Short

I woke up short this morning. No - not short in height, but short in patience. I am a wee bit tired. Still not fully recovered from the whirl wind trip to the ski hill. My wonderful husband did take over the house this morning at 6:30 when I woke him and promptly crawled in to his nice warm spot behind him, this extra hour of restless sleep somehow did not make up for 51/2 years of missed sleep. Nonetheless, extra sleep it was - although short.

After my husband left for work around 11am, I was left alone with my wonderful children and short amount of patience. I just wasn't in the mood to carry around the baby all morning, facing out so she can absorb the world until my arm is about to fall off. I just wasn't in the mood for the ear piercing 'NO' from the toddler whenever he opens his mouth. I just was not in the mood for the constant bickering over who touched who first and who had the toy first from the twins. I was about to re-enact a scene from Annie yelling, "Kill, Kill, Kill." Just like Ms. Hannigan.

So, I did what any normal mother on the short side of patience does. I packed up the kids and headed to the library - CRAZY. Yes, I know. But I needed some fresh air and sometimes the only way to get it is from the front door to the car.

Off to the library we go. Why, oh why? To foster a love of books. For the sake of literacy..... And what an adventure the library always seems to be. The baby always fusses and cries the entire time. The toddler takes every book I give him and heads to the return slot and drops them in. The return slot, of course, is located beside the door, so I have to leave the twins, who are removing books from the shelves and dumping them on the floor as fast as their arms can move, and make sure the toddler doesn't escape out the door. Meanwhile, the twins are exclaiming, "Wow. Look at that one." to every book removed at the top of their lungs. Quiet is not an option. Then when we have our pile of books gathered off the floor, which of course is too large for the twins to carry, and balanced one armed to the counter, the toddler decides to start screaming, "NO, NO, NO." and drops like a limp noodle. I quickly run the books over to the counter and then chase the toddler in to a corner and scoop up the limp noodle, who suddenly begins thrashing. Pick up the bag of books that the bug eyed librarian has wonderfully put into the bag for us and stampede out the door. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. (I have tried carrying the toddler in the back pack and the baby in the swing, but upon entering the library the toddler started arching his back and yelling, "OUT.")

I bit of respite, though. The baby promptly fell asleep in the car, which never happens. And the toddler started to yawn on the way home and is now napping. The twins are building trains in their bedroom. I get a little R & R. Oh and school has been put on hold for the day. The advantages of home school. Now for a cup of tea and a snuggle on the couch reading books with the twins. A cuddle is just what the doctor ordered when short on patience...