It was supposed to be a quiet evening…

No gymnastics. No play practice. Just a quiet evening at home doing some Christmasy stuff.

Then Grace pulls the “I’m afraid of monsters card” like she does every other night. Hubby puts Grace to bed because Grace clings to me like a baby chimp and won’t let go if I put her to bed.

Joey and Chris are still awake, waiting for hubby to take them Christmas shopping? Whose bright idea was it to go Christmas shopping on a school night when the boys have been sleeping in until ten every morning.

Joey throws a fit when daddy says it’s too late to go because it’s 8:30 pm.

I’m exhausted, nursing a stuffy nose, itchy eye, occassional sneezing fit, allergy head (funny thing, didn’t know I had allergies) trying to enjoy a cup of 99% caffiene free cocoa that’s been sitting in my cabinet for years. (BTW, it tasted great!)

My nine-year-old is still whinning, throwing around words like “you promised”, which hubby didn’t, and “you need to be true to your word.”

Joey’s my perfectionist who goes into irrational mode when things aren’t right. So how do you talk logic to an emotional basket case? How do you explain to him things come up, plans change, life happens! (Right this minute, he’s out of his bed whinning and retrying his case and my patience. We’re trying not to engage him in an arguement, but he’s standing firm literally, and refusing to budge.)

So all you parenting experts, what would you do in a situation like this? My husband just escorted him into the other room. We’ll see if that does the trick.

Enter Grace. “I want you. I was waiting for you. And I’m sick of it when I’m waiting.” (Gee, hear myself in that last statement!)

“I’ll be up in a minute…” So much for a quiet evening.