When Even Waffles Won’t Work

September 29, 2008

Unbelievable you say! Well tonight (actually the whole day) was one of those nights. Obviously with the bad news about the bank and all, the day was terrible to begin with. The news broke early too – so it has been the whole day. There were so many things wrong with today…

First, Lily had night terrors last night and Miles ate every 2.5 hours all night so I was absolutely NOT well rested.

Second, our HVAC is still not there due to the previous flooding of the basement and our need for VERY expensive repairs and today it got over 80. Well after a week of no AC today it finally hit. The house was, and is, HOT!

Third, Katie (my sister) has class tonight, as she does 3 nights a week, and I have all 4 kids. My two and her two. That is 4 kids under the age of 4.

Fourth, we seem to have cockroaches galore since the work in the basement started and I am not a fan. Even if people here in the Carolinas call them Palmetto Bugs to be cute, they are abhorrent nasty things that make me totally grossed out.

Fifth, Wachovia, our bank and the bank that employs my husband, was bought by Master of the Banking Universe, Citigroup. Enough said.

So with those 5 major things wrong, I thought I would make life easier on myself by giving the kids waffles for dinner. I could not cook and risk creating more heat in the house and I figured that something sweet for dinner would be my way into an easy night. BOY WAS I WRONG!!!

The kids were terrible. They screamed at me that they were not hungry at dinner time so we went on a walk as I did not want to push the very sensitive dinner issue. The walk started out okay until all of the ones that can walk decided to disobey. A neighbor had to walk us home. When we got home there was a trash bag left in the lawn by the HVAC people. This not only was a big hit that they fought over even while I was trying to scream that they absolutely could not play with a trash bag, but the reason it was so fun was because when opened it they were trying to put it on top of each other and kill themselves. While for a moment I thought hmmm…it would be quieter, I do not want any of them to suffocate so I had to forcibly remove the trash bag from their grasp. Again, this was with my neighbors help. By this point, Baby Miles was screaming. He, unlike the others, is always hungry and eats what I feed him. At this point I think please God, it must be 7 o’clock and nearing bedtime once we eat. NOPE! It was just barely 6.30. I thought I could die right there.

We finally get inside and the kids say they are hungry. Hallelujah! Now I will be the greatest gal in the world and serve them waffles which they will gobble up with gratitude. Miles will have applesauce, we will read books and go to bed.

HA!

The waffles did not have enough syrup and because I was tired, I succumbed and put more syrup on the plates. Sam and Lily were eating their waffles. Sophia was only licking up the syrup by running her hands through it and then sucking it off her fingers. She said she was like Miles, who uses his fingers to put the food back in his mouth that has come out due to his tongue reflex, which he has not quite perfected. It was nasty. She would not touch the waffles…only the syrup.

When Sam and Lily were done with their waffles, the egregious amount of syrup I provided allowed them to do the same. While they were all laughing hysterically, I felt like crying. It was a mess and it had not worked. Sophia had only eaten sugar and was growing more awake by the moment. Yes, it was a stupid and un-thought out choice for dinner. And it backfired. Eventually they were climbing on the table with the syrup and I had lost all control of the situation. They were still laughing.

Then the phone rang. While I would not normally answer the phone during this sort of commotion, it was my friend who had just had a a baby girl and I wanted to say hi and then call him back. The kids were covered with syrup and so I asked them to get wipees, something they love to do, and wipe off their hands. They ran off gleefully and I took a moment to talk to Jeff. Then I heard the water running. They had all decided to wash their hands. All of them, together in the bathroom, perched on the stool, throwing water and soap everywhere, including in their eyes. I had to hang up because the situation was precarious. I had to get the water and soap off the kids and out of their eyes while getting all three of them out of the bathroom without any going back in and make sure that door was good and shut and that the syrup was actually off their hands. I did not even worry about the water all over the bathroom. That will wait.

After this it was still not bedtime but it did not matter because it took me 30 minutes to get them all up the stairs without any of them coming back down and then another 3 or 4 trips up the stairs to break up fights between the twins and sing the Barney song to Sophia. Miles was screaming this whole time.

So finally they are asleep. I finally gave Miles the boob and he is asleep for the moment. And now I will try to eat some cheese and crackers and watch Desperate Housewives before I hit the hay. If Miles does not wake up first and want some food.

So no, waffles did not work. Nothing did. It was just one of those days.