Is it truly only 8:15? Sarah’s kids have been here since about 2 p.m., and I’d swear it feels like at least twice as long.
I think it’s because I cooked. Last time I had all four, I ordered pizza. The time before that, I ordered pizza. This time, it being the first day of Chanukah, I decided to make latkes. The children all knew this, and it seemed like a good idea. That, plus a turkey breast. After Sarah left, when I announced the menu, Jake declared that he doesn’t like turkey. Nate and Max said they don’t really like latkes. Aunt Meryl sighed, remembered that she had hot dogs in the freezer, discussed them as an alternative with Jake, and decided to make a huge helping of oven-roasted potatoes for the two boys. I made enough for all of us, because, well, they’re pretty close to french fries, and I knew they’d go. I was right. There were none left. The deal with Jake was that he had to try one bite of the turkey, which he did, and then said, “Hey! That’s the first turkey I ever ate that I actually like!” By then, it was moot. He had two hot dogs on his plate.
And hey, I discovered that my smoke alarms are alive and well, because they went off when I took out the potatoes, which had started to burn. Tig made a new speed record from the kitchen to my bedroom, and I finally got the alarms to stop by opening the sliding door to the deck for a minute. I think the kids thought it was a good floor show. They were certainly impressed. That sort of thing doesn’t happen every day.
While I was cleaning up after dinner, the kids decided it was time to prove that they are, indeed, far, far noisier in a pack than in ones and twos. There was wrestling and chasing and yelling and the usual kid stuff, interspersed with admonitions from me like, “Do NOT lock that door!” and “I said get away from the printer!” I asked for five minutes of peace, and they spent a few minutes yelling at each other to be quiet for five minutes. That’s when I gave up.
It amazed me that Tig came downstairs at all, but he did, and not just to beg for turkey scraps. (He is currently hiding upstairs, probably under the bureau, where there’s no way anyone can get him out.) The volume has mostly fallen, because Max is being nebulized and the kids are all watching Night at the Museum 2, a present from their parents which we opened after we lit Chanukah candles. Don’t let the picture in this post fool you. The second that movie goes off, the screaming and wrestling and running and hopping and laughing will begin again. Except then I get to say, “BEDTIME!” and start subtracting the noisemakers one by one.
Next time, no cooking. Ordering pizza again. I need to save my strength for dealing with the kids. (I know Larry and Sarah are laughing as they read this. Go ahead. Laugh. You have them over 360 days a year. I generally only get them two or three times.) Happy birthday, Larry and Sarah. Yeah, it’s tiring, but it’s fun. Max ate loads for dinner tonight. Rebecca helped make the latkes batter. Nate played with Tigger, who loved it. And Jake, as always, is my backstop and font of information when I get stuck. All of them cleared their places and then half of them came back after dinner to help clean up.
But I’m really looking forward to their all being in bed.
Update, Sunday afternoon: I think I’ve discovered my babysitting limit for all four kids. It’s about 22 hours. (It’s now somewhere between 23 and 24. Mom and Dad are on their way to rescue retrieve their progeny.)
Looks like a good time was had by all….Next year you’ll need to make more potatoes
They don’t like LATKES????? Give all to me pleez.
They look like they’re having such a good time.
Where’s Gracie? Was she in hiding for the duration?
No, Gracie came down several times. She’s known the kids for seven years and likes them. She just doesn’t like them when they’re very noisy and running towards her. Which is not to say that she won’t be happy when they leave. She likes her quiet and her routines, Gracie does. But then, so do I.
I think that a video of the kids lighting the second night of Chanukah would have been good. It would have been appropriate to light with them since they were sleeping over.
I didn’t think of videotaping them. I did make them wait until Shabbat was over, though. We didn’t light candles until the right time. I’ll ask Sarah to get them one night this week. That would make a good video.