I love my kids.  I love to be with them and I love to laugh with them and play with them and spend time with them.

But…

These flippin’ snow days are MAKING ME BATTY.

*deep breath*

I think the children are going to start eating one another.

Sloan cleaned this morning.  He vacuumed and dusted, pulling dressers out and cleaning the floors behind him.  This is awesome, obviously, but it’s also evidence of the fact that we’re all going a little crazy.  A seven year old voluntarily scrubbing his room?  Not normal!

Did you know that the average four year old asks 437 questions a day?  So if I have a chatty three year old, stubborn five year old and headstrong seven year old all trapped under the same roof, using a model of mathematics called estimation, I can safely assume that I’m being asked 1,500 questions/day.  I’m also being told roughly 523 times that he/she kicked me, pushed me, hit me, licked me, bit me, touched me, breathed on me.  I’m being asked 47 times a day for a snack or a drink (they still expect to be fed!) and every ten minutes I’m asked if we can watch a movie, play Wii or play computer games. 

It’s tempting not to say yes and let them do that all day long.  But alas, I’ve found that when my children sit in front of the TV all day they turn into jittery, weepy zombies without the will to reason.

On the other hand…my kids are pretty dang funny and, despite being trapped, we have had some fun this week.  It’s not that I haven’t enjoyed it – it’s just that every day I enjoy it a little less.  And so do they. 

A few pictures of the happier times for your viewing enjoyment.

We’re not really sure who had a better birthday yesterday – Tia or Kit.

Seriously.  Where did this kid come from?  He’s yet to find a camera he didn’t love…