Last week was Fall Break.  Think Spring Break, but in the middle of October, but without the big trips and partying.  Who wants to go hang out at the beach when it's chilly out everywhere?  I don't think it exists anywhere else but here, and I know we didn't get a random week off in October when I was a kid, so my kids were pretty lucky they got the week off.  Sorta.  They both have October birthdays, so I take the week to schedule their annual doctor checkup (with flu shots!) and a dentist appointment for them.  So at least that way they were tortured as much as I was.  I mean really.  A week off in October?  What's the point of that?  This week is parent teacher conferences, so there are 2 half days on Thursday and Friday, so they basically won't have gone to school for 2 weeks.  School starts the first week of August, so maybe this is payback for starting extra early, but I personally think it's 1) to torture parents, and 2) because the teachers are sick of the kids by now.  In that order.  Come yesterday, guess who didn't want to go back to school?  Yeah.  They were still complaining about it last night.