nothin' but chaos

did i mention that there's 8 children present on this particular holiday? my guess is that everyone's suddenly realizing that this job definitely has its 'uh, no thanks' moments...i actually can have those in abundance, depending on how you view wiping poopy butts, hauling dirty laundry, watching 3 children under the age of 7 by yourself for 72 straight hours with no breaks, going on holiday and not planning any of your own activities, being told you can't take your car further than a 10 mile radius.......but i digress :)

anyway, i love my job, fully and completely, so that's not really the issue. however, do i love having 8 children - all under the age of 8, actually - on my beach vacation? notsomuch. everything is all fine and dandy until dinnertime rolls around and then suddenly it's as if every single child was given a triple dose of energy and feistiness the moment before they sat down in their chairs. i've never been so weary about feeding a group of children as i have in the last day and a half! these kids pick and moan and groan and whine and cry and complain at the prospect of having to eat just one small, tiny piece of fish. and if i were the kind of girl who blared all her inner thoughts out onto her blog, believe me - you'd be hearing my thoughts on this one. but as my ever-wise stepmom Queenie says, 'who asked me?'

so we sit down at dinner in the nice, quiet dining room and within moments each child is yelling something at their parents while banging on the chairs, table, plates, etc, all the while having a conversation with whatever child is sitting next to them at the time. seriously. it's like this the entire time they're eating. they bang and holler their way through dinner (and how can they help it?? when i'm with 7 of my best girlfriends i'm all loud and excited, too) and by the time they get up to go play outside - ironically in very calm, controlled manners, of course - my nerves are practically jumping through my skin and i've drank all my dinner wine.

so. that's been my vacation, thus far. went for a walk on the beach today and came to the conclusion that any beach where i have to wear my shoes in the sand cause i'm fearful of broken glass is really just not a beach i care to go to. ever. thank God for the pool here, cause otherwise my sunbathing attempts would be miserable...