It's that time -- between 5 and 6 pm -- when the kids are starved (that's what they tell me), when dinner is still in it's baby stage (love the days when I use the crockpot), when the starved kids waiting for dinner that is still being chopped are full of energy, and when those sweet, starved kids' energy, while looking at what I'm making for dinner, is less then ideal. You know the moods. A bit crabby, perhaps looking to irritate a sibling, type moods. And, yes, my kids have those moods. Most often between five and six.
Yesterday was no exception. Elijah, Caleb and Brennan were fighting, Samuel was crying, and there were only ideas for dinner. Nothing made. And it was five pm. (Just in case you were wondering -- Hannah, Chloe and Grace were having a girls day with my sister.)
So I stopped.
I walked away. I gathered the boys and we all sat on the floor in the living room and I grabbed whatever book was available. The book? About shadows. Not what I was expecting, but I went with it. By the time we were done, they were a tad calmer. More focused.
Brennan went to play. Leaving me with the wild two. And I looked over in my kitchen and saw shadows.
So this is what we did.
And dinner was made.
