Our house is not for the faint-of-heart.

This is not a new realization, exactly, but as I was cleaning up dinner tonight, I was pondering our family's daily life.

It's loud. It's crazy. It's crazy loud.

I was loading dishes in the dishwasher, humming harmony to the Transformer's theme, while all the children were organizing a dance competition and practicing their dance moves. The music was up high, the kids were yelling to each other, various kids were climbing on my husband, other kids were in my face asking when I would be done with the dishes so I could judge the contest.

And I was humming harmony quietly to myself.

How did I come to this place? I grew up with one sister, in a mostly quiet home, where dinners were civilized (read: no one discussed butts and bodily fluid, no one yelled for attention, and we all stayed seated the entire meal). In my house, there is something happening all the time. Never a dull moment. And somehow I have learned to manage, even enjoy the chaos. Usually.

No, our house is not for wimps. One has to have some courage and resolve to survive here.

The jury is still out if I'm gonna make it.

Expect the unexpected

The other day, I was getting ready in my bedroom, when my almost-five-year-old son came charging through, yelling his daily line:

"MOMMY! I have to go poopy! Can you wipe me when I'm done??!!!!!"

After I replied that of course I could, there were a few moments of silence while I waited for the next directive, "WIPE!!!!!".

Instead of hearing his order to wipe, my son says from the bathroom, oh-so-sweetly:

"Mom? I love you more than chocolate cake!"

Summertime, and the living is easy. . .right??

Summertime. Lazy days, relaxing with a good book, soaking up the sun. Fewer responsibilities, less scheduling, more downtime.

Isn't that the way it's supposed to work?

Then why is it I feel even busier than during the school year?

My children are not of the involved-in-every-sport variety, so at least we don't have lots of games and practices to attend, but somehow I feel oh so busy. I'm chalking some of it up to the simple equation:

more children in the house = more mess and less time to take care of the mess

Summertime brings the delicate balance of teaching my children how to entertain themselves, keep up with their chores, spend time reading and playing outside, while I play Nazi with the Wii, DS and television. If my children had their way, they would spend every minute glued to an electronic device until their brains simply withered away.

Sigh.

I want summertime to be fun, full of good memories. Yet my chore list looms large. Today I have decided to simply cross a few things off of the day to day attempts and leave them on the master to-do list. There will always be time to rearrange the kitchen cabinets and clean out the buffet. These lazy days of summer with my children are fleeting, and I need to take advantage of our time together.

So I announce to the blogosphere that I shall attempt to let some things go and spend more time playing and enjoying my children. I know I won't regret it.