This morning's status read as follows:
Sigh.
Thankfully, even Matthew cannot hold a grudge for long and came down bearing gifts for his dad: a bow and arrow, so they could play "Robin Hood and his Minions."
Heh. Minions.
In any case, I managed to tackle 328 loads of laundry before the natives got restless again, so we feasted on a brunch of bacon and eggs before Mark snagged the couch to "rest his eyes":
Desperate to keep the Reds occupied while I sorted and folded the above-mentioned 328 loads of laundry, I threw on some Norah Jones, loaded up the coffee-maker with fresh grounds and dug out some cheap paint-by-numbers kits I'd been hoarding. That kept them busy for, oh, 8 minutes or so:
Alas. Before the paint had even dried the begging started:
"Mummy, can we ride bikes?"
"Just give me a few minutes here, Matthew. You can't ride out front without a grown-up to supervise, so you'll have to wait, ok?"
5 seconds passed
"Mummy, can we ride bikes noooooww?"
"In just a minute, Matthew, please."
17 seconds passed.
"MummyyUH! It's been 12 minutes already!"
Sigh.
It was time to pull out my secret weapon:
Is there anything more beautiful than the sight and sound of children laughing? I think not. No chorus of angels has ever sounded or looked so divine (except perhaps for Luke, who somehow manages to look devilish even when he's being cute)
(Nor had my coffee-flavoured Baileys tasted so heavenly, but I digress...)
We did make it outside, I'm happy to report. We played baseball and skateboarded and rode bikes up and down the street. Well, the Reds did. I sat on the porch with my coffee, soaking up the sunshine and the moment and "supervising."
After supper, Mark took bath duty, which is better than the gift of Blurp, around here. For me, it was gift of time and blessed quiet but for the Reds, it was the gift of play. I am a no-nonsense bather - get in, get washed, get out. Mark, on the other hand, filled the tub to the brim, tossed ALL of their tub toys in AND let them use the bath crayons...
For the record? That sh*t is NOT entirely washable. Mark doesn't know that though and they had so much fun, I don't have the heart to tell him. Maybe tomorrow...for now, this:
Turned out to be a pretty good "Good Friday" after all!
And you?
How do you celebrate holy days?
How do you bribe help your children to be especially good?
What a day, brilliantly captured. We went to the Y as a family and swam. It's been a while since I swam in a pool with my kids (my husband has taken them more recently) - and it confirmed my decision to pull them out of swimming lessons 12 months ago. They are now more confident and are fish-like... ironically, after being OUT of lessons. Which means...it's almost time to put them back in lessons!
ReplyDeleteHappy Easter, my friend!
Oooh, family swim - that's something we've never done. Funny, isn't it, how much kids thrive when we're not trying so hard to MAKE them thrive?
ReplyDeleteHappy Easter, my friend. Hope the weather is fair out there and that you get some rest and relaxation in, in between it all!
love the bathtub crayons...you are right, they aren't entirely washable! Devilish things.
ReplyDeleteI've spent the entire week dealing with sick kiddo's. First the oldest, now the next two oldest. Hope littlest stays well!
Happy Easter!