The Witching Hour

I had been thinking about this entry for a while. I've been meaning to recognize a certain time of the day that no matter how well the hours leading up to it are, it always turns into chaos. It starts right after picking up J from the bus stop -- around 3:30 -- and continues until Daddy walks through the door between 5 and 5:30. Sometimes even beyond that.

J walks in and throws his backpack and jacket on the couch; he's pumped up and hungry. M is starting to get tired but gets her second wind as soon as she sees that her partner in crime has arrived. I'm convinced that at the same time there are witches somewhere in my house brewing up some type of concoction -- sort of like a happy hour special -- that they serve to my kids. And then they're off: Together they raid the "food closet" for snacks, they open up cartons and bags, and walk around the house eating and laughing all while leaving a trail of crumbs in their wake. They go up and down the stairs, terrorize his room and the bonus room in .2 seconds flat. Sometimes they giggle, sometimes she cries, and always she stands at the top of the stairs yelling "Oad-Ju" until I comply and go up the stairs for the 67th time today to Hold You!

This is dinnertime, People! And just because the Bonnie and Clyde mini-me's will have no appetite left after their job on the snacks, Mommy and Daddy would like to have a decent meal. And I gotta cook it. Right Now!

Today's been one of those days. M woke up early and cried, J was doing his usual-annoying screeching sounds that this morning sounded twice as annoying, and I didn't have time to dry my hair so it went curly all day. That in itself makes for not only a bad-hair day, but a bad day in general.

Around here, there's no better light at the end of the tunnel than sunlight, and this afternoon we got a little glimpse of it so M and I went to run some errands while J was at school.

We made a rare stop at Old Navy and I noticed the yearly flag tees had arrived. I had forgotten that July 4th is only a month away due to the lack of the aforementioned sun. The shirts have kind of become a tradition around our house in summers past and both of the kids get one every year. I picked up two and headed to Trader Joe's to buy more snacks to torture myself and my home with. I bought more than usual today, even bought some we hadn't tried before. I know that once he's out of school and he's home all day long, the munchies will have to be plentiful around here. Maybe it was the sun shining and the purchasing of the t-shirts, but I was in a summer state of mind.

When I got home and after picking up J, I was going to write a post about that. I arranged all of the edible purchases on the counter together with the shirts so I could take my picture. All of this was so fascinating to M that she climbed on the stool, probably more to see if she could grab some of the goodies and run without me noticing than to actually see the display, but as she did, she fell off the stool and onto the floor on her back. She's okay, but the camera that came down with her isn't.

I think my camera is broken -- or at least the part that takes pictures is, the part that lets me transfer out is okay. I had been talking about getting a nicer camera and then decided that I would do no such thing until I learned everything there was to know about the one I have. Now I may have to and I'm pretty bummed about it.

I am, however, very thankful that it was the camera and not M that the witches' brew got the best of today.

But we must beware. There's always tomorrow. And anything is possible during the Witching Happy Hour.