So the "boys" went out of town yesterday and it was just the girls and me left on our own. Helpless, defenseless, powerless.....
Ok, BACK to reality now!
Frankly, we were just entertain-less, if there is such a word. I actually got up yesterday morning and looked at my three daughters as if they were pod people that had just arrived in my house that morning. Three large browned-eyed darlings looking up at me at the breakfast table of pancakes, sausage, and massive cups of coffee (mine of course).
"What are we doing today mom?", asks Nadia.... followed by Toni..... then sung by Nia.
I suddenly had a feeling of panic because all motherly wisdom and bag of entertainment tricks of what to do with her kids went right out my kitchen window as soon as they posed that question to me.
I looked at each of their faces and wondered "What am I gonna do with you girls for the next two days?". I'm having one of those "off" days where being the whole mom thing is not connecting with my psyche for some reason and I'm thinking that I'm gonna have a day of just doing what I want, like jetting off to Tahiti for the weekend.
I was quickly making mental lists of activities that would be fun for all ages... say from 4 to a budding 12 year old:
- The beach
- The park
- Fishing at the pier
- Bike riding
- The beach
- Picnic at the beach
- Ft. Pickens..... again
- The mall (eww yuck)
- Bowling
- The movies
- Picking up shells at the beach
- The museum (as I chase Nia all over the place)
- Surf City/Fun City (it's one place), to the tune of $100 for the four of us - not countiing FOOD
Through me mental list, I was coming to the conclusion that there is little to do where I live unless it involves the beach, or paying through the nose in order to entertain my kids a few weeks before school starts. Folks, the beach gets down right boring after awhile of living with it in your backyard 24/7. I love it, it's gorgeous and all, but sometimes I get tired of it being the only major "entertainment" in this area. One cannot entertain their family and soul by a beach alone unless one is a stinking fish!
I'm not kidding! I was drawing a serious blank in the entertaining department. Who were these three aliens across my kitchen table and why did they want/need/have to have me entertain them for the day when all I really wanted to do was take in the quiet time and read a good book.
Because I'm a mom, that's why; and being a mom dictates that "Thy Shall Never Have A Life Until Thy Last Child Enters Into Age of Responsiblity", and that age is usually 35!
Do just have those moments where you've spent all these years entertaining your kids, taking them out, making sure they have a good day, filling their head with joyful moments so they don't remember you as a bad mom, then all of a sudden, BAM.... you have absolutely NO clue what to do with them?
That was me!
I spent an hour on the internet trying to "find" something to do with the girls. Everything either encompassed going to the beach, or spending gobs of money. Everything else we had done and the girls thought it all to be boring: the park, the library, riding bikes, hiking, the beach, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah!
So I decided since we couldn't figure out what to do, then we would have an all day slumber party.
Yes! I said an all day slumber party. Do not ask me where that idea came from, but it just blew in from.... the entertainment fairy. (?????)
So we I took them all to get subs, ice cream, sodas (which are only reserved for "special" occasions and this qualifies), popcorn, and a bunch of movies for the day. We proceeded to clear the living room floor and put their mattresses down and have lunch on the floor while taking in our first movie "Barbie and The Prince and The Pauper". Which we had to watch twice in a row because as The Entertainment Coordinator, my two youngest daughters demanded it.
The rest of the day was filled with a few computer games we all joined in together. I never knew there were so many ways to look like a goofy fairy on Pixie Hollow, or how many rounds of Galaga I could play before my fingers went numb. We then went back to watching more movies and eating ice cream sandwiches on the floor as Nia stuck popcorn in her ice cream thinking it was more yummy that way.
Nia eventually passed out during the movie "Penelope", and now it was time to scare the pants off of Toni and Nadia with "The Grudge 3".
"How dare you let your kids watch a horror flick like that", you may say. My kids want to watch it, but they spend about 3/4 of the movie with their heads stuck in a pillow, so they never actually see anything. They just want to be around something scary so it gives them all an excuse to climb into my once large king size bed and suddenly make it feel like a cot I'm sleeping in.
Which they did - at 1 in the morning - and they were all happy.
So I entertained them with a day of junk food we would normally never eat, a bunch of movies, a day of computer games which they are normally not allowed to succumb to for long periods of time, but I did this time because I consider my lack of entertaining ability yesterday and emergency situation.
I actually broke down and took them to McDonald's for dinner, which is a major deal since we do not do McDonald's in this family and it was only because of my "off" day and the fact that managed to destroy the macaroni and cheese... the boxed kind.
So the girls are still a bit groggy and tired from their day of fun, but they are happy. I guess I was successful because everything I did was not what we usually do. I threw norm and caution to the wind, broke down and ate yummy/yucky junk food with my kids, had an all day slumber party, and watch corny, funny, and scary movies until the wee hours of the night.
There were still some tense moments like when Nia broke the potted plant on the patio filled with flowers Nadia had been working on, then locked all of us outside around 10 at night cause she knew she was in trouble for that one. I had a smidgen of panic there for a moment. Or when Nia and Toni started an enormous fight over whose bowl of popcorn was whose. Nia threw water on Toni for that one and both got sent to their rooms for a long time out because tempers were so flared.
It was successful because they all went to bed happy without one complaint about....
how bored they were all day!
Today is major house cleaning day before the weekend. I sure hope they had a good time yesterday cause today.... I'm gonna work em like dogs.
BA - HA -HA - HA - HA - HA!
*Insert little pinky into corner of mouth*
