Jen Gallacher

Sometimes a Holiday Just Isn't All That It's Cracked Up To Be

Every year I think, "We're going to have so much fun today." And every year I forget to take into account just how tired the hooligans are going to be and how "not fun" that makes things for me.

In the morning, I ridiculously tried to hit the grocery store before our local parade. Traffic is always a nightmare that morning, and people leave their brains at home and think traffic rules are optional and endanger one another's lives by driving as recklessly as possible. By the time I arrived back at the house, my heart was pounding and I was already feeling irritated.

But I gathered up the boys to prepare for the parade. Kate had spent the night at a friend's house and arrived home just in time to jump in the car with us. (I have to say, Kate did her very best to maintain a good attitude even though I discovered later just how little sleep she got.)

Our friends had nabbed a great shady spot. So we start enjoying the parade and they start throwing candy, and we are doing a little of this:

And then the boy doesn't get any candy. And the candy they are throwing he can't have with his spacer. So he starts doing a little of this:

And then we try to do this:

And then we have a TOTAL AND COMPLETE MELT DOWN so loud that we have an audience and I'm debating whether or not to take the chance of even more evil looks if I scoop him up and drag/carry him to the car to continue his fit. How do kids know they have willing witnesses to their crimes? I swear his fits are louder when there are people their to listen. Good grief.

We finish out the parade, however, and try to enjoy the floats and candy throwing, which now involves a few things on which he can suck instead of chew:

When we get home it's a "on your bed time out" for part of the day. The rest of us crash. How is it that the one who needs a nap most doesn't take one? Seriously! I did allow him to get up after a while and play quietly in his room.

After a LONG break, and a discussion about appropriate behavior he was released back into the wild.

Later that evening we had my sister and her husband and kids and my Dad over for an impromptu BBQ. My cute hubby grilled:

While I played with this beauty:

And the we did opened up the box of fireworks. I let the kids do their FIRST ever sparklers. Yep. First ever. He's pretty thrilled:

But then he promptly burned his finger trying to put it out and now has a little blister on his finger, which definitely put a damper on the rest of his evening.

But we did a few more of these:

And then watched a few of the local rodeo fireworks from his bedroom window before we all crashed once again.