Summer Continues

It is now the middle of July, well, actually, a few days past. I'm on the downside of summer. The kids are all alive, maybe not well, but nothing life threatening. The house is not clean, but it's standing. The yard has some flowers mixed in with the weeds. And the lawn is mostly green, except for about five giant brown spots.

Steve was in Singapore and Hong Kong last week. He came home on Saturday very jet-lagged. But he tried his best to jump right in. He had a nap and then went grocery shopping with me, George, Max and Leah. The older kids were at a movie. As soon as we got home from the store, Max went to get a drink. He opened the drawer containing cups, bowls, and pretty much anything (the drawer was full of stuff). He promptly barfed all over everything in the drawer. I walked in with the groceries to see Steve attempting clean up. He had a pure look of disgust on his face. I started laughing and said, "Home is not all it's cracked up to be." Steve good-naturedly replied that he would take it. I think he can say that because he gets to go to work everyday.

So I still spend my days trying to get my kids to do anything. But I've lowered my expectations. Now I pretty much want them to get dressed. That's it. Too bad most days I have to ask them to do it. Any time I want to use the computer, they are on it. Any time I ask them to do a simple chore, it's, "Why?" (especially my 13-year-old son) Any time I want to cook, I have to clean the kitchen first. Any time I want to eat, someone needs something. I find this amazing, since if you are in your pajamas, what could you possibly need?

But we are having fun. I'm kind of enjoying the lazy days of summer. I really love watching everyone love Leah. I have decided that the last child is always spoiled because of the siblings. Leah's siblings give her everything she wants. They laugh at anything she does. They sing songs for her. Read to her. Give her their stuffed animals. Give her chocolate (without cleaning her up). Sigh at all her actions. Praise her every attempt at speech. Ignore her scratches. And talk to her in high pitched voices. She pretty much runs the family. When I come home from errands, she looks in the bags expecting to find something for herself. All the kids fight over what her grunts and pointing means. Basically, our summer is spent making Leah happy. I think I am the only one who says no to her. And she politely uses my no's as an invitation to do whatever she wants.

But she is a charmer. She has charmed this family and I've dubbed this summer, the Summer of Leah.