Jan 03 2009
Just a lil sneaky
Sometimes, as the mother of four children ages 1 to 17, I have to get a little creative to get some quiet time especially when they’re all home on holiday break. The other dilemma is finding something that each of the children like to do. After a few days of cloudy, rainy weather and being inside with all of them, today I was at my breaking point.
The younger children took a late nap and I was determined to get them out of the house, moving around and doing something besides getting on each other’s nerves and talking to me… (Hey, I know you have to appreciate my honesty!) so they would be tired by the time bedtime rolled around.
After working out with my teenager (Buns of Steel, which I was non-too-happy to participate in), I took a shower, got some chores done and tried to decide where we would go and what we would do. And, then I had a brilliant idea!
“You should call [the boy], pick him up and take him to McDonald’s with you guys,” I said with eyebrows raised and looking extremely innocent.
She (the teenager) got a ‘hmmm, that’s a good idea’ look. I added, “Plus I don’t feel like going out anyway.” Then she started looking a little doubtful so I went in for the kill: “You can just sit there while he plays with the kids!”
We laughed together.
You see the teenager and the boy (okay, yes, it’s her boyfriend) really like each other and I used her desire to see him as a reason to get her out of the house with her younger siblings. As she was leaving she told me that he was bringing his 10-year-old twin sisters along … good thing we have a minivan.
‘Smart kid,’ I thought, ‘using the twins to entertain the kids.
The kids left, I popped in a Lean Cuisine, plopped down on the couch and enjoyed a little boob tube. I even got some paperwork done, IMed without being interrupted and enjoy the sound of quiet.
The next time you’re trying to get rid of, ahem, I mean find something for your multigenerational children to do you have to be just a little sneaky. It works for me and I’m sure it’ll work for you too.
