The Ants of August

July is seeping out under the door and with it summer. I told the Little Man we'd take two months off from school, June and July, and because I am both lazy and a woman of my word, we have done so. With aplomb. Other high achieving homeschool moms have already gotten things rolling, but not me. It's kindergarten: why rush? There are cars to be played with and beaches to explore and lazy mornings around the house.

More later about the bag Blythe is sitting on...

I did, however, finally order curriculum last week, and somehow doing so has triggered my inner nerd. No amount of the Man telling me how long it will take to arrive can keep me from checking the mail multiple times a day. Something within me has kick started and I want to sharpen an entire box of yellow number two pencils. That, in turn, makes me think of You've Got Mail, which is totally beside the point. The point being: my inner nerd is a bit antsy.

Bruiser has a good arm.

The antsy-ness is a wonderful thing (why is "antsy-ness" not a word?). I transformed two old baby blankets into floor pillows, thereby ridding myself of three of the last four hideously ugly throw pillows that came with the couch (waste not, want not). Also, fabric glue is my new best friend. I finally reattached the toggle that fell off the wind chimes two months ago. And yesterday, the boys and I dug out from behind their bunk bed half a deck of cards, three stuffed animals, one sippy cup, and sundry bits of trash that were mostly book shreds (Tiny is a picker), random bits of tape, and a discarded band aid or two. That felt good. Oh, and I rearranged our tables.

Floor pillows make everyone happy.

And let me just say, happiness is a checked off To Do list. It is also finding your driver's license that Bruiser stole from your wallet and promptly threw away. Said happiness was greatly heightened by the fact that I had already gone through the trash twice before I finally found it...but that's another story.

Normally there is no bike in the dining room, but the cat in the laundry basket happens fairly often.

Side note: Bee would say that happiness is hiding under the dust ruffle of Bruiser's crib and giggling hysterically when we pretend like we can't find her even though her foot is still sticking out from under the bed.

Bed-head and pilfered breakfast grapes. What could be more fun?

At any rate, there's something in the air. What is it about in-coming August that makes me antsy? Not antsy in a "something's got to change" fashion but antsy with the desire to work hard and make something beautiful with what I've been given.

Do you ever feel the same way?