Summer is here...

Oh summer.  How I love you and yet how I hate you.

Somehow, despite my best intentions, we always fall completely off the routine band wagon when summer vacation comes around.  The kids seem to think that summer means a crazy free-for-all with no rules.  Specifically no bed time.

Yeah. No.

I'm trying to let them have some fun.  They can stay up a half hour later some nights.  They can play outside in the little pool and on the trampoline as much as they want.  We can go to the zoo every Friday if they want.  And they do want.

We are only a couple weeks in and they are cranky, tired, belligerent, and generally big old pains in my neck.

So I cracked down on our routine again this week.  They are still tired and the constant rain and thunder storms aren't helping our cabin fever.  We do have a deal that we can go to the zoo once a week if they do their chores and behave like the nice little kids I know they can be.  I look forward to it actually as it gets us out of the house to do something interesting.  I also revamped our chore charts:

I always have a "big" chore for each day.  Each big chore gets done weekly so things never get really bad.  The idea is that we then don't ever have to do major weekend cleaning projects (for the most part).  There are still other things that need to get done (yard work for example) but so far this has been working for me.  The kids...well they try.  They have a really hard time waking up and doing the routine lately.  I usually let them sleep until 8ish.  Owen wakes me up at around 6:40am every day so I can usually get in a workout, dishes, and breakfast started before they get up in the morning.  Then I have to prod them through their routine in the morning.  You know, the basic stuff.  Get dressed, brush teeth and hair, eat breakfast, start chores.  It's so irritating for me but I think we will get used to it right about the time Cadence goes back to school.  :o)

My iMac is officially not functional.  I haven't been able to edit pictures in months.  It's a bit depressing for me.  Brady downloaded Gimp on his computer for me to mess with.  It's slow going but similar to Photoshop so I am thinking I might be able to edit on his computer for a while until we can afford to replace mine.  I won't be able to get another Mac nor will we be able to afford to replace my adobe Photoshop software.  I'm very saddened by this.  I really miss being able to work things like I used to.  I am irritated at having to learn a new program.  I won't lie.  There are some afternoons that I cry.  I haven't taken new pictures in over a month. I use my iPhone for random pictures of the kids.  I know I need to move on.  I know that in the end it will be fine and Gimp will work just fine for what I enjoy doing.  This is one of the times that I am irritated by being poor.  

So I'm sorry there aren't any new pictures in this post.  I have so much work to do, including pictures from back in December for my family.  I plan on starting there and working forward so look for those posts to come soon.  I'm hoping by summer's end I will be caught up again and proficient enough in Gimp to feel more like my normal self again.  

Happy Summer!