Is it September yet?

Ahhh, summer.

There are some things you can just count on out here in California. Blue skies. Shining sun. No rain whatsoever. Property taxes that make your bank account bleed.

One thing I've also been able to count on this summer is endless hours with my kids. Those sweet smiling faces and lively personalities that make me a mother. The giggles and laughter. Ah, the sweetness of it all.

And....end scene.

Cut to the tears, the seemingly non-stop tantrums, the unwillingness to separate from me. The constant cries for "moooooommmmmy!". The 3 meals a day that I make for four of us, half of which ends up in the kitchen sink. The constant tripping over toys and subsequent pleas to clean up. The endless requests for things that seem to leave my wallet constantly empty. The sense that I've somehow turned into a full-time maid, kitchen slave, and cruise ship director.

And when I say full-time, I mean more than just those piddly 40 hours a week that most people qualify as a job. I'm talking 12 to 14 hour days of non-stop children. And it goes without saying that even though my co-worker is around in the evenings during the week, and full-time on the weekends, I'm still at the damn office too. Doesn't this place ever close?

If only it were as beautiful as the giggles and laughter all the time. In reality, those are the shining moments that make me carry on through all the other crap.

It's just that I'm about done carrying on right now. Can't someone else take my kids for a while? Like, say, from around 8:30 in the morning until about 2 or 3 in the afternoon?

Oh yeah. It's called a school. And the cheapskates only operate 9 months a year.

Damn the schools.

Right about now I'm wishing I was one of those moms that signs her kids up for absolutely every activity. Every day. Every week. Every year since birth. And all through the summer shuttles them off to a different camp each week. Because I think it would make it much easier for my kids to be less dependent on me. Less tears at every good-bye. Less demanding me instead of daddy.

Less sucking the life out of me.

Ironically, the reason I haven't been a mom that signs her kids up for everything is because I want them to both experience some "down time" and how to keep themselves entertained, and also I want them to have the experience of a parent that's right there with them. Helping them learn. Guiding their decisions. Playing with them. Teaching them. Making sure they know they are loved and valued.

But I'm thinking that stuff can easily be done in, say, a few hours a day.

Max.

I really don't need all 12 for that kind of life guidance to hit home.

Don't get me wrong. I enjoy my kids. Tremendously. I love seeing through their eyes. Watching them wonder at the world and learn through things we take for granted. I adore all those precious face-to-face moments. And I'm a better woman for it all. No doubt.

I just think I've had enough wonder and amazement for this summer.

And to heck with sleeping in. It just makes we feel well rested while I rush through those mornings where I do actually have to be somewhere.

I need it to be fall.

Livin' La Vida Ocho

It's good to be eight. Just ask my daughter.

We recently started a new incentive program for my employees. As the manager of this well-oiled machine we call home, I was getting quite tired of delegating work to my minions only to find it lying on the floor later on. I'm really trying to foster independent workers, but no matter what I tried, I always seemed to revert back to nagging.

Apparently it was all about the comp plan. Now I know why sales people respond so well to the all-expenses paid trips. Or bonus checks.

Not long ago I read a little article about a woman that started giving out marbles for all the little things around the house that she wanted her kids to do. Read: chores. After a certain number of marbles were earned the kids got to choose if they want a cash payout or a sleepover or other comparable treat. She said this was finally the one thing that really worked for her kids, after years and years of sticker charts and other like programs. Amen sister. I'm so tired of sticker charts these days, as are my kids, apparently.

The first week that we tried this it was like hitting the motherhood lottery. My oldest was doing all the things I always nagged at her about, but without the nagging. Shoes were finding their way into the closet where they belong, plates were being cleared from the table, and clothes were magically appearing in the dirty laundry basket and not on the floor. Granted, most time I would ask once for something to be done. But that was it. Just once. And all I had to do was say "2 marbles" and point to something and it was done.

And not only that, my oldest was actually really nice and helpful to her little brother and sister. ALL of the time. Usually this happens in small doses around here, but now she was like a dream big sister. And a dream mother's helper.

Bingo!

My son also seemed to buy in to the program. We told him that he could get marbles for staying in his bed while going to sleep - and not popping out of his room as he can still do from time to time. And on top of that, I promised extra marbles if he stayed in bed in the morning until he heard mommy and daddy were up and awake.

And he actually did it.

For the next several days. And not only that, he thinks the marbles themselves are the prize. That's all he needed as incentive. Just a jar full of pretty marbles.

Double Bingo!

And so began our lazy summer of sleeping in until 7 or 8am. Well, at least for me. With the longer hours of daylight, the kids have been going to bed a little later, and sleeping in until about 8am. EVERY DAY. And with nowhere to be in the morning, I've been known to stay in bed past 8am. Of course my poor husband is still a slave to the economy, getting up long before any of us. And, as was the case today, out of the house at 7:30am before any of us were even awake.

What luxury. One of the small perks for management.

Okay, so back to la vida ocho. My oldest decided that instead of taking a pay out at 50 marbles ($5, a special play date with a friend, or an outing with mommy or daddy), she'd go for the 100 marble pay out ($10, a special sleep over with a friend, or an outing with mommy and another with daddy). After a month, she earned that big prize. And this past weekend we had a friend of hers over for a sleepover.

The deal was that I was to take them out to a movie and dinner as a special treat. And my daughter was in hog heaven.

On the way to the movie she and her friend critiqued each other's hair, giving each other many sweet compliments about different styles that looked good on each other. "Your hair looks really cute when it's down. Let me see. Yes! So cute!" and "Let me see yours up. Oh! That looks really pretty!". Then they proceeded to put on a little lip gloss while getting feedback from each other. "That looks really good! Is mine on right? What a pretty color on you!"

After that lovefest, they got out of the car, swapped sweaters ("that's so cute on you!") and then went to sit at their own little table at Chipotle. They giggled and nibbled their way through dinner. Then we went to the theatre and they got to share a big Icee and a veritable vat of popcorn. First they danced a little Dance Dance Revolution before settling in for the movie, complimenting each other on their moves and their scores. And then it was show time.

As we all donned our very attractive glasses, they sipped their Icee and munched their popcorn, and had a lot of 8 year old fun. For one of the first times - ever - my daughter and her friend got to have their own special time, without little brothers or sisters running around, and with the sole attention of moi. It also qualified as a special outing with the boss, if you will.

We got home at 9:30p, after both her younger brother and sister were in bed (albeit not asleep yet with our summer schedule in progress), she and her friend got ready for bed and then snuggled in for the night. When I checked on them at 10pm, they were reading to each other.

Seriously. They were reading. Out loud. For fun.

Then they were asleep by 11pm. And slept in until 8:30a.

Aahh. It's good to be eight. In the summer. With a jar full of marbles.

So carefree and innocent.

And now the marble jar is filling up once again, with her eye on the prize of a special outing with mommy.

The boss is flattered.