Cabin fever is the work of the devil...
The last few weeks have been so hectic
with hockey practices late on school nights,
games in far flung suburbs,
with baseball practices and games mixed in...
There is no doubt both children were tired
from a full weekend of fun and games...
And then Sunday arrived, cold, wet
and altogether dreary...
Cubs game?
Too cold...
Movie?
The show times
did not work out...
Bowling?
Hey, now that's an idea
to get all of us out of the house...
We would spend some good quality
family time together,
bonding over strikes and spares,
with a few gutter balls thrown in...
Wellllll...
"Crabby Appleton" was a nickname
my mom gave us when we deserved it,
and oh, man, did my kids earn that moniker today...
The screeching, picking, fighting,
and arguing were constant from breakfast onward...
And it came from both sides
with equal venom...
T$ and I looked at each other with a mixture
of utter exhaustion and a keen desire
to book the next flight to Tahiti...
What do the experts say...
That kids are cranky when they are either hungry,
bored or tired...
I am not sure which species of bee resided in their bonnets,
but we hoped a few games at Diversey River Bowl
might calm the beasts...
We were not one block away from home,
not even thirty seconds out the door,
when the sniping from the back seat
resumed with fervor...
"Mom! Kate put stickers on your window!"
"I know I did, JAAACK! I am taking them off, now, OKAAAY!?"
"Good job, Kate, you stupid..."
I looked over at T$ and said, "Home."
There was no way I was going to treat my urchins
to anything today when they were behaving so badly...
A message must be sent...
The pleading, begging and tearful wails
from the back seat might have swayed even the hardest of hearts,
but these parental units had long since left Compassion Town...
We were done...
Tough Noogies, so to speak...
Sometimes you have to take the hard road
to teach a lesson...
I swear, driving around the block
to come home seemed to take forever...
We must have sat at a traffic light for six years,
with Jack and Kate throwing emotional darts
at us the whole time...
When we finally rolled back into the garage,
the kids angrily remained in the car
for at least fifteen minutes
after T$ and I walked into the house....
They must have hoped we would imagine them sobbing
in the back seat,
totally bereft of the will to live
now that we had deprived them
of an afternoon of bowling...
You pick your battles...
You make threats to get the kids back in line...
Sometimes their pleas for you to cave works
and the time you live up to your word,
it knocks them in the shins...
They cannot believe that Mom and Dad
actually TURNED THE CAR AROUND!!
Damn right, we did,
and we will do it again...
Try us...
After Jack and Kate finally trudged from garage
and came into the house,
the former sibling enemies had now formed
TEAM ANTI PARENTS
and they strode past me silently...
I quickly left to purchase groceries
and found that charming handwritten sign
on the seat of my car...
I laughed out loud!
After returning from my errand,
Kate very sweetly apologized
and we made Lemon Brownies together for dessert...
At this writing, Jack, however, has not spoken with us...
He is sulking with his video games...
No matter...
Trust me, T$ and I were looking forward
to getting out of the house,
blowing the stink from the family troupe
with a little fresh air and bowling shoes,
but we had to suffer
along with our miserable ankle biters
to send a message...
Was it fun?
No.
Was it the right thing to do?
We think so...
Will it happen again?
Yep..
Taking the good with the bad....
That's all it is...
Here is the recipe for the Lemon Brownies, courtesy of The Cutest Blog on the Block...
Lemon Brownies
3/4 cup all-purpose flour 3/4 cup granulated sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened 2 large eggs 2 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest 2 tablespoons lemon juice Lemon Glaze 1/2 cup powdered sugar 1 tablespoon lemon juice 2 teaspoons lemon zest Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray an 8-by-8-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside. Zest and juice two small lemons; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixture fitted with the paddle attachement, beat the flour, sugar, salt, and softened butter until combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice until combined. Pour into the flour mixture and beat at medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Pour into baking dish and bake for 25 minutes, or until just starting to turn golden around the edges and a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before glazing. When brownies are cooled completely, make the glaze by whisking together all three ingredients. Spread over the brownies with a rubber spatula, cut into bars, and serve!
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