Beyond the Beach Trip

Now that we're home (sigh) and not at the beach anymore (double sigh), I've been trying to find things for us to do. Not that we don't have enough to do. It's just hard to get back to doing what we were doing before. Anyway, it's been two weeks, I should be over it by now.
The baby is finding something new to do every day. Pull the magnets off of the refrigerator and taste them. Eat dirt. Swing in the hammock with mommy. See how long he can go without a nap. Bite holes in the bottle nipples. So he is plenty entertained.
The four year old is a little more challenging. He likes to have people to play with. Although he can entertain himself for a long time, he prefers an audience. His most frequently asked question is, "will you of course play with me mommy?" I suppose he adds the of course, because the answer used to be, "of course I will play with you baby, what do you want to play?" Now the answer is a plaintive, "do I have to?" Gee get over yourself mommy. But between the laundry, the baby, meals, diapers, groceries, and the other stuff, I don't have time to play as often. And let's be totally honest here, I'm over the trains, the cars, and the plastic bugs. If you want to swing, blow bubbles, play with legos, ride the bikes, or go for a walk, I'm your girl. So I'm working on playdates. It's going well. We've had lots to do.
We go to the pool alot too, but there I run into, "swim with me mommy." I love to swim with my son, but how long can I leave the baby in the stroller while I swim? Long enough to get wet and cold and then get out again. It's always at that point I realize I have lost the padding to the top of my swimsuit (it must be in the washing machine somewhere) and I didn't shave (I'm saving money for permanent laser hair removal. By the time I save enough money, they'll figure out a way to make it permanent).
Needless to say, the days are actually a lot of fun. If I can avoid the tantrums (which I can't) and I can avoid the pool food (yeah right, don't you want chicken fingers again mommy? We had them yesterday and the day before that too) I can have really really wonderful days with my children. I love summer. I love being able to be outside most of the time. Little boys need lots of room to run and plenty of vitamin D. If I can run them to death we all nap peacefully. If I can't, it's movie time while mommy naps. I don't know where I'm going with all this except to say I'm grateful for vacations, but I'm even more grateful for the regular old dog days of summer where bubbles are king and bicycles are the transportation mode of choice.