- I'm thirsty
- I'm hungry
- I'm lonely
- I think I just threw up and swallowed it
- My tooth feels cold
- I can't sleep
- I want to sleep but my roomate keeps talking (note that both roomates are saying this about each other)
- I'm too tired
- It's too early
- It's not early enough
- I need TV
- I need a snuggle
I tried to stay in the moment - I didn't yell once, though a few complaintive grunts may have slipped out inadvertently.
It was hard not to hear the clock tick-tick-ticking with every minute becasue of the work I have ahead of me tonight. My house is TRASHED. Like, hours old food still on the kitchen counter, toys and shrapnel all over every flat surface, dinner dishes still on the table, and I think there may even be a used diaper on the TV room floor! Luckily, it's not festering as it was dry when I took it off. Someone's got some impressive holding power as of late. Monday is potty training bootcamp. Pray for me!
Right now, I'm in that evil limbo spawned by do-gooder attempts. I attempted to attack my front hall closet in my "40 Bags" cleanout. Instead, it attacked me. I had stuffed our dress-up overflow in there (bad idea - it had babies I think). And the worst offender was the tent and tunnel city Ben got for Christmas. I was innocently buying elbow gloves (a truly amazing product) when up popped the special offer of the day. The "Tent N Tunnel" set that looked like the perfect replacement for our torn and tattered, 8 year old tent and tunnel set. And it was a steal at way 75% off. Turns out it included so many tents and tunnels (the pop up kind that you have to twist just so to get back into storage) that opening the closet is like opening a can of worms from Bozo the Clown.
We ended the afternoon with a minivan cry-fest that was finally solved by three juice boxes in my brother's driveway. Amazing what a little blood sugar readjustment can do!
When we got home and the children saw the tunnels and tents and dress up stuff I was wrangling, they decided to play with ALL of it. All. Over. The. House. It was hilarious while it lasted - a raucous good time really. They were funny, and adorable, and worked together. They even did the limbo under a mopstick!
And the evening wound down on a wonderfully positive note. I wish I could say that it was my fabulous nurturing spirit that coaxed the children out of their sullen moods, but no, it was not. It was something that was even better.
The CHILDREN coaxed ME out of my sullen mood!!
I had taken Molly aside to do her reading and the boys couldn't stand being away - the story of Buddy the Dog, as told by their sister, was too magnetic. We all ended up in a big huddle on the loveseat listening to Molly read. Afterward, Jack offered me "his world famous massage" for my right hand and Molly thought it looked so fun that she took the left. Ben wanted in on the deal, so he got a play staple gun and stapled my tummy so it would "feel nice and great!". Then when Jack finished my hand, he went to work on my feet, and Ben kissed my big toes for the grand finale.
Now that's LOVE. :)
I admit, I've got it pretty darn good. Now if I can only channel that thought at 1am when I'm still wrangling pup tents!
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