They watched Mark and Scott & Mari's kids yesterday. They raised four kids, so they can hold their own, but that was a long time ago.
I arrived after work to pick Mark up. The house was quiet, which worried me at first, but turns out everyone was just watching T.V. (kids in one room, grandparents in another). It was the only quiet moment of the night.
Here's how the evening went.
6:00--Mom says apologetically that Mark's blood sugar is probably high--he ate pizza, an ice cream cone, and Halloween candy. He bolused for all of it, but still...
6:02--I send Mark to wash and test. He heads toward the living room, where I know there isn't any running water.
6:03--I send the girls to wash up for dinner. They run away, laughing maniacally, in a direction opposite of the bathroom.
6:04--I tell Grant to go wash--he ignores me. Charles the dog jumps all over me.
6:05--I tell Charles to get down. I tell Grant to hand over the Gameboy and nobody gets hurt.
6:06--Both Charles and Grant ignore me.
6:07--I hear the girls crash into each other upstairs. Somebody starts crying.
6:08--I take away the Gameboy and head upstairs. I console Gabi, and send Nathalie downstairs.
6:09--Mark and Grant are both in the bathroom. No good will come of this.
6:10--Mark's blood sugar is 345(!!!). He ignores me when I tell him to correct it, and turns the bathroom lights out on Grant.
6:10:03--Grants starts screaming.
6:11--I herd the kids into the dining room. One sits at the bar, and Grandma says, "No, you're all sitting at the table!" She leaves out the phrase "...with Auntie Heather" but I know it's implied.
6:12--Mark switches his carefully pre-measured glass of milk with Grant because he doesn't like the cup. At least I know how many carbs of milk Grant is drinking.
6:13--The special dinner requests start. Mark wants croutons but no salad; Gabi doesn't want pineapple; Grant wants butter but no bread; Nathalie wants my undivided attention as she talks a mile a minute.
6:14--All special requests are denied.
6:15--Everyone is eating, and quiet.
6:16--Logan, the neighbor kid, comes running into the house. He wants to show off his new bear. Now no one is eating.
6:17--Logan is still talking. Grant tells him to go home, we're eating.
6:18--Gabi steals Grant's chicken. Grant bursts into tears.
6:19--Nathalie is still talking. I think it's the same sentence she started 6 minutes ago.
6:20--Papa gives Grant more chicken. "My lip hurts," Grant says. Mark tells us that Grant smacked himself in the head with a Lego. "Does that make you a blockhead?" I ask. The kids all laugh.
6:21--Grant puts a piece of chicken in his mouth, then screams, "My lip!" He bursts into tears.
6:22--Papa calms Grant down. He also gives Mark and Gabi more chicken.
6:23--I notice my mom hasn't said anything in the last 23 minutes.
6:24--Nathalie and Gabi simultaneously steal the rest of Grant's chicken. Grant--well, you know the drill--cries.
6:25--I declare dinner over, and tell the kids to clear their plates.
6:26-6:40--Kitchen cleanup. Gabi is wiping the table crumbs onto Charles' head, Mark is dancing in the middle of the kitchen, and Nathalie is supposed to be washing dishes (but is really telling me another story).
6:50--I send Gabi and Grant up for bathtime with Grandma. They are huddled as close as possible to the bathtub faucet, waiting for the water to come out. My mom assures me it's okay to leave. I know there's a good chance all three kids (and both grandparents) will be in bed by 7:15.
6:51--Mark and I leave, and I wonder how in the world my parents survived the last 8 hours. Have I mentioned they are saints???
I don't know how people with multiple kids do it...I didn't even last an hour! But I did gain a whole new respect for my parents, who ran a tight ship with four kids.
And I have to say that Angelina Jolie, who's adopted every other kid in the world but these four, is INSANE.
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