Just when it gets overwhelming....

A few nights ago I was trying to bake some Amish Friendship bread.... the origin of which is unknown. Apparently some sweet Amish woman was trying to make friends with a citified person and gave her a small sample of dough. This sample has now been duplicated a million times over and plastic ziploc bags of yeasty, fermented gooey dough is being passed around by housewives like crack.

I digress.

According to the directions which came with the dough, I had to finally bake it. Which I could not do without at least one trip to the grocery store to buy pudding mix, which also happened to be on sale so there was none on the shelf. I finally located a store brand and brought it home. Did I also mention I was trying to get the house in order for the in-laws' visit? And it was late? And I was tired and becoming ever more frazzled as the moments passed?

In the midst of the madness "they" walked in.... Lily and Max. "They" wanted to help. "They" do not realize that by "helping" me, they add a good 15 minutes onto my already tight schedule. Being the firm parent that I am, I completely caved and let them help, by stirring. Elise was in the kitchen, truly helping, but I was scrambling to add ingrediants, find the proper pans and then find pans that would just have to work. My blood pressure was rising and I felt myself hitting that breaking point.

Then it happened.

I was crouched down, digging into a cabinet for the just-have-to-work pan when Max climbed onto my back. As I turned to snap at him to leave me alone so I could find the stupid pan, I realized that he wasn't really attacking me.

He was hugging me.

And when I turned around, he hugged me harder.

The bread turned out really sweet too.

Shrinking

My very small world has quickly been reduced due to the fact that my in-laws are coming tomorrow. It seems I've spent the last two weeks cleaning in order for the house to look presentable for their visit. Tonight, the kitchen still has dirty dishes in the sink, there are still toys strewn about the living room and family room, my desk is cluttered, there is still laundry to be done and one bathroom to clean. Did I mention they are coming tomorrow? It seems I haven't been out of the house in weeks, yet nothing looks done. How do kids do it? They're like small whirlwinds that can whip through a room and destroy its contents in minutes.

So, for tonight, I'll sit and enjoy the peace of a quiet house after everyone is in bed. And I'll worry about the rest of the cleaning tomorrow. Because if my in-laws were really all that worried about how my house looked, they'd hire a cleaning person for me.

I was telling Lily about a women's basketball game that a group of us are going to - several of my friends with daughters who are Lily's age. We'll be going to the season opener and riding the light rail into town. After several minutes of discussion, Lily brought up her most important thought - "Will there be snacks there?" Very typical Lily.

Crossing the Road

This morning I walked Lily to school, as usual. What was unusual was that she was in an excellent mood. Crossing the first street, she ran ahead of me, and waved to a car that was waiting for the crossing guards to finish. When we reached the corner, I asked her who she was waving to. She said, "I'm just waving to the cars." It was very cute. When we crossed the next street, she skipped happily ahead of me. When we reached the playground, one of the moms said that she had seen Lily skipping and it cheered her to see someone so happy. I'm just happy that her good mood was catching!

Oh and Max actually peed in the potty chair last night. I see a tiny spark of a light at the end of the potty training tunnel. Whew. Of course, now that I've written it down, he won't pee in the potty again until he's 12.

After school yesterday, I had 4 five year-olds in my house. The house I had just been cleaning ALL DAY because the in-laws are coming into town. I believe that I have suffered a series of small strokes that has shut off the portion of my brain to think of advance consequences.

All in all, they didn't destroy too much. Several of the LARGE toys from Lily's closet were out, but quickly put to rights. I did avoid a potential disaster by not allowing one of the boys to drag out ALL of Max's trains on his freshly cleaned bedroom floor. I caught them before the trains, tracks, and various accessories were scattered everywhere.

The biggest effect wasn't immediately apparent; it showed its ugly face this morning. Max was playing outside with Josie when she took "his"place on the driveway with her trike. He looked at her and said, "I'm not your friend any more". I immediately spoke up and made him apologize. But I knew where he heard it..... from 4 five year-olds several times during the previous afternoon.

Trains

Max wants a potty train. Apparently he thinks it is some kind of train made of toilets. I haven't the heart to tell him what it really is. Maybe I can bribe him with a train if he actually pees in the potty. Hmmmmm.