From the Mouth of Mother Hen

We recently survived the week known as "spring break." And as I am still awaiting the "break" part of that title (actually, I suppose we are still awaiting the "spring" part too!) I have decided that the idea for such a week was definitely arrived at by a working man (or at least someone with enough money to hire help for the week....or perhaps someone without kids...or maybe someone who had hired help to watch the kids at home while they were on a very quiet and calm tropical island...) At any rate, the kids had a great time being home with not a whole lot to do, and other than a few rain and snow showers (and a meltdown or two, both outside AND in), we had weather decent enough to get out some. Yay us!  

I think a few recent things that have come out of my mouth are worth noting however:

"Remember Karen, you chose this." -- reminding myself, as I looked out the window at an April snowstorm, that we moved back to MN by choice.

"I don't, even, want, to know." -- said to Aidan when he came screeching over to tell me that Madeline bit his tongue. 

"Lily, we don't drink from the milk jug." -- said to the 2 year old daughter (going on 17 year old son?) when I walked in to find her half naked on the kitchen floor in front of the open refrigerator chugging milk from the jug. 

"And that is why we don't jump on the couch." -- said to Madeline as she flew off the couch and head first into the adjacent wall and came up looking for sympathy, to put it casually.....

"Um, I'm not really sure." --in answer to Kurt's question, "Is Liam laughing or crying?" when we took him to see the Easter Bunny....I think the answer is somewhere along the lines of both. He was certainly shaking when that thing stood up and honked the horn at us (seriously, what kind of bunny honks a bike horn at the kids?!?) but by the end he did smile for the camera so he couldn't have been THAT terrified, right?

"No, you can't make a spider-farm either!" -- said to Aidan: after having told him he couldn't make his own ant-farm, he came running downstairs a few minutes later with "an even better idea, Mom!" What's next, a snake-farm? 

"Remember Karen, you chose this." --my mantra for the week spent with all four kids and nothing at all planned. I burnt through at least one "calming" candle and although I am not so sure it worked on me (and I'm certain it did nothing for the kids!), it at least smelled sweet. But I'll admit, for the most part, it was nice having the kids all together for the week. (And by most part I mean the part like now where they are all sleeping peacefully and quietly upstairs!) 

Aspirin anyone?