Boated and burnt

It isn't quite summer until I've spent some "quality" time on my parents' big boat with the kids. I refer to this experience as being the filling in an intergenerational sandwich where the slices of bread are REALLY thick and I pretty much consist of a thin layer of peanut butter. This not terribly relaxing experience goes somewhat like this:

1. I send my parents off with the kids for one night alone on the boat and meet up with them the next day. This is a desperate feat that indicates a dual personality on my part -- I am so desperate for 3.5 minutes to myself that I'm willing to trust my children's well-being on the boat which is, by its nature, fraught with danger. Particularly if you are a somewhat hypervigilant parent (trying to let. go. really. don't laugh). Bear in mind that on this trip my dad managed to fill the gas tank with water. So I'm not sure who sending the kids to the boat is most dangerous for.

2. Then begins two days of constant feeding. The appetite of two kids on a boat rivals a small nation. We found that we needed to bring out the trough every two hours or it would be all out war.

3. We deal with BOREDOM - a word I would happily erase from the dictionary.

4. We deal with "No one wants to playyyyy with meeeee!!!" I remember happily kicking around in the water with no concern about whether I had playmates or not...just being in the water was fun. Kids today! Sheesh! The pressure on me to be mom, nursemaid, and cook is enough...I cannot be a playmate too.

5. And you know what? Air Beds? Not too shabby!

6. Kids wake up too early...grown ups stumble about until the coffee arrives. Drink it. Then stumble around until naptime.

It was a good trip although the water was a bit cold for my taste. No one argued with anyone else - except the kids but that was to be expected.

So now we're home for a few days until they go to dads...then back here for a few.

Alex turns SEVEN next week! In case you couldn't guess..he wants GameCube and Gameboy games...

Did I mention that he's SEVEN!!!