Dog Days of Summer

I wish I were a dog. No, really!

If I were a dog, I could lay around and sleep all day, have several meals served to me by doting people who love me, play when I'm in the mood, and... well, that's about it.

Instead, my days consist of getting up at the crack of dawn in order to get some work done before the kids get up, followed by dragging them out of bed and trying to get them to "do something." Anything. (Other than watch television, that is; if left to their own accord, they'd be like vegetables before the end of one week... vegetables who can quote George Lopez verbatim but can't remember how to spell their own names.)

After school being out for two months already, the pool (now mostly empty) is the temperature of a hot tub, we've seen several movies, they've gone roller skating, have had friends over, and have done all the rest of the things kids do during summer break. I, on the other hand, have done very little that adults like to do, as there is no money (or energy) left after paying for the aforementioned activities and more.

They're done. We're ALL done. Even the cats are bored; I swear they rolled their eyes at me this morning when I opened the door to the screened porch and suggested they go scare some birds. Sure, there's Girl Scout camp next week, several more parties and play dates, people coming from out of town to visit. But in the end, all of us are ready for back to school time.

But there's still a month to go.

Sigh. I think I'll go next door and hang out with the neighbor's dog.

Lake Lover's Ordeal

We just returned from a five-day vacation at the lake house with anywhere from four and six kids at any given time.

I know, I know, I can hear you gasp. Just like my husband and I gasped at the grocery bill. But in reality, the abundance of kids was not nearly as exhausting as one might imagine... There is a phenomenon in which it is relatively relaxing to allow the kids to bring friends, thus eliminating bickering amongst themselves and allowing the six-hour days of pulling kids on tubes, knee boards, water skis, and wake boards to be far more enjoyable.

So what was the ordeal? The air-conditioning. Which we are paying a fortune to have entirely replaced with a super-efficient, snow-blowing, guaranteed-to-make-us-freeze system.

It was supposed to be finished the week before but it was back ordered. So in between meals, towels, sunscreen, etc. for six kids, myself, and my husband, there were also a multitude of workmen in and out of the house, pounding all day, 92 degree indoor temperatures, an accidental hole in the carpet, an accidental hole in the wall, and the update that, alas, they didn't realize there is some ventilation problem, and we will need to hire yet another contractor to install two attic fans and blow foam insulation in our unreachable attic.

Not to mention the (household) water. Which has nothing to do with the air-conditioning, but was an unfortunate coincidence. Our subdivision well sprung a leak, thus resulting in barely a dribble of water ALL WEEK, making us have to painstakingly fill up pails in order to even flush the toilets and having to reassure all the kids that "don't worry, you're getting clean in the lake."

We're home a day early. I'm sure it will all work out in the end, and I know the kids had a good time, but for we adults--who are normally hardcore lake lovers--it was a bit of an ordeal. Sigh.