Where has the summer gone?

So here we are, it's the middle of August and lets see what we have accomplished academically...

We know Spongebob and his misfit friends on an intimate level (really, I saw the episode where SBob sports a thong!). 

I know there are 101 days of summer vacation and school comes along just to end it, or at least that's what Phineas and Ferb say to us every day ad nauseum. 

So, where is the summer reading that I swore we would conquered on the first vacation?  The math workbook I bought especially for the second vacation?  The letters and postcards to my daughter's cousins in Arizona?  The crafts we would fashion out of recycled goods?  I have no idea...

Then what did we do this summer? 

Road our bikes, played in the sand, amassed quite a collection of rocks, sea glass and shells.  Captured and released countless bugs.  Played flashlight tag, watched the full moon rise over the lake.  Witnessed an eagle soar above us as we lounged on a raft in a lake.  Kayaked, canoed, jet skied and sailed. 

Yep, I think we learned a lot the summer!

I gots me a job!

Yes, that's right!  In a few weeks, I will be starting a new job.  I've been at home with the twins since they were born, and they will be four in November...which means, I haven't worked outside the home in almost 4 years!  It was a very strange existence for me these past few years.  I have had a job since I was 14 years old and babysat before that.  I always had my own money for as long as I can remember. The past few years were very different for me, I had to think twice before buying that new mascara and expensive hair cuts and foils were considered frivolous to my husband.  For the past four years, I have lived within my means...cutting coupons, buying drugstore makeup and getting a single-process hair color! 

But more than the financial impact of not working was the social aspect of it all!  My work defined me all those years as I climbed the "corporate ladder" in academia.  I worked at a rather prestigious college, and just mentioning where I worked would garner respect (sure I was just the administrator, but still).  For the past four years, staying at home meant that I was a housewife....and nothing more.  Occasionally, working moms I knew would be envious, but more often than not, I think they pitied me.  I envied my husband and his ability to have hours-long lunches at great restaurants.  He could escape the crying, fighting and all the other drama that our three kids provided.  He could come home and they would be fed, clean and ready for bedtime stories.  Drama-free, if you will. 

I recently had to be out of the house at my new job (woohoo) for a meeting and orientation.  Probably the longest I have had to be away from the house in a while.  My husband held down the fort while I was away.  Sure he made them sandwiches for dinner, and ok, the girls' hair should have been brushed after their tub, but I digress.  I was the one who came home just in time for a bedtime story.  And you know what?  I missed them, and I had much more patience for their silly requests for backrubs before bedtime.  I think I'm ready for this transition back into the "real world".  Yep, I gots me a job!

Day Camp Blues...

So the day started off bad...

Went to drop the twins off at day camp this morning and they refused to go.  This equals a day of fights, crying, and broken toys at our house.  WTF? 

Will try again tomorrow:(