Tales From The Trenches of Parenting: beach

So the "boys" went out of town yesterday and it was just the girls and me left on our own. Helpless, defenseless, powerless.....

Ok, BACK to reality now!

Frankly, we were just entertain-less, if there is such a word. I actually got up yesterday morning and looked at my three daughters as if they were pod people that had just arrived in my house that morning. Three large browned-eyed darlings looking up at me at the breakfast table of pancakes, sausage, and massive cups of coffee (mine of course).

"What are we doing today mom?", asks Nadia.... followed by Toni..... then sung by Nia.

I suddenly had a feeling of panic because all motherly wisdom and bag of entertainment tricks of what to do with her kids went right out my kitchen window as soon as they posed that question to me.

I looked at each of their faces and wondered "What am I gonna do with you girls for the next two days?". I'm having one of those "off" days where being the whole mom thing is not connecting with my psyche for some reason and I'm thinking that I'm gonna have a day of just doing what I want, like jetting off to Tahiti for the weekend.

I was quickly making mental lists of activities that would be fun for all ages... say from 4 to a budding 12 year old:

The beach
The park
Fishing at the pier
Bike riding
The beach
Picnic at the beach
Ft. Pickens..... again
The mall (eww yuck)
Bowling
The movies
Picking up shells at the beach
The museum (as I chase Nia all over the place)
Surf City/Fun City (it's one place), to the tune of $100 for the four of us - not countiing FOOD

Through me mental list, I was coming to the conclusion that there is little to do where I live unless it involves the beach, or paying through the nose in order to entertain my kids a few weeks before school starts. Folks, the beach gets down right boring after awhile of living with it in your backyard 24/7. I love it, it's gorgeous and all, but sometimes I get tired of it being the only major "entertainment" in this area. One cannot entertain their family and soul by a beach alone unless one is a stinking fish!

I'm not kidding! I was drawing a serious blank in the entertaining department. Who were these three aliens across my kitchen table and why did they want/need/have to have me entertain them for the day when all I really wanted to do was take in the quiet time and read a good book.

Because I'm a mom, that's why; and being a mom dictates that "Thy Shall Never Have A Life Until Thy Last Child Enters Into Age of Responsiblity", and that age is usually 35!

Do just have those moments where you've spent all these years entertaining your kids, taking them out, making sure they have a good day, filling their head with joyful moments so they don't remember you as a bad mom, then all of a sudden, BAM.... you have absolutely NO clue what to do with them?

That was me!

I spent an hour on the internet trying to "find" something to do with the girls. Everything either encompassed going to the beach, or spending gobs of money. Everything else we had done and the girls thought it all to be boring: the park, the library, riding bikes, hiking, the beach, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah!

So I decided since we couldn't figure out what to do, then we would have an all day slumber party.

Yes! I said an all day slumber party. Do not ask me where that idea came from, but it just blew in from.... the entertainment fairy. (?????)

So we I took them all to get subs, ice cream, sodas (which are only reserved for "special" occasions and this qualifies), popcorn, and a bunch of movies for the day. We proceeded to clear the living room floor and put their mattresses down and have lunch on the floor while taking in our first movie "Barbie and The Prince and The Pauper". Which we had to watch twice in a row because as The Entertainment Coordinator, my two youngest daughters demanded it.

The rest of the day was filled with a few computer games we all joined in together. I never knew there were so many ways to look like a goofy fairy on Pixie Hollow, or how many rounds of Galaga I could play before my fingers went numb. We then went back to watching more movies and eating ice cream sandwiches on the floor as Nia stuck popcorn in her ice cream thinking it was more yummy that way.

Nia eventually passed out during the movie "Penelope", and now it was time to scare the pants off of Toni and Nadia with "The Grudge 3".

"How dare you let your kids watch a horror flick like that", you may say. My kids want to watch it, but they spend about 3/4 of the movie with their heads stuck in a pillow, so they never actually see anything. They just want to be around something scary so it gives them all an excuse to climb into my once large king size bed and suddenly make it feel like a cot I'm sleeping in.

Which they did - at 1 in the morning - and they were all happy.

So I entertained them with a day of junk food we would normally never eat, a bunch of movies, a day of computer games which they are normally not allowed to succumb to for long periods of time, but I did this time because I consider my lack of entertaining ability yesterday and emergency situation.

I actually broke down and took them to McDonald's for dinner, which is a major deal since we do not do McDonald's in this family and it was only because of my "off" day and the fact that managed to destroy the macaroni and cheese... the boxed kind.

So the girls are still a bit groggy and tired from their day of fun, but they are happy. I guess I was successful because everything I did was not what we usually do. I threw norm and caution to the wind, broke down and ate yummy/yucky junk food with my kids, had an all day slumber party, and watch corny, funny, and scary movies until the wee hours of the night.

There were still some tense moments like when Nia broke the potted plant on the patio filled with flowers Nadia had been working on, then locked all of us outside around 10 at night cause she knew she was in trouble for that one. I had a smidgen of panic there for a moment. Or when Nia and Toni started an enormous fight over whose bowl of popcorn was whose. Nia threw water on Toni for that one and both got sent to their rooms for a long time out because tempers were so flared.

It was successful because they all went to bed happy without one complaint about....

how bored they were all day!

Today is major house cleaning day before the weekend. I sure hope they had a good time yesterday cause today.... I'm gonna work em like dogs.

BA - HA -HA - HA - HA - HA!

*Insert little pinky into corner of mouth*

There's a saying here in Florida: "If you don't like the weather, wait a half an hour and it will change". This morning it was the same old stormy, rainy, gloomy weather we've had for days. We awoke to rain, rain, and more rain. I had resigned myself to the fact that it would be another boring day indoors, so I got the girls together to do a little video taping as Kurt and Julian zoned out again on a new Xbox game.

About the time the kitchen was cleaned and the girls were ready to film each, the storm clouds began to break and sun started peeking through the overcast. It was a sight for sore eyes. The seemingly dark house became bright again.

Change of plans - LET'S GO TO THE BEACH!!

There was a flurry of clothes changing and towel grabbing, and running for the car. Things were happening so fast that I nearly forgot my cameras and Julian almost forgot to save his place on his new video game. Now THAT would have been a disaster when we got home. I cannot live with Julian after he's forgotten to save a game; you'd think somebody had been torturing the damn kid to death. All the moaning and groaning....

Oh, the beach.

Driving to the beach was like an observation of an ant hill after the rain-soaked ground had dried. Suddenly cars and people begin emerging from their deep dark and sandy caves to venture into the light which had seemed all but forgotten; until now. We reached the toll to Pensacola Beach and I guess a lot more had the same idea as we because there were a line of cars waiting to thrust their dollar at the attendant and haul ass to the waves.

Kurt rolled the window up on the dollar bill and had some crafty idea of having the attendant "pull" it out of the window as we drove by. I explained to him the physics of this idea and how it wouldn't work, and he explained to me about light sensitivity and depression and how he needed to get to the beach fast because I was falling victim to it.

Have I been that grumpy?

Upon arriving, it was a beautiful sight. The sun was shining, and the air was crisp and new after the storms chaos had passed. I took in a deep breath of fresh air and realized that Spring was officially here. Kurt kept babbling about everyone taking their shoes till it almost became the main focus of being there.

Soon Kurt and the kids were running down the beach with their arms spread wide, while I ran behind with the stupid video camera trying to film all the excitement. I don't think the video came out very well as the picture was just a big up-down-up-down, blur of sun, water, sand, and bodies.

Back to the iPhone camera.

Nia took no time at all accidentally on purpose, "falling" into the water.

"Oopsie mommy - I tripped!" she says with a big smile

It doesn't matter, I brought extra clothes for just this moment. The poor girl is a three year old bundle of energy that's been confined for days inside a dreary house. "Let her be free", I think to myself.

Then there THEY are. Suddenly entwined in the bunches of seaweed and sand are Portuguese Man-O-War jellyfish. They are actually quite bewitching looking with their shades of cobalt blue that surrounds their bulbous, clear bodies, and long blue tentacles intermingled with the seaweed.

I don't care what pretty colors these thing show up in, they are nasty - nasty I tell you. They look more like blown up condoms laying all over the white sandy beach than they do some exotic sea critter.

Thus begins walking like we entered a forbidden mine field. It wouldn't be so bad except that everyone but me was stung last year by little "regular" jellyfish. This has cause Nadia to be quite paranoid of the beach and its various forms of sea life this past year. She sees jellyfish - she freaks! I am preparing myself for the long moans and whines from her as we start out trekking over the snowy white sands before us.

She isn't saying a word about the jellyfish! "Okay, who are you and where have you taken my daughter", I shockingly think to myself. This is too good to be true. I'm thinking she has finally evolved out of the neurotic phase she acquired last summer over the stinging, bloating beast she so unfortunately had a close encounter with.

OOOKAAAAY! It's gonna be a GREAT summer this year! Maybe this year she will remember that when you see one in the water - move your ass out of the way! That advice goes for my husband (especially when he's holding Nia in the water again), Julian, and Toni. Somehow, I am already blessed with this knowledge.

DUH.......

The sun beams over our heads and as we walk, Kurt and Julian decide to run ahead and take advantage of a beach side jog. The girls and I slowly stroll along while taking notice of little green "thingies" swimming in the miniature lakes left over by rising tides of the storm. There are a great many groups of these tiny green sea life's. I have never seen them before; have NO clue what they are, but they are everywhere, much like the jellyfish are.

Interest of these creatures quickly turn to basking in the sun and playing in the water. Toni and Nia are so full of joy over the simplicities of splashing, jumping, and wading in the emerald colored waters that thoughts of the storms are now meager memories to us all.