I remember as a kid thinking summer vacation was the cat's meow. I mean c'mon!! We got 3 freaking months off of school to run loose and wreak havoc on the world. What could be better? Of course the reality of it was that I spent a lot of time at home, being forced to clean up my room that had gone for months without a good cleaning. Things were good while my parents were married and living together because I spent a lot of time with my mom who took me to the beach a lot or signed me up for Summer Fun with my friends...learned to play basketball and make Polynesian poi-balls...not like those are skills I can use now. Once my parents divorced and my mom moved to another island I spent my summers at home since Dad had to work and I could not yet drive. I finally got wise and sought employment (even if it was at Dad's office!) and made lots of money to spend when I was able to hang out with my friends. There were better times, though. My dad loved to travel and every other summer he and I would set off for places unknown. I got to see a lot of the country that way, and also met family that lived on the East Coast. We did a lot of amusement parks, my dad and I. Good times. The summers that we weren't traveling, I spent with my mom in Honolulu. That meant my days were spent at the beach. Who could complain about that?!!? Spending your entire summer at Waikiki Beach? Awesome. Once I got older and could drive, I got an incredible job as a "Camp Counselor" at one of the ritzy hotels on the beach. Basically all I did was do arts and crafts with the kids of rich people, some of them celebrities. I made a lot of money, had a lot of fun and got a great tan.
Now that I am a parent of school-aged children I don't look forward to summer vacation like most parents. Summer camp around here is freaking expensive so we are only able to send Taylor for 3 weeks this summer and poor Emma is shit out of luck as she gets to just stay home with me and Zoe. Thankfully we've been having exceptional weather as the girls love to spend time out on the playset. Individually my children are wonderful. Collectively they are a Royal Pain in the Rear. They do nothing but bicker, fight, whine and snitch from morning to night. Even my sweet little chicken-legged Zoe contributes to my soon-to-be nervous breakdown.
I was recently put on a seriously restricted budget. Yeah, Phil took a closer look at the Visa bill and saw Target one too many times. So I am now not allowed "Free Will Shopping." My shopping must have a purpose, I guess. I'm not allowed to wander the aisles aimlessly anymore, looking for those hidden clearance deals that I don't really need but damn! It was 90% off...!!! He should appreciate my bargain shopping. I use coupons for a lot of stuff and actually do quite well. It's not my fault if we needed trash bags on Tuesday. Or diapers on Wednesday. Or dish soap on Friday. And dammit if I didn't forget to pick up cat litter! Guess I'll have to make a trip there tomorrow!
Back to summer vacation....
I'm all for year-round school. I think it actually benefits everyone involved. The students spend less time away from school and what they've learned. Instead of 3 months off for summer they would get one month off. And the other 2 months would be spread out over the rest of the year, making winter and spring breaks one month each. Working parents would benefit because it's damn hard for them to find caregivers for their kids for 3 whole months. And by having a month off for winter break we'd be able to spend more time away from the frigid winter weather and return to school refreshed, tanned and ready to continue learning.
I know, I wouldn't be able to convince anyone with those cheesy arguements.
Kids fighting aside, the biggest pain the in rear has to be trying to potty train Emma. She is going to be 4 at the end of August and really could care less about the fact that she still wears a pull-up. I cannot send her back to school this fall if she isn't trained. I feel like such a loser mom, with an almost 4 year old who still isn't trained!! Shit, Zoe just turned 2 and is already sitting on the potty and has even peed twice!! She will be totally trained before Emma. I think Emma will be the only one still in high school who wears a pull-up. Ugh!!! It's so frustrating because she just does not care. I know that I am going to have to do the cold turkey method and just tell her we ran out of pull-ups so you'll just have to wear panties and if you pee or poop in them too damn bad. I have tried so many things with her...candy bribery, money bribery, threats, you name it. We even tried going naked for a day but she pooped on the carpet and pissed me off. Does anyone have ANY advice? I swear, I am going insane.
Phil bought us bikes and we went for a nice ride last night, maybe 2 miles? Phil gets to pull the trailer behind him, I am not coordinated enough for that. My hope is to lose another 30 pounds by April. I'm planning a big high school reunion in Las Vegas. It'll be my 20 year reunion but I'm organizing it for all alum. The last reunion I attended was in 2002 and I saw some pictures of myself at one of the events and I was really fat. It totally depressed me. My goal is to be another 30 pounds lighter by then and feeling a lot better about myself. I guess I shouldn't be sitting here on my ass blogging, huh? I should outside walking or biking. After I put Emma and Zoe to bed tonight Taylor and I will ride around the neighborhood.
We went to Cedar Point last weekend. It was a lot of fun. A couple friends met us there so Phil went off to ride the coasters with them while I took the girls to all the kiddy rides. Lots of carousel riding. Taylor actually had pneumonia several days before and was still on meds when we went there. Poor thing! And because she's mildly asthmatic she will always be a little more vunerable to respiratory bugs. But she was feeling pretty good while we were there because she went on one of the bigger coasters with Phil. I was a little worried because she had only ever been on the kiddy ones and this was a big step for her. She loved it and wants to go back! I'm so proud!!! Zoe and Emma had a blast riding on the obnoxious planes and cars that made lots of noise. I have a picture of Emma riding with her hands over her ears while Zoe pushes all the buttons. Hopefully we'll get back down there before summer ends.
Ok, that's about all I have to say today. A lot more than usual...!!
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