Little Arrogant Dictators

Didn't sleep last night.  Finally passed out around 1 am, I think.  I attempted to make muffins for breakfast.  But the god damned smoke alarm kept going off.  So I had to fan the smoke detector the whole time the muffins were baking.  Meanwhile the boys were holding their ears and yelling at me to make it stop.  Then Lucas yelled at me to change the batteries, because the firefighters at Lowes told him that you need to change the batteries and that it is really easy so we just need to change the batteries because that is why it is making noise. . . . . and on and on he went while I was fanning the alarm and praying for silence.

Ten minutes.  I stood there fanning the f-ing smoke detector for ten minutes while getting helpful smoke detector maintenance tips from a 4 year old.

When I pulled the muffins out - two of them were burnt and the rest were perfect.  WTF?

Then we rushed out the door with muffins in hand to go to a hands-on workshop at Lucas's school.  The lady told me on the phone that most 2 year olds (siblings) are able to participate but sometimes they can't stay focused.  I should back this story up.  THIS is a pretty competitive program to get into.  Everyone in the school wants to do the Explora workshops so they hold a lottery for 15 kids to participate.  There are 400 kids in the school.  Lucas was selected.  Whoo HOO!!  Siblings are welcome as long as they are able to participate and not be disruptive.

So there we are.  Eating muffins in the car.  Nick mashed his mini muffin in his hands and pushed it into his seat and said that the muffin was hurting his belly.  So I asked him if he wanted a new muffin that would make his belly feel good.  He ate the second muffin I handed him. 

Then we arrive and start to participate in the workshop.  The activities were engaging and fun and new.  Most kids were engrossed in the fun.  My kids. . . . not so much.  Lucas kept jerking objects out of other kids hands, Nick kept trying to put everything under his shirt and in his pants.  Lucas was deliberately falling off his stool and onto another child who was minding their manners. . . unlike my kids.  I put Lucas in a corner and told him to stay there until he could behave.  He proceeded to jump around and cause a ruckus from his corner.  Then Nick spots a small play area adjacent to where the workshop was held.

"I want play Mommy. I want play!!"  I told him that right now we were playing with all the stuff at our table but we could go play over there in a little while.  "NOW Mommy!! I want play NOW!"

People are looking.  Lucas is bouncing a mirror off the table.  Nick is SCREAMING AND CRYING.

The organizer comes over to offer me snacks for my children.  Maybe that will help?  I told her thank you but they had just eaten and that we were going to make an escape before we caused more disruptions.

She was sweet and told me what to do to finish up the workshop from home.  Painting, more mirror play and some shape sorting.

I get home, pull out the paint and . . . . I can't locate the green paint.  The kids are pissed.  I'm pissed that they have the BALLS to be pissed at me.  Where do they get off??  We paint without green.  Somehow we survive the experience without green.  (FYI - I was informed that mixing yellow and blue is not the same. . .so they say).

They are little dictators.  Little arrogant dictators.

Nick reaches over and paints on his brother's paper.  Lucas freaks out.  Nick gets a warning.  Nick reaches over and pinches Lucas's arm.  Nick is sent to his room.

Nick is allowed out of his room to finish his painting.  Nick paints the chair blue.  Not just a little.  A lot of blue.  Nick gets sent back to his room - screaming and crying.

I make lunch.  Nick feeds the dog the meat from his sandwich.  I was tipped off by the furious yowling cat who did not get any of the meat being handed out.  I get pissed off.  No more meat for Nick.  Consequences suck.  Nick is furious. 

I sent them outside to play.  I hear Lucas yell something to Nick about water.  I wiped the paint from my hands (cleaning up from painting) and walk to the door to see all of the basins around all of my trees over flowing with water.  Nick had lifted a heavy clay pot and manually turned on the irrigation valves.  There was water everywhere. 

I have nothing left to say.  They have been awake for just under 6 hours so far today.  I have another 8 hours left.

I feel like crying.