Monday.....again....

I'm sure as soon as wee one wakes up, it will begin...."I'm bored, what is there to do? I'm hungry, we don't have anything to eat in this house, I want Hannah/Lauren/Rachel/Christiana, to spend the night/go swimming/come over...." But right now, I'm enjoying peace and quiet on this first Monday of "summer vacation".

I am not sure why they call it "summer vacation", because this is the season in evey sahm's life where our jobs kick into full gear. No more leisurly lunches on the back porch....no more uninterrupted showers as we shampoo and condition....even our morning cup of coffee will be affected. No longer will we slowly savor every caffeine filled sip, but quickly gulp it down before the little monsters are yelling that, "She ate the last of the Fruity Sugar Bites! I wanted those! No, the Fruity Saccharine Nuggets are not the same!"

Summer for us is when the laundry doubles and sometimes triples in one 24 hour period. Towels we never even knew we had appear. Washers and dryers seem to run 24/7 with clothes that belong to our family, as well as the kids down the street. I will be running around asking my kids, "Are these your socks?" "Well, who's socks are they?" "They HAVE to belong to someone!", only to have the doorbell ring ten minutes later by the kid down the block looking for her socks.

I expect my grocery bill to expand as well. Mind numbing amounts of fruit bites, fruit by the foot, fruit roll ups....do you know how much cheaper it would be if they would just eat fruit?  I'll also be stocking up on popcicles and ice cream. Why is it they insist on the $5 box of 8 cartoon character pops, instead of the $3 24 pack of regular popcicles, that taste exactly the same? During the school year, there is no problem with this, however, as soon as summer hits, their tastes change and no frozen treat under $5 will be accepted.

My housework routine is going to be majorly altered, I can see this already. My kitchen looks like a bomb went off in it....and it's only the first day. Wee one decided to try out her shrinky-dinks and left it spread out over my countertops. She didn't like outfit choices #1-3 yesterday for church, and they are still covering her bedroom floor. My usually neat and tidy desk is covered with end of the year papers from school, a pile of artwork so big that if I hung it on my walls I'd have more holes than plaster, and what looks to be a dried up strawberry from last nights dessert. *Sigh.

I suppose I should look at the positive side of things. My girls will be home with me and we can spend some quality time together, going to the beach ("But there's a 24 hour Spongebob marathon on!"), checking out sites around town ("Awww, man. Not the art museum!"), or just a leisurely afternnon at the mall ("Now this is more like it! What do you mean we are just window shopping?!)

Of course, I just finish writing this and wee one comes in here, all sleepy looking, hair a rats nest....and she hugs me. She said she is glad that she's home....and she loves me. Now, if that's not worth the extra laundry, groceries, and general aggrivation....I don't know what is.