Once upstairs, there were more insurmountable obstacles like brushing teeth and using the bathroom. I didn't even attempt pjs. Less steps to bedtime the better. I hate to admit, I wasn't very patient with them, but I finally got all three down. Shortly thereafter, I was in bed too...
When I got up this morning and came downstairs to make C's lunch I found this on the table...
That's what she had been working on when I unceremoniously yelled at her to go upstairs. I had a good dose of mommy guilt on this one. While I was yelling at her, she was writing "For Mommy." She had been making me a gift and I had been berating her for taking too long.
I started thinking about why I was so impatient last night. I know the kids were tired, and I had spent the majority of the day away from them. But I was tired too, very tired, and I think that was the key. Kids are kids,and while disobedience is not ok, I sometimes forget to look for the root of the disobedience. A lot of times, it is poor decision making on the part of my kids, but there are definitely times when their behavior is a direct reaction to my own. I was crabby last night, and they were pushing back.
Staring at my picture, I decided that tonight would be different. Problem is when I left work I got caught in horrible traffic, and the closer I got to home, the more tired I was getting. I knew I was going to be a little late and my kids would be hungry and tired. How could I prevent another four way meltdown?
If only I was not so very tired.
Coffee! Yes, coffee would help. So I drove through Dunkin Donuts and got an iced coffee to get me through the evening.
And guess what? It worked like a charm! We had an absolutely awesome evening! We made dinner together, we played on the floor, and talked about our day. When it was time to go upstairs, I didn't get any arguments. The kids did well getting ready for bed and I even put on a silly little visual story time show (the neighbors probably thought I was nuts, if they happened to glance up at our house and see me in the window) but we had a blast! I loved hearing the laughing and giggling.
When it was finally time for sleep, I put Baby E in his crib and then crawled into bed with C. We cuddled for awhile and then I moved over to Big E's bed for even more cuddles. It was a wonderful way to end our evening!
However, when I closed their door, I came face to face with the stark reality of my choice... I'm not tired. Well, I am tired...but my body is currently coursing with caffeine and sugar, so laying down is next to impossible. So I cooked breakfast for the next few days, did multiple loads of laundry, scrubbed down my kitchen, and did all my dishes. Seriously, this was one productive evening!
And while I am totally going to regret the way I am going to feel in the morning, I will not regret hearing the sounds of my children squeal in delight as I chased them around, or the smile on Big E's face when we raced cars along the kitchen floor, or the laughter as I pranced and darted through their room telling them a ridiculous story I made up as I went!
I'll admit, I am overwhelmed with the amount of papers and 'artwork' I've been presented with since C has been in school. Seriously, so much, and we can't keep it all. I've decided to start photographing ones that I really enjoy so at least we can have a digital copy.
I love that this is C's first sentence. I keep finding it everywhere. What a sweetie!
C drew Batman. Looks exactly like him.
This evening I let them make their own pizzas again. C wanted to eat hers right away, but I reminded her again that it needs to cook. As it was in the oven she asked if she could eat some pepperonis. I said sure. The next thing I know, she is placing pepperonis on top of graham crackers!! She thought it was delicious and gobbled it down, but not before offering me some. I politely declined! Kids are great!!
