Bounce

Today is one of those days when every single member of my family has been bouncing on my nerves. All. Day. Long.

Probably 90% of the problem is mine. Due to the jitters of yesterday, I couldn't settle down to sleep until midnight or so. Lack of sleep is always a factor in bad moods (moms and kids alike).

I had heard that WordGirl was gonna be at the local museum, so I at first I thought N and I could go and have some girl time today, but then I thought it might be a fun family time since G took a morning nap. I asked D if he wanted to go for it to be a family affair, or if he wanted to stay home with G. He said go.

I did the normal badgering of the daughter to get dressed so we could go. We got in the car. Happy family fun time, here we come!
Wrong.

We hadn't been on the road 5 minutes before D complained that he had a headache. I asked him if he wanted to stay home (although if he did I was gonna be pissed because he had said he would go). He pointed to the road. By the time we got on the expressway 2 minutes after that, he complained about his stomach hurting. I told him, if you want to go home he better speak right this second so I could take him home. We proceeded onto the museum.

We got to the museum and bought tickets to the children's art center. (I figured if N had enough fun seeing WordGirl and doing the free activities we could just save these tickets for another day). When we saw WordGirl, N acted all "attitudish," rolling her eyes, like she didn't want to be there, but after a moment she agreed to see WordGirl. G didn't want to stay in the stroller so D let him push the umbrella stroller around.

N saw WordGirl but didn't want to do any of the free activities. I asked her if she wanted to go to the children's art center. She took of in that direction.

Once we turned in our tickets, and she saw how many kids were there, she pouted and basically cried nonstop for 20 minutes until we left. Goddamit! I hate to spend money on something and then have to leave without getting my money's worth.

So I was initially irked by D in the car which subsided. Then I became highly aggravated at N while at the children's art center...like the kind of aggravation where you just want to beat your child with the nearest and biggest stick you can find. Bounce, bounce.

When we got home, things settled down a bit.

But then I tried making Christmas cards with N. I should have just given her 3 cards and said, "do whatever you want," but I attempted to make them a collaboration of the two of us. Clearly I smoked some dope today because I forgot that 4-year-olds don't collaborate. They boss others around. And I wasn't in the mood to be bossed around.

Bounce.

Then G wanted to take a late nap, which I allowed because otherwise he would have been ready for bed at 5:15, and likewise up for the day at 5:15 tomorrow. But he was a bear when we woke him and screamed through most of dinner. And N wouldn't eat her supper but kept insisting on dessert.

This here nerve is frayed almost beyond repair, I think. I am really, really hoping both the kids go down easily so D and I can watch Sweeney Todd. I need some vegetative time.