Lunch Lady

It happens every summer, every extended school break.

The day is going along swimmingly - me going about my various thrilling chores around the house, the kids playing outside or reading or arguing about super duper important stuff - when SCREECH!!!  Everything comes to a halt.

The kids want lunch.

Lunch, I tell you, is the bane of my existence.  I can have dinner planned or chugging along in the crock pot, and the breakfast dishes all rinsed and in the dishwasher, but lunch!  Lunch gets me every time.

Why must they eat it?  Inquiring minds want to know.  I attempt to be quasi-creative with my lunch choices, but it usually boils down to a sandwich, fruit and chips, with the occasional mac and cheese or leftovers.  Even I could skip it, and I am a fan of meals.  And basically eating in general.

So here I am, cleaning up the lunch dishes (that most of the kids remembered to clear, at least), thinking there must be a better way.  What is it, dear reader??  I'm assuming DCFS would not approve of me skipping the entire meal, so what's a mom to do?  How do you keep 12:00 fresh and exciting?

We're baaaaaack!

Yes, as my earlier post mentioned, we have returned home from our three week sojourn into the wilds of northern Michigan and Canada.  We camped, we hiked, we swam, we drove, we explored, we enjoyed the beautiful landscape.  Oh, and we used pit toilets.  Waaay too many times.

The seven of us spent almost three weeks in our little pop-up camper, (mostly) enjoying each other's company.  Here are a few highlights, and I may tell a specific story or two in later posts.

• The last many family trips we have taken, we have returned with a theme song or two.  This year, our Epic Music was from the RobinHood soundtrack (Prisoner of the Crusades).  It is also the background music from some Disney promotions, so you would recognize it I'll bet.  We listened to it many, many times in Canada.  The boys requested it every other song.  Our other Epic Music was the soundtrack to Little Women, a fave of my husband's and mine, and now our older daughter as well.  A certain boy was not pleased to share the Epic Music title with such a girly movie soundtrack.  He'll have to get over it.
• We must have passed 25 or more billboards advertising the Pictured Rocks Coastline both on our way up and on our way back.  My husband unfailingly pointed each one out to my oldest son.  It got to be a joke and he always got a laugh from the vanful of kids.
• We celebrated two birthdays while away - our youngest son is now seven, and our littlest one is now four.  Each child happened to receive a gift from a campsite neighbor (at two different campgrounds) - a testament to how friendly campers are to one another.  Each child got his/her own number candle and cupcakes to share as we sang Happy Birthday, and opened presents that had made the trip with us. 
• We had been to the UP of Michigan many years ago, but had never really been to Canada (outside of just crossing the border for a few hours).  We were stunned by Canada's beauty.  Rolling hills (almost mountains) offset by gorgeous Lake Superior made for amazing views.  We hiked to many places and enjoyed others simply by driving through the Provincial Park.  
• Our first week of camping was spent with my whole family.  The kids had a blast playing with their cousins, the beach was a very short walk away, and camping is a lot easier with six adults helping!  My parents celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary this year, so my sister and I came up with a Family Trivia Game that we played one evening by the campfire.  Filled with trivia questions spanning 60 years, we laughed and reminisced for a good long time. 
• Pictures!  My husband gave his iphone a workout during our trip, and he was able to capture lots of beautiful scenery, family pictures and memories.  We will enjoy them for years to come.

Now that my oldest is safely off to camp for the week, the laundry is caught up and the camper is cleaned and closed back up, I feel officially back to regular life.  The kids are back to their lists and outside playing with neighbor friends.  We are settled back into routine, albeit only for the next three weeks, when school starts!

They Will Know We Are Lutherans By Our Donuts

Just got back late last night from vacation.  I am swimming in laundry, gear, camping dishes that need a thorough wash, and kids who can't seem to remember how to entertain themselves in their own house.  I will blog soon about our adventures, but for now I am treading water and can leave you only with this little tidbit:

In our last campground, we were in the middle of nowhere; the nearest town at least an hour away.  We decided to do our own service at the beach near our campsite.  As we were discussing songs, readings etc., we told the kids the plan.  We would have family church on a blanket by the beautiful lake.

My little daughter, now age 4, says to me quite seriously, "Will there be donuts there?"

Happy 4th!

Things continue to hop around here at the house o' mammamilk.  We are jumping from one activity to the next and my hair quite possibly might be on fire.  As my mom said to me the other day, "This is how you like life, right?"  Well. . .yes in general, but perhaps a bit less cray cray would also be acceptable.  Not going to complain though (or am I doing that now?), since everything that is keeping us busy is all good stuff!  Family reunion, multiple trips to see family, visits from friends, visits to friends. . .it's all good!  So what if the house looks like a tornado hit it?  What's more important here, peeps?

I was awakened last night by a child who thought it was time to get up (at 4:30 - I straightened him out quickety quick!) because the clock radio in his room was unplugged.  As I got back into bed after our little tete a tete, I pondered my own clock situation.  Last week we had a power outage and I had to reset my bedside clock radio.  I spent several frustrated minutes with it, only to resign myself to the fact that the hour button refused to comply.  This radio might possibly be as old as my marriage, and apparently not nearly as hardy.  After reviewing my options - a:  buy new clock, b: steal borrow one of my children's clocks, c: mentally adjust the time each time I read the time, d: sigh in frustration - I chose c and d.  This means that in the middle of the night or early morning, I must awaken, look at the clock and subtract three hours to determine the accurate time.  I know you think I am super smart and really on the ball, but this takes quite a bit of mental acuity.  Which I really don't have.  So sorry to disappoint you, dear reader.  But I'm working on it!  Gotta keep my brain sharp somehow - might as well work on it day and night!

I'd like to blog more, but I have seven children in my house/on my deck and they are rather demanding.  Several are playing the wii and others are on the deck making water "recipes" with measuring cups.  My children promised with all their little hearts that if I let them play inside with their neighborhood friends they would clean up any and all messes that might mysteriously materialize.  I'll let ya know how that turns out. 

Bits and pieces

Wow, so blogging in the summer is taking a back seat to our crazy summer schedule!  We have had something going every day and night for the last couple weeks.  My house is a wreck (more so than I can normally tolerate), and our schedule is out of whack.  Eek.  Tomorrow is kid swap, which means we are going to shuffle kids between grandparents and aunts and uncles.  All the kids are super pumped  to be with their cousins/grandparents.  This time it is my turn to give away everyone but my 11 year old and take in a 14 year old.  As in, I will only have two children in my house for the next 48 hours.  Wow.  I'm thinking that, in between a few fun activities for two busy young men, I am going to whip this house back into shape.  I'll let ya know how that turns out.

Today marks the ninth birthday of my "monkey in the middle" child.  Nine years ago he entered our lives in a big way!  Emergency C-section, three hour ambulance ride to the nearest children's hospital, ventilator, tubes, anxiety, fear, family, friends and faith.  This sweet child, with the happy go-lucky, laid back personality that we prayed for, has brought us untold joy.  His ready smile, his cheeks that beg to be pinched, his cuddly, loving way -- this child is a gift directly from God.  Praise God that He saw fit to give him to us!

For my son's birthday dinner, he requested popcorn chicken and mac n cheese (I made homemade to make the meal at least partly grown-up).  The boys decided to enhance our celebration by making rude armpit noises.  The youngest boy got up quickly on his chair and began shaking his tushie in the air.  Usually this behavior causes my husband and I to rapidly squelch any and all boyish fun.  Tonight, we only looked at each other and laughed.  I had tears in my eyes.  These children!  This life!  Sometimes I just have to laugh - otherwise I'll cry!

Summertime, and the living is easy

Today is the first "real" day of summer.  As in, nothing going on, most of the kids home, and reality kicking in.  That's code for:  Mommy's summer plan.  Chore lists, restricted time on screens, required reading, you get the idea.

Despite much grumbling during its approach, the kids did well today.  I fully believe they thrive in a structured setting, and I know for certain that I do.  A few willy-nilly days here and there are fine, but a free-for-all all summer would do all of us in.  We have always had a summer plan, but I felt I needed to give ours a bit of a shot in the arm this year.

What's a mama to do?  Go to Facebook of course and ask all of my 701 friends what they do with their kids during the summer.  Bingo-blammo - and a schedule is born!  How on earth did I ever parent without Facebook?

So here is the plan:

Each day, the kids have a list of things that must be completed.  They are used to lists, since they have a list every day during the school year.  Each day, they must do most of the following (the chores rotate daily, so not all chores are every day of course).

Play with a sibling for 30 minutes
Exercise for 30 minutes
Read for 30 minutes
Practice their instrument
Make their bed
Straighten their room
Put away their laundry
Clean the bathroom
Vacuum a room

After lunch, if we are home and not running errands, we will have some sort of quiet/reading time (mama's favorite!).  After that, and if their list is completed, they may have two hours of screen time to be used however/whenever they want for the rest of the day.

My oldest son, the most screen-obsessed one of all, actually did not use all of his screen time today.  I was shocked!  He is attending a handbell camp at school and had to be gone this evening, cutting his screen hours short.  And he chose to play outside with water balloons and the hose this afternoon instead of being glued to the computer or Wii.  So, perhaps this is a tentative success?  A child choosing outside over electronics?  I'll keep ya posted.

Quiet hours

My house has been quiet lately.  Seriously quiet.  I have had only two children, girls to boot, home since Saturday.  My three boys went in two different directions with friends and family, causing our family to dwindle to four for a period of about 48 hours.

It has been really weird.  And easy!  And quiet.  Wait - did I mention that already?

My girls and I have enjoyed some much needed girl time while the boys have been gone.  We went shopping, we watched Little Women, we ate lunch out and and enjoyed late(-ish) night snacks.  I really soaked in the time we had together for talking and laughing and loving.

But I'll tell you what.  All that quiet aside, I really miss my boys!  One of my boys came home tonight and the other two will arrive tomorrow, and I am anxious to have our family together again.  Soon our house will be overflowing with noise, stuff, fighting and hugs.  And I can't wait.