Reality Check

Yesterday was Tim's 37th birthday. I decided to try out several new recipes (coconut shrimp, spinach-artichoke dip, herbed sourdough bread--from scratch). That was my first mistake. I knew I needed some alone time with the kitchen, so I put on a movie for Lady and Jace. I even made popcorn, a treat that never comes out before about 6 pm on Friday night. I spread out a big blanket in front of the t.v. for them to sit on. I figured I could wash the buttery fingerprints out of the blanket with no problem. Lady was back in the kitchen within 30 minutes. She assured me that Jace was still eating the popcorn. That was mistake #2-believing my four year old. Jace made his way upstairs about 15 minutes later. I quickly noticed that his head was covered in tiny pieces of popcorn (the kind only found in the bottom of the bowl). The conversation went like this--

"Did you dump the popcorn over your head?"

"Yep!"

"Did you throw the popcorn on the floor?"

"Yep?!"

"Why would you do that?"

(shrugs shoulders)

I hauled the vaccum downstairs to begin the cleanup. Jace didn't just dump the popcorn. He put the blanket on the couch (mistake #3, thinking anyone would stay on the blanket) and threw popcorn across the entire length of the family room. The pieces were so small, I 'm fairly certain he danced around on them too. Jace spent some quality time in his naughty spot (he's there a lot) and finally apologized.

I resumed my cooking in the kitchen. Less than an hour later, I found Jace and Lady (who were having quiet time in their rooms) in my bathroom. Their arms, hands, and faces were covered in mandarin orange lotion (which suprisingly smells terrible in large amounts). They had also rubbed some on the floor and wiped the excess all over the towels. After that, it was naptime.

I went back to the kitchen and managed to pull off dinner by about 6 p.m. The coconut shrimp and artichoke dip were only appreciated by Tim (the kids had to peel off the coating so the shrimp was plain and they weren't coming near "that green cheesy stuff").

Somedays I think we're moving past days like this, but I should know better!