So far, not good. I decided to take some vacation time this week so that we’d all enjoy spring break more than winter break, when I spent all day every day trying to work around the monsters. I planned a fun local activity for each day this week, with the idea that after a fun (and tiring) day, I would have the late afternoon and evening to keep up on email and phone calls.
I made my first mistakes very early on in the day…1) I allowed them to have a vote on the planned activity, and 2) I had a couple of chores on the agenda before the planned activity, with expectations that when we completed the chores, we’d have our activity as a reward. I guess there was also a mistake #3…I expected this to work with Norah home from day care. She is in a pretty bad phase right now – extremely adorable and extremely naughty – a bad combo.
So the plan for today was that we’d pack a picnic and go watch the marathon for a while. My trainer from the Y was pushing a guy in a wheelchair for 10 miles and I wanted to support her, plus it’s fun to watch the runners…well, for me anyway. The pre-fun task was to fill a box of crap from the playroom that could go to the school yard sale. The playroom is not currently passable. It is SO FULL OF JUNK.
Well, nobody wanted to go to the marathon, so I came up with the backup plan of a picnic at the playground followed by free swim at the Y later in the afternoon. With all of the screaming, fighting, and general disobedience that went on all day, everyone spent time in time-out (at least 10 times for Norah) and we did nothing fun. The highlight of my day was to clean the shower grout so I could hide in the shower and the screaming would be slightly muted.
Oh well, tomorrow’s a new day. Norah will be back at day care and I’m going to take the other two to the early show at the Imax at the aquarium. It will be crazy with all the tourists, but we are members so hopefully we can get in and out before the throng arrives.
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