Is it the kids or summer that makes life crazy?

Or maybe a good combination of both?

Really it's been never ending. Ean got spanked by the neighbor yesterday. He just let himself in and gave himself a tour of their house. Really, I'm confused, where on the world did he even think that was OK? He really struggles with boundaries, always in his siblings stuff, always in my stuff. In whatever he wants to and I'm not sure how to address it.

He's painted the bathroom sink with nail polish, painted the downstairs couch with nail polish, he's swiped every type of food he could from the kitchen and hidden it in his room. I mean multiple containers of yogurt, pancakes, oh gosh I don't know what all. This type of behavior you'd expect from a foster kid that thought he'd be starved but Ean? He's never been deprived. Sure we don't have treats every day and mama doesn't buy junk, but I bake goodies, we have Popsicles for the summer. It's not like they never have sugar, I personally think they still have way to much.

But it's not just food, he steals whatever catches his eye, whether or not he knows what it actually is. I had one perfume that I liked and occasionally lightly used. One. One. Normally perfume bothers my allergies but this was a very light scent that I could get away with. Haiku Awakenings from Avon. I got it oh, maybe five or six years ago. Yeah, it's gone. My son used it all. My son......

There's dangerous stuff too. He's swiping meds. I had to tell him over and over that medication will make you so sick you'll go to the hospital, it could kill you. I made him cry. But if my words aren't strong, he completely blows me off? How do I deal with that?

The kids had swim lessons last month, a friend told me I could split up a private lesson, I asked one of the teachers, he said, yes you could. I asked again, he said yes you could. I said really? I can take all the kids, pay for a half hour and get them all in? He said sure you can, I'll do it.

SO the kids had one private lesson, the neighbor doesn't know how to swim, I arranged for her to come along and for two teachers. The other teacher was prepared to go for an hour an half with each kid having their own half hour. Said I could go shorter but I'd have to pay for each. child. no. matter. what.

Wait.

That doesn't compute.

It's not like I didn't ask five or six times, check and double check. And if I'm willing to pay for their time, why shouldn't I have a say in how that time is used? It makes them more money in the end because I can't afford to pay for each child. I was more then a bit frustrated, so Kent and I are going to take the kids swimming Saturday, see how much work we can do on our own.

I wish I had access to a private pool. There's a woman that taught the girls, she was awesome. So incredibly good. I'd love for her to teach them but she's not affiliated with the gym anymore. *sigh*

Lets see, what else. Oh the forth! I ended up with an abscessed tooth and a sprained ankle. The kids had a great time. I ended up on the phone with the dentist's office at the parade getting a stronger prescription of antibiotics. That was Saturday, when I went into the dentist on Monday, I found out there was no hope for that tooth, it was pulled.

That's the third tooth I've had pulled and I'm not even forty yet. I'm kissing forty, but I'm not forty yet.

I know in my head my teeth do not reflect what I'm worth as a person but I still feel like less of a person. While getting numbed, I had tears just rolling down my face. It's humbling. It's embarrassing.

To top it all off is the question of money. We can't afford the dental work and I feel so damn guilty for causing more stress on our already stretched to the hilt finances.

It doesn't help that I could have used something heavier then the Tylenol and ibuprofen I was taking the first couple of days but I didn't dare with a kid in the house that I know (somehow) swiped meds. We have locks on everything, and he still manages to get in.

ARG!

Kate is being the laziest butt this summer, not responding to me over and over again.

I don't know, I'm frustrated.