Today was one of those days . . . where the boys were bouncing off the walls and one another, where my patience and sanity were hanging in the balance.
The day started about 6 a.m., when our early riser woke up his twin brother, and the two of them proceeded to wake up their big brother. They were all downstairs and bouncing off the walls before 7 a.m. It was an earplug kind of morning just to stay in bed until 8 a.m.
The little guys had one last day of school before the holiday, and I had made some tentative plans with some friends (a classmate of Connor's and his mother) to come over to the house while the little guys were at school. I didn't tell Connor, because I didn't want him to be disappointed (and mopey) if plans changed. But it all worked out. The boys spent a few hours playing, and I spent a few hours enjoying some adult conversation for a change. It was a nice break for everyone, I think.
And then the afternoon came. The one after waking up at 6 a.m. Tired, cranky and unpleaseable little boys were still bouncing off the walls and testing limits. Let's just say that I haven't screamed that much in a long, long time.
Sawyer, poor thing, cannot stand to have mismatched toys in the toy box. His solution is to simply chuck the unmatched toys over his shoulder until our living room looks like a natural disaster area. I can't tell you how many times I picked up all those toys and put them back in the general area of the toy box before finally giving up and putting them all in the pantry. No toys left. I literally could not stand one more thing bouncing across the floor. And "No!" doesn't exactly cut it with him, not when it comes to his need for order. Especially not when I needed to be doing things like laundry and the dishes, and I couldn't stand over him every second of the day.
That was one.
Then comes my mischievous partners in crime. Connor and Xander are quite the little pair lately, with one leading and the other following, usually in a bad direction. Today's adventure was first jumping from the chair and ottoman to the couch, until it inevitably ends in a child missing said couch and screaming. After being reprimanded for that, it quickly turned into a game of let's see from how high up on the steps we can jump down to the floor. Six steps up was the breaking point. More screaming ensues.
That was two.
And then came the whining. The "Juice?" every five seconds from Xander, the opening of the refrigerator every 10 seconds by Sawyer (his equivalent of the same request) and the "I'm hungry!" from Connor, who choose not to eat his lunch and go back to playing with his little friend. They had recently had juice and snacks. It wasn't even four o'clock yet, several hours from our usual dinner time.
So we had a little table time. Strapped down and a novel toy (meaning one we don't get out of the pantry very often). It lasted about 30 minutes before it all broke down again. Playdough is apparently not that novel. So then I fed them dinner. And watched as they once again started jumping off the front steps.
And that was it.
Time outs ensued, followed pretty quickly by marches upstairs to brush their teeth and go to bed.
At 6:30 p.m.
Josh and I had dinner, in complete peace, for the first time in I don't know how long. Xander was asleep within minutes, Sawyer not so much. He was just bouncing off the walls in his room instead of the ones downstairs. Connor had reading privileges as long as he stayed in his room and was quiet.
And then I did something I rarely do. I took a time out, just for me. I decided to catch a late movie, all by myself. New Moon was calling. I put on my "nice" clothes, meaning my favorite jeans and sweater and boots, and took myself to the movies. Two blissful hours of quiet. Time to escape and recharge. To get ready for the next couple of days that include no school, holidays that are not always easy or fun with our three boys, and a lot of traveling.
Now, let's hope I can make it through one more day at home with three restless boys and no school!