Tuesday morning.

Just a normal day.

I actually got my butt in gear this morning and went out for a run. When I returned, my children were scattered throughout the house.Fiona was still in bed, happily using my iPad. Every single morning, this kid asks for the iPad, and (nearly) every single morning, I say “No. Go back to bed. Look at a book or play quietly.” But not today. Today Daddy was in charge, and Daddy needs a bit more sleep than Mama does. And so Fiona was contentedly watching her Power Rangers when I got home.

Bianca, my girl who NEVER falls asleep with me in the mornings, and who was stirring when I first left for my run, was snuggled up with her Daddy, snoozing away.

Violet I found in the kitchen, waiting patiently for somebody to get her started on the Cheerios. This kid eats 3 bowls of Cheerios every morning. I wish I was exaggerating, but I’m not. I don’t even understand where she physically puts that much cereal.

After breakfast, I sent the big ones upstairs to finish getting dressed. I told them to put panties on.

They followed the letter of my request, though not the spirit.

Whatever. They were clean.

Once everyone had the proper clothing on the proper area of the body, we went on to have what turned out to be a perfect summer day. Painting pictures in the backyard, having friends over to swim in the (now completely dead because that duct tape over the holes was only going to last so long) pool, picking peapods out of the garden for a snack, watching butterflies, coloring on the chalkboard, eating ice cream, riding bikes… Just a normal, boring, awesome day.

Summer, please don’t end.