In the thick of it

The kids fighting is at its all time high.  He did it/she did it has become part of our daily routine right before breakfast and right after pick-ups.

David's form of punishment of locking them out of the house doesn't seem as effective as when they were younger.



It's been a wicked game of cat and mouse to see who can hunt who first then be burned alive next.  There is no endgame.

It's...just...one...big...loop.

And with Thanksgiving coming up, it's hard to remember to be content and gracious when you're in the thick of it.

But with all my howling that's coming out of our Chinese Horror Story, they're still incredible little demons who I adore more than frozen yogurt.



Weekend projects has helped break up our hostile environment.



And going to a matinee grants us a three hour, squabble-free window.



They continue to eat my heart and soul alive.



No matter how infectious they are I keep going back for a beating, to improve myself continuously.



They make me want to do and be better.



A change of scenery helps reboot their judgment and reasoning with one another...at least for a short time.



Together they can put their mark on nature.



The sounds of running water.



Birds chirping.



I mean, fresh air never hurt anyone.



I always think about my mom in nature and wonder what she would think about the life I've created.



I think it's because when we traveled to China together, we spent most of the trip outdoors - trekking through villages, hiking through burial sites, and climbing the great wall.

She sends me signs that she's here.



She'd tell me not to feed the kids too much bread and pasta.  She'd love my babies and hate my black nail polish.



Just days after Halloween we celebrated David's birthday.  He always plays second fiddle to Halloweek(end)'s spooktacular kids events...



And late night looting with childhood best friends.



Sadly, his birthday cake doesn't compare to the endless mounds of Twix.

We still hung the birthday sign, broke out the homemade cards...



And thawed the pastry puff.  He blew candles out on a pear tart, Bruh.



We had dinner at our new favorite sushi restaurant.  It's not really new but So Sushi opened a second location down the street called So Sushi Also...LOL.



She didn't care for Bluefin Toro...Zzzzzzzzz.



David finally had some green desk accessories to take to work.



Not sure I could survive this challenging time raising these hooligans if not for David rallying me as mom of the year, every year.  I'm surprised he hasn't found me out yet.  Those drama classes I took in high school has really payed off.

My final thoughts on my rant...perhaps I'm going to try channeling my inner-perfect-maternal-goddess-self next time I find myself in the thick of it.  If that doesn't work, I'll suck on lozenges, find a Yogurtland a.s.a.p., and try to remember that each passing moment I'm yelling and loosing my mind might be a treasured childhood moment wasted.