Our local public schools started this past Monday. Technically we could have started too. I already have all of the curriculum. I did our first week’s lesson plans weeks ago. Instead we decided to have a “Week o’fun”. A last hurrah before we hit our noses to the grindstone.
Everyone has been able to stay up late and watch movies and play games. They can sleep in as long as their internal clock want. Well, everyone except me , the babies internal clocks are set at 6:00 a.m. No amount of window darkening shades can seem to dissuade them.
Monday we went to the movies. Last year we discovered that if we caught the very first movie of the day, we could have a private viewing. There is nothing like watching a movie in an empty theater. You can laugh really loud. You can boo and hiss. If you have wild toddlers, they can run up and down the aisles. No one cares about proper movie watching etiquette. We were very excited to have the whole theater to ourselves. It turns out that not every school started this week. We weren’t as alone as we had hoped.
Tuesday we packed a picnic lunch and headed off to Auntie Red’s house to swim. We picked the perfect day. It was close to 180 degrees. I was a little bit worried about taking the kids swimming by myself. I am an alarmist, I imagined everyone simultaneously drowning at once and having to choose who I’d save. I don’t do well with choices. They might all die while I was trying to choose. Fortunately for them, everything went smoothly. Except for a case of cheating during Marco Polo.
Wednesday we went out to lunch at our favorite restaurant: In N Out. We spent the rest of the afternoon at the library and the water fountain. We returned home soaking wet and with more books than little arms could carry. I’m really rather surprised my arms aren’t stronger.
Today we went bowling. Nothing is more torturous than going bowling with five children. Okay, maybe watching three children bowl and trying to contain two active toddlers. It was the longest two games ever. When it ended kids were begging to bowl another game or eight. I quickly diverted them with the prospects of lunch. Okay, maybe listening to a play by play repeat of every bowl is a worse form of torture. Nope, I think the fighting over who was the better bowler could be worse. I don’t know how they can fight over it when the computer tallied their scores. That was the longest drive to McDonalds. I finally had to turn around and tell everyone that I didn’t think anyone could be in the bowling olympics with a score of 78 with the bumpers.
Lunch was followed by playing at the McDonalds play ground. I wouldn’t be surprised if my kids turn up with Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease, ring worms, and warts due to the playing without socks and my forgotten hand sanitizer. The price they’ll pay for fun.
We then went for a long drive in the country in hopes that children might fall asleep with nothing to look at but orchards and vineyards. Blast the fire that was burning in the distance that caught all of their attention. With the prospects of well rested children far away, we decided to shop.
We went to Michaels to buy some craft supplies (it’s a secret, I’ll post the craft next week) and school supplies. Michaels isn’t the kind of store you want to take a cranky toddler to. They keep things like paint on low shelves. Did you know that they don’t put those protective coverings like on ketchup on paint bottles? These things are not baby proof. I wonder if they’re toxic? If you twist the top off, it’s akin to hitting the toddler jack pot. Needles to say, Jacob painted himself yellow while I was looking at the different kinds of glue. We are now the proud owners of a $1.39 bottle of yellow acrylic paint.
As if the yellow child wasn’t warning enough, we headed off to the boyscout shop. This was a melt down for a Weblos and Tiger. They wanted new shirts and hats and pins and knapsacks and belts and pocket knives and the list just kept on going. After purchasing two books and some duct tape branded with the boy scout symbol to duct tape mouths shut and arms to their bodies we left. I jest about the duct tape.
I don’t know if I have the energy for the fun that tomorrow will bring.
Well, I’m glad you guys have had so much “fun” this week. Sometimes, I wonder if the kids’ measure of fun is tied to causing mental break downs.
Wow! I’m exhausted just thinking about it all. But I must admit I was very enthralled with the glowing hillside Thursday night that was viewable from 120!