Hello everyone! So when last I left you, I was about to embark on the journey that is five children. ALL girls no less. And look here I am on the other side! I survived! In fact, in some ways it was easier than I thought it would be and in other ways...well you people with 4 or more kids are a wee bit on the crazy side, is all I'm saying.
My sister and her family came in the Thursday before Thanksgiving. She and her husband left on Friday morning to head to Arizona for the weekend, as I mentioned, to support their friend competing in the Ironman there. (Also a crazy person.) Friday went pretty smoothly. The girls all played well together and had fun. I was breezing through this five kid thing on my own. In fact so much so I thought, huh, maybe I could have another one. I took care of them all day-FIVE OF THEM, cleaned the house, made dinner and STILL had energy for sex that night. Oh sorry, that last part might have been too much information. Then Saturday happened. The good news was Andy was home to help. The bad news, everyone of my girls had a MAJOR breakdown/temper tantrum between Saturday-Sunday.
It started with Lana. Who's surprised? Then you haven't been reading this blog very long. Thursday night she came down with a fever and threw up in the middle of the night. Just what I needed as I was about to take care of two extra kids. She continued the fever on Friday and stayed home from school, but seemed better by the end of the day. I was so paranoid that this was going to get to everyone, but it didn't really. My stomach was a little funky for a couple days, but nothing I couldn't handle. I am constantly willing myself not to get sick, when I start to feel it. I do NOT have time for that crap.
Then on Saturday she woke up super cranky. Maybe it was leftover sickness, but still, a cranky Lana is fun for no one. Trust me. In the morning, we went to a little get together for kids at the adult school I take her and Georgia to. They had a drum band playing and an art project for the kids to do. It was there that Lana started to lose it. She decided she was hot, even though it was in the 60's. She kept complaining about being hot, so I finally just let her take off her long sleeve shirt and walk around in her tank top undershirt. I know she had to be cold, but that kid is so damn stubborn and refused to admit it. So there she was in a tank top in the 60 degree weather. Needless to say, we were getting "you're a bad parent" looks from the other moms. Whatever, you deal with her "I'MMM HOOOOTTT!!!" whine then.
When we got in the car to go home she started screaming and crying about her seat belt and she never stopped. As soon as we walked in the door I marched her to time out, where she proceeded to throw whatever object she could find at the bathroom door. Warning to Lana's future boyfriends: Duck. She's a thrower. It was one of her bigger flip outs in a while and it took a good half hour to get her back to normal.
Georgia wasn't in much of a mood for the competition of someone her age and younger than her. Vivian needed the most attention and I had to give it to her. Lana took a serious liking to Vivian and was glued to her side most of the weekend. This sorta sent Georgia into a tailspin, since she is the baby in the house and Lana's usual partner in crime. It came to head when we took all of them out to dinner at Outback. I don't know why we are that crazy, we just are. It seemed easier than cooking and cleaning at the time. Georgia behaved terribly at dinner. She whined and wouldn't eat. Honestly, she is hardly like that. Usually she gets in trouble for being to crazy and goofy when we go out. She only got worse once we got home. Hence the temper tantrum she threw followed by her own time-out, which she rarely gets.
Then we had Sonya. Who, I swear is way to old to be throwing the three year old type temper tantrum, yet every once in a while she does. Bright and early Sunday morning is when she decided to throw down. I'm still not even sure what it was she was so upset about. Something along the lines of wanting Lucy and Vivian in her bed, but not her sisters, but Lana and Georgia wanted to be with everyone, as did Lucy and Viv. I tried to smooth it out and let them all go watch TV in the living room, but Sonya was NOT okay with that. Andy came in and told Sonya to knock it off and serious crying and screaming ensued. Well, he did tell her she was now confined to her room the whole day. Why is it that the husbands go so far in the other direction? It was 6:30 in the morning and now she was not only upset because she hadn't gotten what she wanted, but now she thought she couldn't leave her room the entire day, even to pee.
Eventually, she got herself under control and was allowed to leave her room. It just took a little while. At 6:30 in the morning. Yay.
And in all of this, my sister's girls were perfect. There was really no whining and very little crying. Vivian was a bit more upset on Sunday, but I think she was also not feeling well. She decided I was her mom the entire weekend, because she kept calling for me, "Moooom!!" It took me a bit to figure out she was talking to me. I tried to tell her I was Auntie Kristi, but gave up by Saturday. It wasn't until Megan came back that she realized I was "Kisti". So the whole time I'm dealing with my demon children, I'm tying to figure out what the hell my sister is doing so right making her girls are so well behaved. Where did I go wrong? What kind of secret did she have? Was it something she put in their cereal-and where can I get some?
On Monday we picked Megan and Matt up from the airport and their girls were so excited to see them. By the end of the evening, I realized that Megan didn't have a special secret. Her girls did what most kids do. They held their shit together while Mom and Dad were gone. Lucy became more whiny than she had been all weekend and even ended up with her own temper tantrum and to time out. Vivian was pretty much the same, but may have let loose a bit more with them around. That temper tantrum that Lucy threw that night, made me feel so much better about my parenting skills. I wasn't sucky at it. I know my girls would have behaved just as her girls did if the situation was reversed. They are always good at someone else's house. Everytime they have a babysitter we always hear how great they went to bed. (With the exception of Melinda, who they know well and feel they don't have to hold their shit together in front of) When I put them to bed it's a good 45 minute excursion.
So, turns out I made it through four days with five kids and I did a bang up job. It was A LOT of work though. I didn't think I could spend anymore time in the kitchen than I do now, but guess what! I did. We had a fun Thanksgiving week when my sister and brother-in-law came back, despite our heater unit dying and our cat being on her last legs, but those are stories for other posts. I do know for sure for sure now that I am all good with my three girls. All done now. Vasectomy, here we come! That was too much information again, wasn't it?
My sister and her family came in the Thursday before Thanksgiving. She and her husband left on Friday morning to head to Arizona for the weekend, as I mentioned, to support their friend competing in the Ironman there. (Also a crazy person.) Friday went pretty smoothly. The girls all played well together and had fun. I was breezing through this five kid thing on my own. In fact so much so I thought, huh, maybe I could have another one. I took care of them all day-FIVE OF THEM, cleaned the house, made dinner and STILL had energy for sex that night. Oh sorry, that last part might have been too much information. Then Saturday happened. The good news was Andy was home to help. The bad news, everyone of my girls had a MAJOR breakdown/temper tantrum between Saturday-Sunday.
It started with Lana. Who's surprised? Then you haven't been reading this blog very long. Thursday night she came down with a fever and threw up in the middle of the night. Just what I needed as I was about to take care of two extra kids. She continued the fever on Friday and stayed home from school, but seemed better by the end of the day. I was so paranoid that this was going to get to everyone, but it didn't really. My stomach was a little funky for a couple days, but nothing I couldn't handle. I am constantly willing myself not to get sick, when I start to feel it. I do NOT have time for that crap.
Then on Saturday she woke up super cranky. Maybe it was leftover sickness, but still, a cranky Lana is fun for no one. Trust me. In the morning, we went to a little get together for kids at the adult school I take her and Georgia to. They had a drum band playing and an art project for the kids to do. It was there that Lana started to lose it. She decided she was hot, even though it was in the 60's. She kept complaining about being hot, so I finally just let her take off her long sleeve shirt and walk around in her tank top undershirt. I know she had to be cold, but that kid is so damn stubborn and refused to admit it. So there she was in a tank top in the 60 degree weather. Needless to say, we were getting "you're a bad parent" looks from the other moms. Whatever, you deal with her "I'MMM HOOOOTTT!!!" whine then.
When we got in the car to go home she started screaming and crying about her seat belt and she never stopped. As soon as we walked in the door I marched her to time out, where she proceeded to throw whatever object she could find at the bathroom door. Warning to Lana's future boyfriends: Duck. She's a thrower. It was one of her bigger flip outs in a while and it took a good half hour to get her back to normal.
Georgia wasn't in much of a mood for the competition of someone her age and younger than her. Vivian needed the most attention and I had to give it to her. Lana took a serious liking to Vivian and was glued to her side most of the weekend. This sorta sent Georgia into a tailspin, since she is the baby in the house and Lana's usual partner in crime. It came to head when we took all of them out to dinner at Outback. I don't know why we are that crazy, we just are. It seemed easier than cooking and cleaning at the time. Georgia behaved terribly at dinner. She whined and wouldn't eat. Honestly, she is hardly like that. Usually she gets in trouble for being to crazy and goofy when we go out. She only got worse once we got home. Hence the temper tantrum she threw followed by her own time-out, which she rarely gets.
Then we had Sonya. Who, I swear is way to old to be throwing the three year old type temper tantrum, yet every once in a while she does. Bright and early Sunday morning is when she decided to throw down. I'm still not even sure what it was she was so upset about. Something along the lines of wanting Lucy and Vivian in her bed, but not her sisters, but Lana and Georgia wanted to be with everyone, as did Lucy and Viv. I tried to smooth it out and let them all go watch TV in the living room, but Sonya was NOT okay with that. Andy came in and told Sonya to knock it off and serious crying and screaming ensued. Well, he did tell her she was now confined to her room the whole day. Why is it that the husbands go so far in the other direction? It was 6:30 in the morning and now she was not only upset because she hadn't gotten what she wanted, but now she thought she couldn't leave her room the entire day, even to pee.
Eventually, she got herself under control and was allowed to leave her room. It just took a little while. At 6:30 in the morning. Yay.
And in all of this, my sister's girls were perfect. There was really no whining and very little crying. Vivian was a bit more upset on Sunday, but I think she was also not feeling well. She decided I was her mom the entire weekend, because she kept calling for me, "Moooom!!" It took me a bit to figure out she was talking to me. I tried to tell her I was Auntie Kristi, but gave up by Saturday. It wasn't until Megan came back that she realized I was "Kisti". So the whole time I'm dealing with my demon children, I'm tying to figure out what the hell my sister is doing so right making her girls are so well behaved. Where did I go wrong? What kind of secret did she have? Was it something she put in their cereal-and where can I get some?
On Monday we picked Megan and Matt up from the airport and their girls were so excited to see them. By the end of the evening, I realized that Megan didn't have a special secret. Her girls did what most kids do. They held their shit together while Mom and Dad were gone. Lucy became more whiny than she had been all weekend and even ended up with her own temper tantrum and to time out. Vivian was pretty much the same, but may have let loose a bit more with them around. That temper tantrum that Lucy threw that night, made me feel so much better about my parenting skills. I wasn't sucky at it. I know my girls would have behaved just as her girls did if the situation was reversed. They are always good at someone else's house. Everytime they have a babysitter we always hear how great they went to bed. (With the exception of Melinda, who they know well and feel they don't have to hold their shit together in front of) When I put them to bed it's a good 45 minute excursion.
So, turns out I made it through four days with five kids and I did a bang up job. It was A LOT of work though. I didn't think I could spend anymore time in the kitchen than I do now, but guess what! I did. We had a fun Thanksgiving week when my sister and brother-in-law came back, despite our heater unit dying and our cat being on her last legs, but those are stories for other posts. I do know for sure for sure now that I am all good with my three girls. All done now. Vasectomy, here we come! That was too much information again, wasn't it?
love ya ;) You're the bestest!!!
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