Wednesday, December 01, 2010

it's the most wonderful time of the year... and my kids went to bed weeping

It was not an auspicious day for trimming the ol' Christmas tree. Had I consulted the I Ching or the Farmer's Almanac or even taken the time for a gut check I would have known to stop before we all say things we will regret in the morning.   Super Q was on day 3 (possibly 4) of strep throat--not quite 24 hours on the antibiotics but feeling well enough to require my undivided attention all day.  I obliged--we ran a few errands and worked on some Christmas projects (including a tree skirt that turned out way more Cat-in-the-Hat than planned).  Everything was humming along until Flash came home and the bickering and tattling commenced.  It waned long enough to put ornaments on the tree and then, yep, picked right back up in time for milk and cookies in the kitchen.  Somebody left right in the middle of the treats and stomped upstairs like a 4 year old.  That same somebody also said "freaking" upward of 3 times before the night was over.  Boys were in bed at 8:30 amid a torrent of tears.  Half of me feels completely justified (the bickering!  it's killing me!).  Half of me wants to go patch things up.  Guess I'm headed upstairs for hugs and kisses.

5 comments:

Patty O. said...

Oh, I feel your pain! I just wrote a post of my own about kids and the emotional carnage I left in my wake today. I had strep this week, too, so I blame that, lame excuse though it is.

Tiffany said...

You know, if not for my little boy's bombastic holiday enthusiasm I might opt out on the whole season. We attempted a happy family night of tree decorating a few days ago. Yeah, well...happy did not exist in the scenario. My dh and I had a pretty big fight about something unrelated and the rest of the night pretty much went downhill from there. For a few days after that I'd look at the tree with disdain because it reminded me of that miserable night. Things just don't usually go as planned...why do I expect them too? I'm sorry...I hope the rest of the holiday season is happier! (And btw, someone in my house says "freakin" a little too often, too, and tends to have a few more tantrums than necessary. I won't mention any names).

Denise said...

Sounds like most of my days lately...hence the 3 am comment.

Meredith said...

I am glad to hear that it isn't just my boys that are bickering and teasing each other ALL DAY LONG! It is driving me crazy as well and I am worried that we will all spend the Christmas holidays in our rooms. The idea of a self imposed time out for me does seem kind of appealing. :)

pianogal said...

Ooo, I had a morning like that today. Boys were definitely sent off to school without warm fuzzy feelings. Might have to take high-calorie, fat-saturated fast food to them for lunch today. Good for you for going back for hugs and kisses.