So, I'm not going to lie. Summer with five children has been tough at times. I've managed - I've grocery shopped and gone to the library and to the park. I've taken the kids swimming and hauled all five to the doctor's office for Ivy's check ups. But it's been exhausting. It's mental gymnastics to make it out of a grocery store with all those kids, WITHOUT the four hundred thousand things they pick up and beg for, bargain for, whine like their left foot has been removed for.
"Don't touch that. Put that back. We don't need those. We aren't buying that. This way please. Where's Henry? Can you get his hand? Come this way. No, we don't need any of those. Maybe next time. Only if your good...."
I talk the entire time - a constant stream of warnings, threatenings, expostulations. I'm tired just thinking about it.
The upside to having five kids at home is how well trained they've become. Early in the summer, I instituted a morning checklist of chores - items that must be completed before anyone can eat breakfast, or turn on anything requiring electricity. Can I tell you how nice it is to lounge in bed feeding the baby listening to the sounds of your children unloading the dishwasher and taking out the trash? I'll miss that when they all go back to school.
That, and the whole lounging in bed thing. I mean really. Is there anything worth getting out of bed for before 9:30? Especially when your children are already up doing housework?
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Last night, while I was tucking Lucy into bed, we talked for a few minutes about what made each of the children unique. We talked about what made her special, then talked about each of her brothers. When she asked what made Sam special, I answered that Sam was a great problem solver, that he was great at making friends and that he loved everyone. She smiled, then added, "OH! And he likes to eat burnt things!"
Um, sure.
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Not too long ago, Henry looked in the mirror and said, "Hey, my hair looks funky. Like a monkey!"
My children are so weird.
