of the house is half the battle for me on my hairy days.
Yay for happy endings!
That is a sweet cobra pose Calvin has going on there.
Loved reading this, as I just returned from a three hour trip to the beach which sounds eerily similar to yours. It was a bit hairy, and I definitely overheated Lucy, but overall I'm just happy that we had an activity that kept the older kids entertained for that long. It just means we're that much closer to bedtime now. ;)
I know... I have fallen off the face of the earth! No blogging (or blog checking) in a YEAR!! or so. How about Penelope!?! She is so beautiful. Congratulations! I'm thrilled for your move... maybe we can even see each other every once in a while now. I loved my b-day card so much. We still miss you tons and can't wait for the day to see you face to face and laugh my head off at all your adventures - and the way you tell them. We are doing great here! Will be in SLC in a couple of weeks. Jackson is going into 1st grade. he's all grown up! Madeline is almost 4 and about as much a diva as Lucy.
You are so funny!!! You crack me up. I literally laugh out loud as I read your posts. So, so funny. Thank you, Alison for being so real. You call it like it is. Loved every word.
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