The Long Winter Break

The kids are now on winter break.  I have actually been dreading this for a month.  Two weeks without school to break up the day.  Two weeks of having each other for playmates around the clock.  Two weeks of erratic schedules, relatives, visitors, and sugar.  I love Christmas, but I do not love being a mama on Christmas break.

Yesterday was a long day.  I was at my wits' end by 3 pm.  The floor was made slick by puddles composed of melty children.  So many tears.  So many fights. The upside was that Eileen was fast asleep before 7 pm.

In anticipation of grumpy children, I booked almost daily playdates to help break up the day and entertain the kids.  I honestly prefer hosting since Robin likes to take a long nap.  Yesterday he fell asleep on me in a store at 10:30 am and then slept for another almost 4 hours.

Today was better.  We all woke with a resolve to have a better day. The kids played nicely in the morning while I cleaned upstairs.  They wore costumes, played all sorts of games, drew pictures, and danced to Christmas music.  They did not fight.

A new favorite spot in our house is the bottom shelf of the toy cabinet. The kids like to take a flashlight in with them and hide out there.

Our friends, Katie, Rylan, and Declan came to play.  Katie teaches math at my kids' school.  She and I are kindred spirits.  Luckily, her boys are the same age as mine.  She and I drank coffee while the kids ran themselves ragged.  It was great.  While Robin napped, the big kids and I rested on couches, snuggled up with books.  Eileen and Linus were then inspired to earn their screen time.  It was all so weirdly peaceful.  Once Robin was awake, they all continued to play nicely together, building forts and pretending they were a family of "spinasauruses."

The kids like to wear coordinated jammies.  It's cute.  Linus tends to dictate what the theme for their evening attire is.  Tonight it was cowboy.  I love that although he is growing up, Linus is still a little boy at heart.

Today was so nice.  I just don't even know what to think.  Perhaps the best part of the whole day was when I served broccoli and meatloaf for dinner and not a single person complained and everyone tried everything.  Maybe we've all been swept into a parallel universe?  Given how today went, I am hopeful that tomorrow's playdate renders equally pleasant results.  Otherwise, 4 days down. Many more days to go.