Well, actually paradise is about 10 miles due west of here. It's been pretty dang hot here. But All I have to do is drive 15 minutes and I and get to paradise...
We're wrapping up our last week of swimming lessons. Three of the four kids advanced to the "sinks slower than a stone" class, however, one thought she was cleaver in getting just her hair wet and not her face when they were supposed to go underwater, so she failed. She's in rock class, however, when we realized she was the last one in the sinking rock class, she became motivated and should catch up. I'm not sure if the rest will "graduate" their current class, but even if they do, I don't see us re-enlisting anytime soon.
But we did learn that you can take advantage of their free swim time before/after/during swimming lessons so when we got there 30 minutes early for class, the kids got to play in the pool, and then while the big kids were in class JM could play and when JM was in class the big kids could practice and when JM was done they could all play until their mother decided she'd had enough. Funny, with all the pool time we've had this month, yesterday the kids were done at the same time I was. lol. Usually I have about 20 minutes after swim lessons are all done before I've had enough. Enough sun, enough noise, enough water...
But I like the pool far more than I like the beach, so.. I'm far more willing to go there than the beach. You see... the pool doesn't come with sand that gets in everything. AND if you're lucky you can snag a poolside chair instead of parking on sand and/or hauling a chair/blanket/cooler/umbrella/sand toys from the car.
Which, if you're my kids, you're willing to help carry something to the beach until we actually get to the beach, then you kick off your shoes and run leaving your mother with a pile of shoes, sand toys and food and drink you'll want later. You know all she wants? A large drink, a lounge chair and a good book. And next time that's all I'm dragging down toward the water. The kids will have to bring the things they think are essential. And if they don't think their shoes are essential, they're not getting new ones. (Lest you think that's an idle threat, we've lost 2 pairs of shoes at the beach, and my brand new beach blanket.)
If you've ever gotten to the beach and seen a random shoe and thought "who can be missing a shoe, wouldn't they notice that?" The answer is "no, my kids don't notice" and by the time they do notice and we spend hours hunting for it, it's beyond being found. Twice now I've stopped at walmart on the way home from the beach to buy $3 flip flops for the shoe-less kid. Not that they have only 1 pair of shoes, but usually they pair they loose is their pair they love and take everywhere with them... And refuse to wear the rest of their shoes or it's their shoes that they need to wear to school, so I'd like them to not be lost...
Anyway.. I was planning on taking said children down to free museum day today, but when I double checked, it's next week that we'd prefer to go. So today is wide open with potential. However, the potential for good is rapidly dwindling after the morning of bickering and fighting here. Joey found a magnet. He wants to see if quarters are magnetic, however, he claims he doesn't have any quarters. (I find this hard to believe, since this kid is the saver in the bunch) Kayla decides to help him and goes to get her purse, Sonia gets mad saying the coins in Kayla's purse are hers, Kayla claims they're hers, Joey calls her a liar, Kayla cries that he called her a liar and I'm ready to wring all their necks. This was all before breakfast. I just read Parenting with Love and Logic and yet again, I think "well, gee, your methods seem to work for you, but I fail to see how 60% of your ideas could be implemented here" Which is what I think with most books. Sometimes I wish those authors ran a drop off boot camp, I drop my kids off, they write me a book on what to do with them to get the results their original book promised. Yep. Now THAT's an untapped market.
And frankly, I bet it will remain that way.
So off I go to put on my referee hat. Or maybe I'll try the "lock them in a room together and let the best kid win" method. At this point, I'm ready to consider it.
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