Summer at our house is nuts. You never know who is coming or going. The noise level is off the charts. My productivity is at an all time low.
And I love it.
I love (almost) every single insane moment of having everyone home!
This week was especially crazy. We hosted our annual summer party. The guest list is mostly our kids’ friends and families; we have a huge obstacle moonbounce and a frozen margarita machine. This year, Izzy’s BC friends all flew in for the party. Our basement looked like a youth hostel, and I LOVED IT!
At one point, all the BC girls were sitting at the kitchen island while I prepped food for the party and there was a knock at the front door. In walked 6 soaking wet teenagers, looking for Bensten. They grabbed muffins off the counter, capri sun and waters from fridge and Bensten (who was on the treadmill) and headed back to the neighbor’s pool.
It reminded me of when my girls were little and the neighborhood kids would all end up in our basement. I loved it. I think the pandemic along with my boys going to school outside of our neighborhood has changed the landscape of free-range impromptu playdates a little bit- and I really miss it!
All the kids being home and having friends over also reminds me how much I love when big kids and little kids all hang out together. That has always been my draw to summer swim team. The little kids idolize the big kids, and the big kids are so sweet and uninhibited when helping the little guys. This weekend there was so much age-melding…. there were epic nerf wars between college kids and Boeden. (Boeden might have fallen in love with several different girls over the weekend.) There were swim coaches helping Boeden settle after a nightmare. And on Friday, instead of going out in Clarendon, all of Izzy’s friends came to our swim team pep rally. I love that they wanted to come, and I also love that the Langley Club is a place that all 4 of my kids loves to be….whether coaching or swimming- I love their shared love of water!
Don’t get me wrong- there is total chaos too. Just this morning I was making Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins. We have a very strict rule that if you walk into the kitchen and I am measuring- you cannot talk to me. But this morning, everyone happened to be in the kitchen at the same time and I wanted to join their conversation- but I am clearly not capable of multitasking. After they all left for work, I looked at my tray of eggs and saw only 15 missing. I knew my recipe called for 24. And I thought I remembered cracking 24 eggs. I looked in the oven- the muffins looked as if they were baking normally - but the doubt was paralyzing. I kept looking at the egg tray with only 15 eggs missing. I finally sent a text to our family text chain.
Izzy immediately called from work. She said she was cleaning up from the breakfast rush and asked if she could consolidate my egg trays. Apparently I said “Yes!” I had zero recollection of that - but was incredibly thankful that I had put the correct number of eggs in my muffins!!
Does anyone else have a family text chain? I am pretty sure most of my kids (and Lance) keep it muted, so it is not a reliable form of communication but it does provide some entertainment….and a chronicle of the craziness of our summer!
Boeden is always messing with his sisters- this week it was bang snaps hidden under Izzy’s bathroom mat!
I hope your summer is off to a good, maybe mildly chaotic start! I am hoping to bake most weeks leading to August- and then I will take all of August off! Quantities might be limited at times, depending on the kids’ schedules!
xo,
Heather