Feb 7, 2013

And so it goes.

After sneaking in an afternoon nap I woke up with determination to get something done, and have a great time with the kids.  I let Sam and Mary help me with dinner.  Them sitting on the counter together we made Sausage Goulash healthily packed with as many vegtables as I could stuff in it..  Just as we were finishing Kate arrived home from school.  She helped too.  We didn't stop there, next we made a Dulce de Leche Cake.  One of my favorites.  I just happened to have all the ingredients from the dinner party we were suppose to have on Monday, but had to cancel because the kids were all sick.  The kids kept asking what it was for. "Whose is coming over?" "Is this cake for Cola's birthday?"  "Is grandma coming for dinner?"  They couldn't understand why we might make a cake just for us.  I guess it is a bit unusual for us.  Then we colored and crafted all together.  Then listened to music cuddled up on the couch while M danced it up for us.  And set the table.  I had visions of a pleasant evening.  One with more delightful happy times together like the afternoon had brought, and of course happy children feeling special eating cake before bed time. I even put the cake on a festive plate.

Dinner has been a headache lately.  Not only because I haven't felt well and don't want to make it, but because the kids aren't feeling great and seem to complain about what ever I have made.
They ate dinner tonight.  Mostly.  Though it seems whether I serve them soup out of a can or spend an hour making home made stuffed peppers, nobody is happy about what there is to eat.
After dinner Jake went to lay down  still recovering from the flu.  Usually he does the dishes and some how he get the kids to happily help him clear the table and do the dishes.  Instead I did the dishes, and cleared the table. surrounded by three kids who were not only not helping, but were making giant messes on top of the already everywhere dinner. Why are they so happy to help him with whatever he might ask, but anything I ask results in a ten minute tantrum.  Then they started complaining they were hungry (yes dinner was five minutes ago)  because they wanted cake.  That is all I heard for the next two hours.  "When are we eating the cake?" "Can we have the cake now?" And all my hard work and a wonderful family evening was dead and gone. The parent I like being and had been all afternoon disappeared into an ordering, yelling, threatening there would be no cake ever- parent.  And I started having contractions.  It is not the first time this pregnancy.  I've had one or two here and there.  Braxton Hicks I guess is what people call them.  But they are painful any way.  They seem to come when I do too much, walk to far, or pick up kids all day with out time to sit down.  Finally they were in their pj's and allowed to have cake.
I'm really mad about the cake.  It may be part of the reason that my kids were whinny mess making monsters all evening.  It certainly added to my  un met expectations of an evening with happy kids.
But I'm also really glad there is cake.  Because the kids each had  a piece, leaving more than half a cake on the counter.  And they are going to bed in a few minutes.  And I will be alone in my living room doing laundry.  And I'm going to eat some more cake.
If anyone in the nieghborhood and wants to complain about how their kids never listen, while sorting laundry- I've got 1/4 a cake with their name on it.