The Witching Hours

The hours between 5 pm and 7 pm are definitely the time of day when I start to rethink this whole mommy thing . . . it's the part of most days that I say "Having 4 kids is hard!" This was more than true today as Aaron didn't get home at his usual 6:00 but instead at 7:40. It's only an hour and half more but that time was more draining than my entire day. The older kids normally are up around 5 and if they sleep they are grumpy when they wake up (who do they get that from????) Reese is usually up by 4 as she usually lays down earlier. Today Addison and Caden did not nap at all so at 4 I let them come downstairs. The kids tend to be extremely demanding at this time of day: they want snacks, they want desert, they want lunch (they aren't quite clear on the meal order yet), they want to go to the park, they want to play with Sammy (who isn't home), they want to go outside, they want to watch a movie, they want to play a computer game, they want to do a project, they want to go to Walmart, they want McDonald's. . . if you are exhausted at reading that list just think about me here listening and doing some of these things all the while the baby is fussing here and there . . . wanting to eat, be held, changed, played with. I finally gave in to Addison's request of an egg on a BIG plate and then I took them to the park. I swear as soon as we touched the playground equipment it started to sprinkle. We stayed for a while anyway -- they need washed off and there was no way we were up for baths tonight. Then Reese wanted her paci and I forgot it so we had to leave. The whining, demanding and fussing continued so I finally resorted to putting in a Baby Einstein DVD. I know if you are a parent of more than one child, you know about Baby Einstein. It's mesmerizing to them all 6 months or 3 years, just look:

First time I think I've ever gotten them all in a photo without someone crying. Notice the naked kid in the back, he's taken his clothes off more times today than I can count . . . he's going to be a nudist -- I just know it!

Side Note: here's the reason why Slip and Slides are made for kids and not for adults.
Aaron says a pinecone did this to his arm while he played on the slip and slide on Saturday. Now that's a mean pinecone!