I can see now why my mother always used to dread vacations... because kids get bored really easily. Things are going well here though - I've got hordes of children here. Glennys is here all week, Lilli and Sarah are here on Tuesdays and Thursdays and if Mandi is still talking to me, then I'll have Bella on Wednesday and Friday. I've got Sammy's check-up on Friday as well. Marc has been home sick for the past two days - he's got a wicked head cold. Fortunately, I don't get sick very often at all, and neither do my kids. Jess and Sam have gone basically all winter without catching anything. Sam tends towards a yucky nose, and Jessie's eye has been a little drippy, but nothing that would have warranted a trip to the doctor's, or even staying home from school.
Everything is good at home these days - Mandi and I had a ginormous fight on Sunday, but it was one of those situations where I felt as though I came out victorious, in my own little head. She wanted me to meet her with her camera, and felt the best way to achieve said goal was to bully me into it. I refused to go, just because I wasn't going to reward her sucky behavior by doing what she wanted me to do. In the end, Marc ended up doing it, but that was okay with me. As long as she understood that I wasn't doing it. I don't know that she got the point at all, but my mother, who had called to tell me that she was siding with her, understood me and I felt so much better after yelling at her. It's hard to express without sounding like a self-congratulating bore, but I really do feel as though I've reached a point in my life where I value my own happiness and that of my husband and children more than anyone else's. And while it may seem to be sort of obvious - it's also incredibly liberating.
Four girls here today - and that's about three too many for my girl at the moment. She just got her little head stuck in a folding chair, and I had to go and ease her head out. She's holding Lilli entirely responsible, and doesn't want to play with any of them. Ever again. I know this will last about twenty more minutes, or about as long as Hi-5 is on. I settled her down with a bowl of salad, a sippie cup of water and the remotes :-). Marc and Sam are asleep - again.
