10 Things You Don’t Think About Until Halfway Through Summer

The start of Summer vacation feels magnificent! All of the kids are home, there’s no pickup/drop off lines to wait in, and no after school sports and parties to prepare for. While all of this is wonderful, there comes a point in Summer that I’d rather sit in a school pick up line because more kids, more mess right!? Here’s my list of Summer woes after the school’s out “honeymoon” phase is over!

1. The Mess

Goodness! I seem to forget how much mess the kiddos can make during the summer. It’s endless. 4 kids means 4X the mess in this house! Our two oldest are in school and holy moly can they make a mess! I decided to implement chore charts using an iPhone app this year and it seems to be working out much better.

2. The Grocery Bills

Seriously! How many snacks do kids really need?? I swear my kids eat two times as much during the summer than they do during the school year. I’ve started using Walmart Grocery Pickup because ain’t nobody got time for grocery shopping with all these kids home. AmIRight!? I also enjoy using Amazon Pantry because you can’t beat shopping in your PJs and getting it in the mail super fast! Sign up and receive 30 days of Amazon Prime for Free and you can try out Amazon Pantry too!

I should set my kitchen up like a bar at this point. I’ve even contemplated purchasing one of these commercial grade bar glass washing units because my kiddos go through more cups than I can count each day. For the time being, I’ve implemented a water bottle rule and made a spot for cups to be reused throughout the day and placed on the counter when not in use. It’s a work in progress since my sink is still piling up. Getting the 5yr old on board is harder than you think!

4. The Claustrophobia

There is no space. There is no space. There is no space. I have to keep reminding myself that I will miss this, but seriously sometimes I can’t freaking breathe. Between the toddler and the infant, I already don’t have physical space. Add the 10yr old and 5yr old to the mix and I lose my mental space. I’m coping by staying up until 5am reading every night.

5. The Noise

My girls have dance parties, they build baby pyramids, they run in circles and climb over everything. My house is too small for this craziness.

The girls trying to build a pyramid on top of the boss baby (2yrs old)

6. The Arguing

Even the 2yr old is whining and arguing now. I blame the 10yr old for that. We’ve also instituted Thinking Steps and the girls have to go run around the house outside and “think” about the begging, whining, and fighting. Really it should be called “Run for Your Life!” since that’s how I feel when I send them outside to think. I hear Back to School bells in the air!

7. The Entertainment

Every day is a new day for entertainment needs. I think I’ve rented 3,204 movies and played Pandora 1,000,000 times just to keep these kiddos entertained. I also invented a new game, made 2,435 projects and read 14,320 books. I’ve also aged 5 years and spent too much money. Thanks kids.

8. The Begging

Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom. Mommy. Moooooooommm. Mom. Can I have a fruit snack? Can I have dessert? Can we go to the park? Can I have a pickle? Can I have a soda? Can I have a toy? Can we go to the store? Why does Charlotte get candy? Why can Thea go to the store? Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom. I think you get it.

9. The Exhaustion

I worked retail for 5 years. I know what it feels like to be exhausted down to your bones. Maybe it’s the mix of having a baby and a toddler this Summer because the exhaustion is breaking me down! There is always something to clean, a diaper to change, some mess to be picked up, or some work to be done. I’m trying to find a better balance in it all because it’s going to be hard to keep going at this pace!

130am and the baby is awake! It’s the small things that keep us entertained!

10. The Memories

This has been the first summer that I’ve been home with the kids in 5 years! Though it’s been tough at points and I’m pulling my hair out most days at some point in the day, I haven’t been this happy in a long time!! We’ve crammed a ton of fun into such a short period of time and it’s been such a blessing to be more involved and intentional! 43 days until my favorite time of the year — FALL!