The crock goes flying!!!

Yesterday was the second day of school for the kids. All seems to be going great for them so far...at school. After school, the kids go to daycare for a few hours until I get off of work to pick them up and take them home. I think that between the long day of school and the playing hard with their friends at daycare, the two of them are rather tired by the time they get home, as witnessed by last nights happenings.

We walked into the house with all of our arms loaded with school and work stuff and dropped it all on the nearest surface (which is only logical, as putting things away would require way too much energy and time). Immediately, the chiming "Can I go to my friends?" music started. Most evenings, I have the kids put on their watches and give them about an hour to play with their friends before dinner is ready, but since it was only the second day of school, I needed to change the routine up a bit. I told them to bring me everything from their backpacks as I stood at the counter trying to sort through the day's mail. Lo and behold, Bubba had homework. A word search with his spelling words.

I promptly sat him down at the kitchen table with a pen and his paper and told him to get at it so he could be done by dinner. He promptly looked at the paper, turned on the spout of waterworks and began with the "I can't" and the "it's too hard" followed quickly by banging his head on the table repeatedly. I responded with a 15 minute time-out in his room to calm him down so that we could proceed in a more orderly fashion.

When the 15 minutes of torture calming down was over, we sat back at the table and I showed him a trick on how to find the words using his finger as a guide.

Tink. Tink. Tink. Tink, tink, tink. Tink.

Death rays shot out of Bubba's eyes at his sister who was playing with the marbles that unexplicably live on our dining room table. I leaned forward to save her life interrupt the homework intrusion and ask her to take the marbles to the living room to give Bubba some quiet while he concentrated on his homework...and to not use my decorative plate as a landing strip for the marbles. She obliged and Bubba and I got back to the homework page.

Tink. Tink. Tink, tink, tink. Tink, tink.

"I can't concentrate with all that banging!" Bubba said holding his ears as if someone were scratching their claws down a chalkboard.

"Okay, bud, I'll make her stop. You keep working."

I calmly walked into the living room and asked my dear daughter to take the marbles into her room...and to STOP DROPPING MARBLES ON MY PLATE!...because her brother was trying to work.

Whining and banging commenced from the dining room. "I don't wanna do this!"

Teensy whined her way into her room, as I went to check on Bubba.

"Bubba, you have to do your homework. Get working on it while I start dinner. See you have already found three!"

"It's too hot in my room!!!"

I moved the fan to the hallway, so that it pulled the air conditioned coolness into her room.

"That won't work!"

"It will too work. Just play with your marbles and STOP WHINING!!!"

"This is too hard! I can't find anymore!"

I started pulling out pots and pans to start dinner doing my deep breathing and trying to block out the children's whiny voices.

"I need a bowl!"

"For what?"

"My marbles."

I reached into the cupboard and grabbed a bowl.

"Not that one! A big one!"

"I can't find any more words!" Bang, bang.

"You can too. And you can't have a bigger bowl, this one will work just fine!"

"I need a big one to swish them around!"

"You can swish them in this one."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Bang, bang. Kick, kick.

Bowls went flying across the room, bounced off Teensy's head and hit the floor.

"GO PLAY...AND YOU DO YOUR HOMEWORK!!!"

I felt better so I made dinner.

Okay, so it was only one bowl and not even a bowl really. It was a flimsy Country Crock butter container and a little one at that. And I just kinda flung it in that direction meaning for her to catch it which she did, kinda. With the side of her head. And her tears were only because she was not getting her own way and not because she was actually hurt. She proceded to walkinto her bedroom and then come back out and drop the container on the floor with a resounding "I found something better!" as she stomped back to her room.

Bubba went back to his homework and triumphed over the hidden words with a smile on his face...at least for a little while.

Mommy needed a time-out...and it's only the second day of school! How am I going to make it through the next 9 months???

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I totally forgot that yesterday was List Making Tuesday! I am so sorry. I will do another entry this afternoon!!!