With the older kids in bed and The Baby in the bathtub (there's no water in it...she's just sitting in the bathtub with her P.J.s on playing with toys), I'm thinking about the weeks ahead.
Each year for the past five years (except the year I was pregnant with The Baby) I have worked in the mail order department of the local cheesehouse. Our cheese factory invented baby swiss cheese and people from all over the globe call into my little office high atop the cheesehouse to have cheese shipped to their parents, children, grandparents, grandchildren, aunts/uncles, neices/nephews, ex-spouses, neighbors, doctors, patients, clients, bosses, co-workers and employees, among others. It's my job to keep them happy, to get their cheese ordered, paid for and shipped out. I talk to little old ladies who are so lonely that they want to talk to the cheese mail-order girl. I converse with men who have had lunch with the president of the United States. I listen to stories of visits to our cheesehouse that took place many years ago.
I get decent pay, a GREAT bonus, and a really nice employee Christmas banquet where they call the kids up by name and give them gifts. Plus, the work environment is fun and friendly. AND there's LOTS of baked goods, which is just what I need to keep my energy up while I'm sitting on my butt in front of a computer all day talking on the phone.
I like my job. It does get stressful, but I still enjoy it. It's just quirky enough to be hip, and just quaint enough to make the stress manageable. The hardest part is maintaining order at home for the ten weeks I'm away. Sure, there's an adult here--my dad--and I'm only a few minutes down the road, but I can be in the next room (like right now) and chaos can occur.
But this year, I have a plan. At least I think I do. It involves breakfast together, the mornings in their rooms working on their lessons, lunch together, and the afternoon spending some quiet time reading or catching up on lessons. They all know what's expected of them, but that doesn't mean they get it done. Heck, when I'm here, I often have to struggle to keep a couple of them (read: The Boys) on task.
We have incentives, like Friday Night Family Night with pizza and movies or games if the kids get their lessons and chores done, but I'd like something with a bit more oomph.
So if you have suggestions for how to keep kids on task when you're away, please fire them this way.
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