Summer Has Arrived!

Can they go back yet?  Can they?  Pretty please!  Yeah, it's been a bit of an adjustment around here.  I could sugar coat it and write about how wonderful it has been to have all four children home all day long.  It would be a blatant lie.  A whoppers of all whoppers.  I'm not all about our life being "blog perfect" and this last week has been excruciatingly difficult.

 I have locked myself in my bedroom on countless occasions and cried.  I cried so hard and long, that my eyes remind puffy and red for hours afterwards. Cried so hard my body shook.  Cried so much my nose permanently ran.  I have screamed and yelled, gritted my teeth, reread Love & Logic, screamed some more, talked calmly, ignored long winded tantrums, held doors shut as a five year found super human strength to pry it open, found my blank look and keep my face motionlessness as they screamed at me, broke up a sibling argument, separated physically fighting children, broke up more arguments, gave many serums on tattle-tailing  ignored them some more, put them through more chores, cried even more.  You get the picture. I have gone through an endless gamut of tantrums, bickering between siblings, and my own internal breakdowns.  

Today was not better, although I do see a light (it's far away and barely visible, like a spec of dust light fleeting in the wind of tantrums) and I will continue to kiss them goodnight and say "I love you" upon their much needed 8pm bedtimes.  On a side note, yes Noelle is 8 years old and yes she still has an 8pm bedtime. I would be happy to extend this time if she starts to A) sleep in past 6am B) wasn't yawning at 7pm C) showed me she could act in the matter of a young lady that deserves a later bedtime, as it has to be yearned in our house.  Bedtime, right now, is a magical time.  A time that I can skip gleefully from their rooms and twirl as I quietly wait for the click of the door knob.  It's a time where I can finally laugh at the mayhem of the day, I can remember those times that I was truly enjoying the children (yes, the do still exist and I do, very much, still love them) but I can also recount the many minutes they spent in their rooms, or scrubbing toilets or doing some other mundane chore for punishment.  I can crack open a crisp, cold beer, and relax, finally.

The root of our problem (I speculate) has to do with adjustment.  Noelle and Max have been away for the past nine months during the week.  They have to remember the house rules and how to get along with their younger siblings.  Violette and Zane have had the run of the roost and they are learning again, how to share and play with their older, and bossier counterparts.  It's an adjustment for me as well.  I have to remember how to fairly and kindly discipline them while having fun as well.  I need to remember how Zane is only 3 and can't keep up with Noelle all the time.  Violette gets pushed around a lot but is quick to snap, and Noelle can be a bit devious at times.  Max needs to curb is inner Mom and stop always telling on his siblings while refusing to help out.  As the days go on I am hoping that they get used to being a foursome and begin to simmer down.  In the meantime it's been a battleground and once you step foot in the house you leave feeling drained and out of breath and patience.

Swimming lessons have been a good distraction and all the kids are doing well.  Max is struggling the most, having actually swam better last year.  I suspect a large growth spurt in the last few months have left his limbs longer and more uncoordinated.  He is figuring things out and working hard to keep himself about the water.  Violette has improved the most, being able to swim entirely on her own for longer distances.  Noelle continues to work on proper strokes and learned how to dive without ending in a belly flop.  Zane started off rocky, and is now jumping on his own and fully submerging his head without batting an eyelash.

Zane is a little monster, as I've stated on many occasions, but one that brings many laughs into our house.  He has is own personal style and can be seen with some sort of costume, boots, guns, knives (plastic) being worn at any given time.  These particular pictures were taken while practicing throwing a football with Tom.  It made me smile:

Max was also shirtless and Zane always wants to be like his big brother.

A trip to Sturgis to visit Grandpa Roehrig and give Mom a break was schedule for today (Saturday) but has been postponed due to a severly sprained ankle by Tom.  The sprain had us visitng Urgent Care to get an x ray to rule out a break.  The swelling was a lot and Tom was in a large amount of pain.  The break was going to be my little salvation from the chaos, but that time shall come again.  For now, I'll just concentrate on getting through the days, one by one and continue to pray things get easier!!