It isn't that ...

... the boys haven't been funny or cute or creative or anything like that since April. Frankly, it's just the opposite. The boys have done nothing but talk and talk (and talk and talk) and make me giggle (and make me want to pull out my hair!). The past week was our vacation week. The usual September trip to Avon was moved up to May to accommodate Andrew's kindergarten start in the fall. So, for 10 days, we were alone. As a family. One-on-one with my boys.

I don't think I will ever complain about the money spent on child care again. And I don't know how a stay-at-home mother does it.

Please don't get me wrong. I love them. Terribly. More than I've ever loved. More than I ever thought possible to love.

But, man. They talk a lot. And require a lot of work. Vacation is work. A lot of work. In the end, it's all worth it. But getting from point a (being the start of vacation) to point b (being the last day of vacation) is a lot, a lot, a lot of work. And but for my husband (who I am convinced is the best husband ever. And I mean that - I wouldn't be a sane woman without him), I would need a week off to overcome the exhaustion from the vacation week!

It's all worth it in the end, of course. When will I ever again see the smile I saw on Andrew's face when he first figured out exactly what a boogie board was meant to do. And the way he "WOO-HOO"'d when he rode his first "wave" in on that boogie board ("Man, that was AWESOME!!"). That was priceless! And when the hole was dug and he discovered that mixing water and sand creates a mud sticky enough to pretend it's a road. Or that it's patching up a tunnel from where the alligators had been coming through. That stuff I can't hear from their day care providers and understand the excitement.

And the first time Davis discovered how much fun the ocean actually is. The entire time we were there last year, he would RUN away from the water (usually in tears) because of the noise and the fear. Not this year. We couldn't get him out of the water. He'd stand there for hours (if you would hold his hand for that long) and JUMP over the waves as they arrived on the beach. I'm telling you - HOURS. And his vertical leap is an inherited trait, I believe. Certainly that will get better as he grows a little older. Right??!

It was awesome, to use Andrew's words. And it was fun. And I cried as I watched them and saw how happy they were (I'm a sappy, sentimental fool - thanks Pop Pop). They are the two most awesome boys in the world. And I love them with all that I am.

But I need a break. A break from my vacation week with my boys.

I think a dinner out alone with my husband is just what the doctor ordered ...