Why I had to throw a party

It had been a long weekend. Two kids had a mild stomach bug. I'd been in the house too long. Daddy was going to be gone for the evening. The big kids were home for spring break, but nothing fun had happened yet, and they were full of restless energy.

Spring break.
And it was snowing.
It was a recipe for disaster.

I just didn't think we could handle one more "normal" night at home. It would be too much TV (in my opinion), not enough action (for them), too much noise (in my opinion), not enough excitement (for them)... tension and friction until my patience ran out (which some forecasters predicted would be as early as 3pm) and everyone was yelled off to an early bedtime.

But what could be done? We couldn't risk driving to town with two unpredictable boy stomachs.
We were stuck. At home. With our normal.
And normal was driving us all crazy.

Unless....
Unless I could figure out a way to shake up our normal.

I was desperate. Stuck in the house, dreading the evening, and desperate.
Naptime came, and I had a minute to think. I decided to try something different. Instead of just endure another evening, I'd try to shake up our normal.

I'd throw a party.
Just for us.

I gave myself some guidelines for this survival party:

• Keep it simple for your sake.
• A fun evening is worth any messes that will be made.
• And also, keep it simple.

I rummaged around my basement, and here's what I came up with.

Easter egg hunt.
It was freezing, and I had no candy, but I did have chocolate chips. They were willing to brave the cold for chocolate chips. (The big kids did the filling and the hiding for the little ones.

Ice Challenge

A container, ice, and some plastic coins.

Their challenge- how many coins can you get out of the tub with your bare feet in 5 minutes?

Finally, WATER PLAY.

We had water, and they had bathing suits. So what if it was snowing out. It was spring break after all! So we'd pretend it was summer in our basement. 

Also, they'd get those mats nice and clean. (Because clean mats are better Slip N Slides)

 Next, water balloon pinatas.

It was a nice theory, but they didn't pop very easily!

So they played catch...

Then they played bash-the-brother.

He loved it.

And finally,

the sleepout.

We put mattresses in the living room and all six of them slept out there. Of course, we danced first.

(Note the song- Aggie's favorite)

Then finally, TV.

Snuggles, and eventually, sleep.

The rest of the story

Yes, this was an incredibly fun way to spend what would have been a tense evening full of boredom and bickering. But before you comment with some sort of "Oh my goodness you are such a fun mom" spiel, let me tell you what happened the next day.

I collapsed. 

The oldest watched the youngest while I slept in. LATE. They watched LOTS of TV. And then I got up, and a little while later, I needed another nap. 

More babysitting. 

More TV. 

More messes.

More bickering.

But I guess that's life in a family, isn't it? 

It is series of sprints, with an occasional long nap.