Phineas & Ferb Are Pissing Me Off

If you have school-aged kids, or have ever flicked past the Disney channel, you've probably seen an episode of Phineas & Ferb. The premise of the show is cute, in that the boys try to invent wild things to do each day of summer vacation. I'm fine with all of that. It's the theme song that pisses me off. In reality, it's not even the whole song. It's like, the first two lines.

One hundred and four days????

I relish every single day of my summer vacation. I love the fact that most of my kids don't even wake up before 9am. Or the fact that they pretty much just live in their bathing suits (which seriously cuts down on my laundry). And they can serve themselves their own breakfast. It makes for some really relaxing mornings. Mornings that I just wish there were more of. Because there sure as hell aren't 104 of them. Come on, Disney! What school district do you come from?

I know I'm extremely lucky in that my career affords me all kinds of time off to spend with my kids. It makes up for how completely insane my days get during the school year. But, I got out of school on June 29th, and I head back for a week of professional development starting on August 21st. Now, I'm no genius, but I'm pretty sure there aren't 104 days between those two dates.

So don't mind me, I'm just over here bitching that my summer vacation is about 50% of the magical one mentioned in a cartoon theme song. {sad trombone}

And for those of you who work all year round, please put away your torches and pitchforks... I am well aware of how fortunate I am. ;)

~Lissie

Summer Vacation, Baby!

Every summer, I write a post like this, but I have to do it. (It's tradition, now.)

I freaking love summer vacation.

I enjoy my job (most days), even with it's challenges. But I really don't enjoy being a working mom. All the little things that I have to do just to keep my day running smoothly during the workweek/schoolweek make me slightly insane. But this is my pay-off. These amazing weeks where we don't have to go anywhere at all. I can do whatever I want with the kids without rushing them out the door at an obnoxiously early time. It's incredible. 

I also happen to be blessed with kids who are (for the most part) pretty low maintenance. As long as I throw them a meal or a snack once in a while, they don't need too much from me. That's why they're so fun to hang out with. We get to take a stroll at the Arboretum, go to the zoo, museum, or aquarium (everyone buys us memberships for Christmas - best family gifts ever). And some days, they just want to hang in the house and play in the pool. The beauty of having an entire basketball team for children is that they can entertain each other when we are at home. 

Best money we ever spent. This foolish pool has been up for three summers and it has entertained them for countless hours! 

I intend to live every minute of this vacation up. I've got grand plans for relaxing. I've already finished three books this week. Anything that involves me not hunting for uniform socks (where do they go??) and packing lunches sounds pretty awesome to me.

So, here's to summer vacation!

~Lissie

PS

Here are a few highlights from our Martha's Vineyard vacation...

Happy Fourth of July!

Seriously, my kids can sleep anywhere

Sophie & I biking to the beach. Tandem!

My partner in crime!

My beach babies

Can't wait until next year - we love Martha's Vineyard!

Tuesday's Tip (#42)

Here's a tip for you:

Deny.

Mentally, I'm going to be at the beach today. I still can't believe summer is over. My kids don't go back to school until next week, but I've got a full week of professional development this week. Wasn't it just June 25th?? How is this possible? So, I'm in denial. I'm going to participate. I'm going to learn. But a little part of my brain is going to have her ass planted in the sand with an ice cold beer in hand. Changing my desktop background to this:

BEACH!

Maybe next week, I'll embrace this inevitable time of year and get a pumpkin spice latte. Until then, I'll be pretending to work on my tan. 

Have a tip to share? Or some imaginary sunscreen? Feel free to leave a comment below...

...& be sure to check back every Tuesday for a new tip!

Summer

My job comes with the best perk ever: summers off. I thoroughly enjoy being off for the summer with my kids. The schedule is relaxed, there's no rushing around... We can just go with the flow. For the last two weeks, my kids have been sleeping past 9am. It's wonderful. I can lay in bed continuing my marathon of Homeland or reading a trilogy of books back-to-back, drinking coffee and no one disturbs me. After the stress of working my first full-time position since I had kids, this summer has been a Godsend. 

This isn't a real post because I'm too busy watching Homeland and drinking coffee, but here are a few pics from our vacation on Martha's Vineyard (more about that later):

So many flip flops to keep track of...

The daily bike ride to the beach 

Beach fun!

Charlotte and I (& a red solo cup)

Family shot

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-->What about you? Are you enjoying the summer? Feel free to share your story in the comments below...

Summer Vacation

It's almost here. The end is in sight. There is a light at the end of the tunnel.

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N!

My kids just finished school yesterday. I have four more days next week. And then we're free. I can't wait. The best part of my job is the fact that I get this time off with the kids. I love not having to rush out of the house every morning like a bunch of lunatics. I love not running through the house looking for that missing blue sock or belt or whatever piece of uniform got stolen by elves (or hidden by Charlotte). 

We go to the zoo, park, museum, beach, wherever we feel like. Sometimes there are no plans at all and that is perfect, too. Bring. It. On.

Here comes the summer.

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The Road to Hell...

... is paved with good intentions.


As my summer vacation officially started this morning, here are all of the things I am going to do this summer:

• My laundry. ALL of it. Even the pile that got thrown in the back hall because we were having company and I didn't have time to fold it and now it's been out there for a month and I should donate all of that stuff to Goodwill since we haven't missed it anyway. (Holy run-on sentence, Batman! See what my laundry does to me?)
• Organize the playroom. The one you can't walk into without actually having a climbing license to get over the piles of stuff.
• Have a yard sale (or four) to purge some stuff.
• Not end up on Hoarders. See above.
• Exercise every day. Don't laugh.
• Get my nails done. Because I have had not one, but two gift certificates in my purse for over a year.
• Get my hair cut. See above.
• Do something fun with the kids every day. This is probably the only bullet on this list that will actually happen. But, I suppose that is the way it should be. Kids should trump laundry and cleaning, right?

So, bring on my two months off! (And let's hope September doesn't find me buried under laundry and toys with long hair, gross nails, & a giant ass.)

Cue Alice Cooper...

If you enjoy the blog, why not become a follower? I'm the one who's OUT FOR SUMMER! You can also stalk find me on Facebook and Twitter. Like the page and follow me!

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Revelation

I had a revelation this morning while packing the lunches.


Summer break is almost here.


{cue choir of angels}


I was begrudgingly spreading the peanut butter and jelly (because PJ someone - who shall remain unnamed - was supposed to make the sandwiches), when it occurred to me that there are only a few weeks left. 
In just a few weeks' time, I won't have to:

• wake the kids up at six am. 
• make sure the uniforms are clean.
• pack the lunches.
• check the homework.

Oh, how I hate the morning routines. Even better than that - a week after the kids get out, I'm out for the summer, too. I love teaching, but I love the schedule even more. Be jealous. It's awesome.

I can't wait until the first morning when I get up at my usual time and leisurely drink a cup of coffee in peace. It will be glorious. 

You know what, though? Those fools will probably spend the whole summer waking up before the crack of dawn just to mess with me. I swear they're out to get me...

If you enjoy the blog, why not become a follower? I'm the one counting down the days. You can also stalk find me on Facebook and Twitter. Like the page and follow me!

P.S. Don't forget to vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs. Click that cute little brown button on my sidebar to vote for me...

And don't forget to visit my Zazzle store. You know you want some!