Can school start tomorrow please?!

We are back home to Canada finally! After a great summer in Europe I'm beyond happy to be home and back to reality.  School starts on the first of September and Kid #1 is starting grade one and Kid #2 is starting pre-school. I'd by lying if I said I wasn't totally pumped to see them heading out the door. This summer has been fun but they have been driving me bat-shit crazy.  Potty training our little guy has been a bit of a poop-filled nightmare (read: total fail) and if I have to hear them fight over one more game of Angry Birds or Fruit Ninja I'm going to lose my mind. (Though games are obviously a great babysitter. Fact.)

{little gifts from above..}

Traveling with children is never easy and when it involves long flights (9 hours to Germany and 3 more to Athens) it's guaranteed to test your patience.  To be fair to the kids we're the ones that are hauling them over to the other side of the world for weeks on end. They're just kids being kids. And if they act out, cry, fight and generally make our lives miserable difficult it's because that's just how boys can be.

{Typical facial expression of Kid #2...a total sweetie}

 I try to remember that but when I see two little girls (sisters the same age as my boys) sitting one row behind us on our 9 hour flight home, who were quietly colouring, playing on their iPad and with their Barbies for the entire flight, it kinda makes me wish that my kids weren't total hooligans. The mother of these girls was able to watch movies, slept and basically looked like she was having no problem passing the hours. Meanwhile our kids are fighting, crying, asking to go the bathroom 16 times, throwing crayons and play-dough balls down the isle -while demanding we entertain them like freaking clowns. 

It was exhausting and redonkulous all at the same time.  

Sometimes I seriously wish I had little girls...yeah I just said that.

Alright rant over. Now I'll suppose you'll tell me how girls aren't all sunshine and rainbows but I'll never believe it. Girls are amazing. Boys make me lose my mind. 

End of story.

images via google

Universal Truths...Mediterranean stylez

Hey dolls! Once again I'll start by apologizing for the sparseness of my posts but I just haven't had the time (or motivation) to blog much during our vacation. Honestly my head is in the clouds and my toes are in the sand.... 

But I am looking forward to getting back home soon...I'm missing my friends, family and my own BED something fierce. 

The kids are driving me a bit wackadoodle and you best believe they're heading to Nana and Grandpa's for a 2 night sleep over as SOON as we're back home.

But all that aside we have been having a great time here in Greece and I'll be sure to bore amaze you all with pics of our trip. Stay tuned!

For now I'll share some universal truths I've learned about this place....

1) Finding a lizard living under your mop is a sure way to scare the bejeezus out of you while you're house cleaning...

{Sweet Mother of Pearl- GET OUT now!}

2)  Explaining that the cool air from air-conditioning and fans does NOT cause illness such as cold, flu, backache, toothache, headache and strep-throat is a pretty common occurrence. For some reason most people around here must have skipped biology class in high school because everyone (young and old) believe that sitting too close to the A/C unit will bring on some dire illness or condition?!?  They're called viruses...

{This is not the enemy people...}

3)  No matter how many times I come to Greece I will NEVER get used to not being able to flush toilet paper down the toilet. Apparently the plumbing infrastructure just can't handle t.p. so you have to toss it in a little bin beside the toilet. My poor kids just DON'T get it and cannot remember to put their t.p. in the garbage ever...

{Say what? ! Can you say ick?}

4) Regardless of the lizards and toilets here, we're having a great time. Any day at the beach beats the pants off of a day at work or school or a snowy January day.  I'll enjoy every minute of it while I can!

{smiling in the sunshine...}

{"working" hard in the sand...}

{Even a rocky beach is a great beach...}