Okay, it's not that bad.
Yet.
But I do wonder how I homeschooled for so many years. Seriously, did my patience get on the bus with the kids and fail to come home? Because it seems that I have less and less tolerance for noise, fighting, bickering, teasing and squabbling. And it seems that the days are just filled with those things.
I think my eye is twitching.
And guess what little bit of sheer brilliance I cooked up this summer? I decided to let the kids stay up later. As in nearly my bedtime kind of later. What was I thinking?! I was just trying to be a good mom and give a few summer perks but it turned on me in a nasty sort of way.
I did discover that the pool is my new best friend. You know, the 15" deep one. I don't have a good history with pools, but this one is just fun enough to entertain the boys for hours on end. Yet not so deep as to warrant a drowning at any second. (I know, I know. Kids can drown in a bucket of water. But I'm a slacker mom.) After a few hours of sun and splash the kids are plumb tuckered and will fall asleep against their own free will early in the evening.
There is a downside to my not-so-foolproof plan. We do not own sunblock. (See the slacker mom bit.) All the men-folk in the family turn a deep, dark tan within 10 minutes of seeing sun. Becky and I get bright red, fade to light pink and spend the rest of the summer sporting various shades of white and whiter. In short, we don't burn.
But this weekend the boys did. Their poor little backs and shoulders hadn't seen sun since last summer and were exposed for too many hours while being wet from pool splash. And now they're all red and sore. And I feel like the slacker mom that I am.
I have guilt. And they have sunburn. It's not pretty.
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I'll bet you didn't know that the Roundup Gang liked to swim, did you? I caught them on film in the Fully Clothed Drowning Gang maneuver. I love how Micah is helping them swim.
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This may be borderline child p*rn, but I find it to be the cutest picture evah.
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If you haven't gotten in on the question asking it's not too late. I'll answer them sometime this week provided the dogs don't give too much excitement in the way of deliveries.
And I have that puppy pool where you can win some free things. Go take a guess!
24 comments:
Cute pictures of a great day of fun! And, that last picture is priceless - what a cute little gardener!
Have a good Monday, Karen - see you soon - Kellan
I used to tan and never wore sunblock, now I burn with the best of them. My poor virgin skin. I've also been guilty of forgetting the sunblock for my kids, so you are not alone!
As for the gardener, I have a very similar picture of my nephew golfing! :)
Awe . . . he could be the new Coppertone kid!
I absolutely LOVE that picture. You've got to find a great place to memorialize that one somehow!
Good luck with the bedtimes. Ours are later but still fortunately not as late as my bedtime!
Oh, and you're seriously building a mini golf course? What don't you do!
Love the pics.
I had some Mom this week-end ask me if I had remembered to put sun block on my youngest in a real snotty condescending way. "No" was the truth, but I lied, cause I'm proud to be a slacker Mom, sort of.
Wow he did get red! I don't always remember to put the sunblock on either; you're not the only one!
and yeah, gotta love that last pic w/the wheelbarrow!
I bet the kids don't think it was your worst parenting hour, they had fun and learned the importance of sunblock. I'm glad you had the courage to post the cute backside pic, I'm scared to post that kind of thing, but boy, do I have fodder!
I'm guessing that your kids still don't stay up as late as mine. Its sad really, how late they stay up since summer started. I can't even tell you. Its that bad.
I forget sunblock way too often too. Isaac is an instant tanner and I forget. Last year he got his first real sunburn. It was torture because the next day we had to drive from Lake Tahoe to Utah. He was miserable. I felt like the worst parent in the world.
Speaking as a member of the "I only burn and NEVER tan" club (and yes, that makes Arizona miserable for me)...
Put some fresh brewed tea in a spray bottle, and spritz that on the burn. As often as needed. It removes the sting and makes it bearable to wear clothing.
And, I really hope Micah's poor little nekkid bum didn't get as red as his shoulders!
OK, your boys are seriously cute! I love those shallow little kiddie pools too, but for a different reason. On really hot days, I lay out in ours. There's just enough water to keep me cool. I guess I'm not only a slacker mom, I'm a selfish mom because the kids aren't allowed to even think about swimming during that time! We let the kids stay up until 10;00 during the summer because it stays light until then, but it is backfiring on us too because by the time they are actually tucked in, it's 10:30 or later, and I have to go to bed too. Sigh.
Take care! Sniz
I'm on a mission to see if I can keep Alexis pale, pasty white all summer long. So far, I'm failing. Damn kid tans the second she goes outside. I think she's just trying to remind me that I used to do that, before she stole my magical abilities by being born. I swear, I never had a sunsburn until after she was born.
Definitely the cutest picture EVER! I'm bad when it comes to sunblock too - no burns yet but it's still early!
I really like your new header...
I love the pics! My kids insists on swimming naked as well! Max and myself burn, but Sam just tans. Joe is in the middle.
Looks like a fun summer ahead!
Every kid has to grow up having that one naked picture to embarrass the hell out of them. This one just may end up being seen by the entire world.
awwww, I LOVE the baby bootie foto! Isn't that precious. And am I jealous of that pool-- seriously. My kids would have to play around me-- I'd be like a water feature or something.
That last shot is just priceless! Thanks for reminding me to get a wading pool!
1. I have no idea how you homeschooled and came out so nice and normal. I know your children are lovely, but I think I'd be a raving lunatic trying to deal with them -- AND trying to teach them something useful. And I only have 2!
2. My kids would be naked all the time if they could. My daughter is growing out of it, but even just tonight they both want to sleep in the buff. I had to laugh, though, how you appropriately blotted out Micah's nakedness.
Ouch! Those shoulders look a bit painful :(
The good thing about swimming naked- no tan lines! :)
Very cute pictures! Except for the sunburn. I got it this weekend too.
Great pics, especially that last one!
That sucks about the sun burns. I hope they fade to tan soon.
I am a FREAK about sunblock, but Baby is transparent! Boy that looks like such fun and I LOVE the super hero and the naked boy!
Oldest spent the whole day on Sunday naked, in the house, out of the house didn't matter. It was too hot!
Those pictures are just adorable!!!!! I love the "Porn" pic the best! What a cutie!
Oh, and my kids are probably a lot tanner than they should be. I am not religious when it comes to sunblock. At the beach? Yes. At home? Notsomuch.
Terrible moms aren't we?? LOL!
Gavin burns like a fork in the microwave, and the boys' school require sunscreen of SPF-15 or higher for all kids, so we have several bottles of baby/kid block. Although for some reason we forgot all 12 bottles when we went to the Railway festival over the weekend...luckily we had some SPF-4, but I felt really guilty gambling with my redhead and my baby with such wimpy block. Luckily the heat drove us indoors in less than an hour.
Love the wheel barrow picture. Love them all.
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