Well it's 5:00 p.m. in the Ford house (it's not really - it's more like 7:00, but go with me!), and Witching Hour is upon us. Witching Hour is what I lovingly refer to as that hour between nap time and supper; usually 4:30-5:30. Witching Hour is always easiest to manage when there are two adults in the house... one to make supper (that would be me), and one to entertain the little witches... er, I mean children. The problem is that Danny is now back to work after a lovely 11-week parental leave. That leaves me to cook supper and entertain the children... it does not go well.
For some reason, when Gracie wakes up from her nap, she is hungry. No, not hungry. Hungry would mean that I could feed her and she would stop asking for food. Between 4:30 and 5:30, Gracie's appetite is insatiable. Insatiable and... what's the word I'm looking for here... finicky. Gracie is usually a fantastic eater. "Want a banana?" "Yes, please." "Want some crackers?" "Yes, please." "Want *insert any food here*?" "Yes, please." But at 4:30... the answer to every question is "no." No crackers. No bananas. No oranges. No yogurt. And by the fourth food that I've offered, Gracie is usually laying on the floor crying. I'm not going to lie... this is frustrating for me. So every afternoon we have the same conversation. "So what would you like, Gracie?!" "Foooooooood!" That answer is not helpful. So I put some crackers in a bowl for her, and tell her to eat them. She has one or two, then is back on the floor screaming that she's hungry. Even if I do manage to get her to eat the whole bowl of crackers, she is still hungry and wants something else. I know what she wants... she wants whatever I'm cooking for supper. But unfortunately, it's not ready yet.
In the meantime, Ella is usually in her exersaucer while I'm preparing supper. She bounces and laughs and smiles and "ya-ya-ya-ya-ya-ya-ya"s away like a good little baby. And then the two minutes are over and she's upset now too. She's been fed, so she should technically be a satisfied little girl. Except that she knows now that she gets food at supper time too. And she wants it. Now. Not to mention that Gracie is either hanging off my leg, or lying on the kitchen floor crying, so Ella thinks I can't hear her protests. So she screams. I don't mean yells. I mean screams. As in, shrill, high-pitched, makes your ears bleed, screaming. Since Ella is now screaming, Gracie is pretty sure I've forgotten about the fact that she hasn't eaten in three weeks, and she raises her cries a decibel level too. So Ella, not to be outdone by her older sister, screams louder as well. Now Gracie is mad because Ella's screams are hurting her ears, so she yells at Ella to "stop that screaming or you go in timeout." I tell Gracie that Ella doesn't know she's not supposed to scream like that, and maybe she should try making her laugh instead. Gracie is a fantastic big sister. She loves to make Ella laugh. But not during Witching Hour. The fact that I even suggested she try to entertain Ella obviously means I have forgotten that Gracie is now 10 lbs lighter with starvation. So Gracie starts crying again, with gusto this time, and screaming "NOOOOOOOOO, MOMMY!" at me. I tell her that that's not acceptable behaviour, and that she needs to find her happy voice or else she will have to take a time out. Gracie's legs give out from beneath her (because of the lack of sustenance in her body, obviously), and she flops onto the floor where she cries some more. But she's not being rude at the moment, so the time-out is forgiven.
Meanwhile, supper is just about half-way ready. I explain this to Gracie, who immediately stops crying and goes to her supper chair. When I try to explain that it's not ready yet, Gracie starts banging on the table and whining, "I want my suppppppper, mommy! I want my supppppppppppppper!"
Ella is still crying and screaming, by the way... in case you forgot about her.
I'm standing at the stove now, stirring whatever lovely creation is cooking away and wondering why I have two kids. Was I crazy? Do I really love them? How much could I get for them if I sell them on Kijiji?
And then a song pops into my head... "All around the mulberry bush, the monkey chased the weasel. The monkey thought twas all in fun. POP! Goes the weasel." So I start singing it out loud. The girls go quiet... Ella looks at me like I'm crazy, Gracie is just staring at me with her mouth open and her tummy growling. "It worked!" I think. And then Gracie starts screaming "Stop singing mommy! I want my supppppppper!!" And Ella starts crying again too. By now, the little voice inside my head is also starting to scream, and it's twice as loud in there! I have no choice but to keep singing... I either sing, or I scream too (or perhaps do that really scary maniacal laugh, where you start and can't stop)! So it's "5 Little Ducks," "Twinkle, Twinkle," "I've Been Working on the Railroad" and all the other songs I can remember from our travel CD until dinner is ready. I'm singing really loudly too, since Gracie and Ella are trying to drown me out!
I put dinner on the table. Gracie dries her eyes and eats. Ella gets her cereal and starts laughing again. Supper is over. The girls play while I clean up. I get Ella ready for bed and she has her last bottle. We snuggle on the couch, just the three of us, while I read Ella her bedtime books. All is quiet in the Ford house... and I wonder, just for a minute, if I dreamed Witching Hour. It seems like a distant memory now, a little foggy, and I'm not quite sure if it was as bad as I thought it was... and I think to myself, "these kids are pretty darn cute!" But rest assured, 4:30 will come again tomorrow night and I'll be reminded again of just how "cute" they are...
PS - I'm a good mother, so I parented this evening, instead of recording my demon children (like I wanted to)! I'm going to get video of it soon though, and share for your amusement :)
For some reason, when Gracie wakes up from her nap, she is hungry. No, not hungry. Hungry would mean that I could feed her and she would stop asking for food. Between 4:30 and 5:30, Gracie's appetite is insatiable. Insatiable and... what's the word I'm looking for here... finicky. Gracie is usually a fantastic eater. "Want a banana?" "Yes, please." "Want some crackers?" "Yes, please." "Want *insert any food here*?" "Yes, please." But at 4:30... the answer to every question is "no." No crackers. No bananas. No oranges. No yogurt. And by the fourth food that I've offered, Gracie is usually laying on the floor crying. I'm not going to lie... this is frustrating for me. So every afternoon we have the same conversation. "So what would you like, Gracie?!" "Foooooooood!" That answer is not helpful. So I put some crackers in a bowl for her, and tell her to eat them. She has one or two, then is back on the floor screaming that she's hungry. Even if I do manage to get her to eat the whole bowl of crackers, she is still hungry and wants something else. I know what she wants... she wants whatever I'm cooking for supper. But unfortunately, it's not ready yet.
In the meantime, Ella is usually in her exersaucer while I'm preparing supper. She bounces and laughs and smiles and "ya-ya-ya-ya-ya-ya-ya"s away like a good little baby. And then the two minutes are over and she's upset now too. She's been fed, so she should technically be a satisfied little girl. Except that she knows now that she gets food at supper time too. And she wants it. Now. Not to mention that Gracie is either hanging off my leg, or lying on the kitchen floor crying, so Ella thinks I can't hear her protests. So she screams. I don't mean yells. I mean screams. As in, shrill, high-pitched, makes your ears bleed, screaming. Since Ella is now screaming, Gracie is pretty sure I've forgotten about the fact that she hasn't eaten in three weeks, and she raises her cries a decibel level too. So Ella, not to be outdone by her older sister, screams louder as well. Now Gracie is mad because Ella's screams are hurting her ears, so she yells at Ella to "stop that screaming or you go in timeout." I tell Gracie that Ella doesn't know she's not supposed to scream like that, and maybe she should try making her laugh instead. Gracie is a fantastic big sister. She loves to make Ella laugh. But not during Witching Hour. The fact that I even suggested she try to entertain Ella obviously means I have forgotten that Gracie is now 10 lbs lighter with starvation. So Gracie starts crying again, with gusto this time, and screaming "NOOOOOOOOO, MOMMY!" at me. I tell her that that's not acceptable behaviour, and that she needs to find her happy voice or else she will have to take a time out. Gracie's legs give out from beneath her (because of the lack of sustenance in her body, obviously), and she flops onto the floor where she cries some more. But she's not being rude at the moment, so the time-out is forgiven.
Meanwhile, supper is just about half-way ready. I explain this to Gracie, who immediately stops crying and goes to her supper chair. When I try to explain that it's not ready yet, Gracie starts banging on the table and whining, "I want my suppppppper, mommy! I want my supppppppppppppper!"
Ella is still crying and screaming, by the way... in case you forgot about her.
I'm standing at the stove now, stirring whatever lovely creation is cooking away and wondering why I have two kids. Was I crazy? Do I really love them? How much could I get for them if I sell them on Kijiji?
And then a song pops into my head... "All around the mulberry bush, the monkey chased the weasel. The monkey thought twas all in fun. POP! Goes the weasel." So I start singing it out loud. The girls go quiet... Ella looks at me like I'm crazy, Gracie is just staring at me with her mouth open and her tummy growling. "It worked!" I think. And then Gracie starts screaming "Stop singing mommy! I want my supppppppper!!" And Ella starts crying again too. By now, the little voice inside my head is also starting to scream, and it's twice as loud in there! I have no choice but to keep singing... I either sing, or I scream too (or perhaps do that really scary maniacal laugh, where you start and can't stop)! So it's "5 Little Ducks," "Twinkle, Twinkle," "I've Been Working on the Railroad" and all the other songs I can remember from our travel CD until dinner is ready. I'm singing really loudly too, since Gracie and Ella are trying to drown me out!
I put dinner on the table. Gracie dries her eyes and eats. Ella gets her cereal and starts laughing again. Supper is over. The girls play while I clean up. I get Ella ready for bed and she has her last bottle. We snuggle on the couch, just the three of us, while I read Ella her bedtime books. All is quiet in the Ford house... and I wonder, just for a minute, if I dreamed Witching Hour. It seems like a distant memory now, a little foggy, and I'm not quite sure if it was as bad as I thought it was... and I think to myself, "these kids are pretty darn cute!" But rest assured, 4:30 will come again tomorrow night and I'll be reminded again of just how "cute" they are...
PS - I'm a good mother, so I parented this evening, instead of recording my demon children (like I wanted to)! I'm going to get video of it soon though, and share for your amusement :)
I love to read your posts!!! Nice chatting with you today...twice!!
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