I can usually tell what kind of day it is going to be by the location of the cereal boxes in my kitchen. If Tony the Tiger and Toucan Sam are perched on the counter or are in the middle of the table, things bode well. If, however, the boxes take the form of force fields that are strategically positioned around each of my children's place mats, I start to pray that the force will be with me.
On such days (including yesterday), the opposing armies had assumed their positions while I was in the shower. By the time I made my way down to the kitchen 10 minutes later, the force fields were beginning to break down.
"Stop looking at me!" screeched Cortlen.
"I'm not!" barked Camber in quick reply.
"I can SEE you looking at me through the crack between your boxes!"
"The only way you know I can see you is if you are looking at me!"
"I'm not looking at anyone!" piped Kellen, who smartly had his eyes squeezed shut behind his force field.
Breakfasts that begin like this usually end with all of the force fields being confiscated and one or more of the combatants being forcibly ejected from his/her chair and sent to the corner for saying or doing something unbecoming of a Jedi knight. These breakfasts, in turn, typically breed lunches that involve under-the-table warfare (chair kicking or deliberate leg touching) and verbal assaults that result in the immediate loss of lunch and afternoon snack privileges. Similarly, these sorts of lunches have the bad habit of producing dinners where all of the combatants are given exactly one chance to eat their food without making eye contact with any of the other table occupants. Not surprisingly, these dinners produce bedtimes which are, on average, one hour earlier than normal and are accompanied by warnings of "stay in your bed or there is going to be a big problem."
On such days (including yesterday), the opposing armies had assumed their positions while I was in the shower. By the time I made my way down to the kitchen 10 minutes later, the force fields were beginning to break down.
"Stop looking at me!" screeched Cortlen.
"I'm not!" barked Camber in quick reply.
"I can SEE you looking at me through the crack between your boxes!"
"The only way you know I can see you is if you are looking at me!"
"I'm not looking at anyone!" piped Kellen, who smartly had his eyes squeezed shut behind his force field.
Breakfasts that begin like this usually end with all of the force fields being confiscated and one or more of the combatants being forcibly ejected from his/her chair and sent to the corner for saying or doing something unbecoming of a Jedi knight. These breakfasts, in turn, typically breed lunches that involve under-the-table warfare (chair kicking or deliberate leg touching) and verbal assaults that result in the immediate loss of lunch and afternoon snack privileges. Similarly, these sorts of lunches have the bad habit of producing dinners where all of the combatants are given exactly one chance to eat their food without making eye contact with any of the other table occupants. Not surprisingly, these dinners produce bedtimes which are, on average, one hour earlier than normal and are accompanied by warnings of "stay in your bed or there is going to be a big problem."
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11 comments
Oh those are the days! I remember all too well when my 5 kids were at those ages and those times will come again with my two little people.
Even with my two little ones, I can tell what kind of day we are going to have by the first hour they are up. Such craziness!
To be a kid again... somedays I wish it was as easy as hiding behind cereal boxes! :)
So how did today start??
Just wanted to say again that I love the new blog design and the bigger size font, it makes the reading so much easier. I took one of your blinkies to put on my blog and good luck with today's adventures!
AHAHAHAHAH!! I wish I had thought of the force field idea: I would put one up for myself!! :)
So, last night I had with one of my children, what I affectionatley (sp?) call a JANA moment, while I don't do nearly as good a job as you at describing the whole thing: the pictures are pretty funny... If you feel so inclined to laugh at another's expense visit me:
bryceandnikki.blogspot.com
I am glad I am not the only one.
I love the way you write, by the way.
Too funny.
May the force be with you, Jedi Mama!
Very Funny! Glad that there are others out there that have days like this too!! Sometimes....just sometimes days like this that end an hour earlier than other days make for nice quiet evenings...don't ya think?!
hey, at least you get an hour after bedtime as a bonus, right? :)
This. Is. Awesome.
I totally remember the Cereal Box Fortresses as a kid - love it! However, it was less of a defense mechanism and more of a way to fend off boredom while slurping down our cereal. We also liked to do the mazes that were on the backs of some boxes - but if the maze was too difficult, it was fun just to draw a straight line to the finish. Victory!
That's my house every day! It's like an inborn need to hide behind cereal boxes every morning.
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