My family spent seven fun-filled days at the beach last week, and we came home with two crabs. No, I’m not referring to crustaceans.I’m talking about my 3-year-old twins. Thanks to multiple nights of late bedtimes and an assortment of sugary treats, they’ve been extremely crabby since we returned home.

I got into vacation mode and threw caution to the wind. It’s too bad the wind blew it back, slapping me in the face. Those who know me well will tell you that I’m a stickler when it comes to schedules for my kids. On vacation, I ditched schedules and food standards for my children. Looking back, I’m not sure how it all happened. Maybe the UVA rays penetrated my brain causing temporary insanity.

The end result is I returned from our beach trip with exhausted, whiny little children who are going through sugar withdrawal. Yes, I now believe sugar is the equivalent of crack for kids. Now that they are hooked, they have been begging for it obsessively since we’ve been home. It’s a good thing baby Siler can’t talk much yet, or I’m sure he would have been asking for sugar in his bottle.

On the car ride home, Mila had a major meltdown because she suddenly wanted ice cream, and her little 3-year-old brain couldn’t fathom why we wouldn’t stop the car to get it.

Then Eli woke up Sunday morning asking for a popsicle for breakfast. Seven days before he never would have dreamed of making such an outlandish request.

I think my children got a little too accustomed to instant gratification at the beach, and I really have no one to blame but myself. It’s so easy when you’re on vacation and in a good mood to give in to things that you ordinarily wouldn’t agree to at home. For instance, why did I agree to let my kids stay up way past their bedtime for the sole purpose of eating chocolate chip cookies? I should have known the sugar would take hold of them, making it even more difficult to get them to settle down for bed.

Vacations make us feel like we are so deserving of things. Before you know it, you’ve justified eating an entire bag of potato chips because you just work so hard all year long. It’s really silly when you think about it.

Now our household is going through vacation detox. We’re struggling to get our children back to some sense of routine. We’re back to enforcing naps every afternoon, bedtime at 7:30 p.m. and a diet that includes more fruits and vegetables.

Of course, the natives aren’t so happy about the return of my logic and have been protesting every chance they get. As I write this blog entry, my daughter is pulling on my leg and asking for a cupcake. Whew! It’s going to be a long day.

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