I think I was supposed to post this last week…
I took the kids to the zoo and decided I will never purchase Maile another toy for the rest of my life. Every time we go somewhere she carries on and on about how she wants something and is no longer thankful for what I’m taking her to do. It’s obnoxious.
Last weekend I took all of her stuffed toys away and had the poor people in Africa talk with her. I thought she was listening. She looked remorseful when I talked about how the African children only had sticks and rocks to play with. She looked thoughtful when I talked to her about how she doesn’t get to have everything she wants just because she wants it.
Unfortunately my words were not long lasting. As soon as we got to the zoo she started whining about how she wanted a stuffed wolf. I said no and held my ground, but Maile made it clear she was not happy by whining about how hot and tired she was and how she really wanted “da wolf”.
I hate it when the kids make me regret taking them out of the house. I try to plan fun stuff and clean them up and make them cute and then they go and ruin the day by forgetting about the children in Africa.
When we got home Pat packed the kids up for a trip to his sisters cabin and I had the house. to. myself. for 24 hours. I’m still smiling just thinking about it. I went shopping. I ate Chipotle. I watched tv while clicking away on two laptops…it was heavenly. And then my little sister called and I spent the rest of the evening playing Pictionary at her house with the fam.
It’s amazing how time changes when you don’t have kids to take care of. Remember in college when you didn’t even start getting ready to go out until 8 or 9pm? How you’d be watching Survivor in your sweats and glance at the clock and decide to go ahead and find an outfit? Leaving the house at 8 or 9pm now is an absurdity. What would the point of that be?
When I picked up my dinner it was nearly 7 o clock…but still light and bright out. Cars going every which way. Is this what things are like when I’m putting my kids to bed every night?? All these people just carry on as if they have hours upon hours left in the day?
So when Baby called all late and such I decided to be wild and crazy and head over there even though it was getting close to EIGHT!!! I’m crazy. Don’t judge me.
When Pat came home my kids looked burned and tired and dirty and sick.
Kainoa immediately went screaming into the bath.
Maile came home sick (after a long ride on a boat),
and collapsed on a bed before throwing up.
Laina managed to keep herself awake long enough to watch fireworks at her cousin’s house. The happiest of the bunch.
I think they felt like I was taking it too easy and needed to jumpstart me into high gear. We don’t want mom getting too comfortable in this “ooh I can do whatever I want whenever I want” mode. That would be dangerous.
Regardless. It’s good to have them home. I’ll take sick and grumpy children over a quiet dinner alone with my tv and computer any night.
Ok that was a blatant lie.
But still.