Full Moon Antics

It seems every few months my children lose their minds and forget everything they've been taught. They have exceptional abilities to completely ruin a day or two and can only tell "I don't know" when I ask why. I've heard enough "I don't knows" in the last two days to question just about every bit of my parenting abilities. Tomorrow they will wake up and more than likely be back to normal, but I have to wonder if in fact they are howling at a full moon when they go nuts like they have yesterday and today. These two days have put a, well, fresh spin on childhood insanity. In other words, they have really outdone themselves.

When these days occur, I immediately consider their behavior a reflection of my parenting skills... which appear to be grossly lacking. It's like a cycle. We do well for a while, I think I'm on the right track, they go nuts, I go nuts, back to doing well, etc. I guess it's knowing that they will wake up tomorrow in their right minds that makes me even write this post. A lot of you will think what they have done today is quite hilarious. I, on the other hand, have been completely ashamed of this behavior, questioning my decision to have any of these children and to admit utter insanity in  producing another Brannon in the new year. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately, hind sight 20-20) there's not much I can do about those decisions except trudge onward and upward. It is what it is. This, however, does not mean I didn't take the time to ball my eyes out this afternoon after sending them all to their rooms. I hit 'The Wall'... that place that's covered in tears and self-doubt, not seeing what's on the other side. I took a break. I have wonderful friends who rescued me. Now, with a somewhat clearer mind, I'm trying to figure out what the heck is wrong with my kids. These are things I've come up with in the last two days.
Q: Why is every toy, every book, every game they own covering the floors? A: I'm pretty sure it's because my children have not been at home for more than two months. It's like Christmas in a candy shop. They're still enjoying the fruits of the Easter Bunny (our travels began the week after Easter).
Q: Why do they not listen to me? A: Again, traveling has its downfall in that I've been separated from my children in spurts, they've been surrounded by doting family members they see once a year, and there was always another adult to back me up.
Q: Why does most of their mischief happen when I'm on the phone with my husband? A: Caelan has expressed her semi-anger in not finding Keith at home when we returned Tuesday night. The two youngest children have not seen him since the end of April. They even talked to him on the phone before this afternoon's mischief, he encouraging them to be nice and to help me out. Apparently it was reverse psychology day. Whatever is said the opposite must be acted upon. They did a smashing job of that.
Q: Why do my children have such 'bathroom' issues? A: Two days ago, I was thrilled with the prospect of having three children out of diapers before #4 made an appearance. Today it seems like I will have three maybe four in diapers if my children continue to regress.

Oh, and to give you the icing on the Mom's-gone-insane-and-hit-the-wall cake, I will tell you the one incident that completely tipped the scales to ruination. After all their conversations on the phone with Keith, I finished the call by heading upstairs to put the sheets back on McKenna's bed (think Piccasso art of #1 and #2...oh, yeah... that's how the day began). In those minutes, my children completely trashed the living room. Not even kidding. Game pieces from three different games, water on the coffee table (I assume it was water but since I never found the vessel the water could have been transported in, it's highly likely that the liquid came from the completely naked McKenna), pencils and crayons thrown about, stickers on furniture, wet wipes ripped out of the box, every toy strategically placed on all visible surfaces in the room, and smashed animal crackers in the rug. This was NOT the breaking point. Certainly it all needed to be dealt with but that's not what I saw at first. On the way back downstairs, my two older children ran past me to conveniently play in their rooms. I should have known. Standing on the bottom landing of my stairs, I saw my youngest child (completely naked) standing on the couch and the brass chandelier only inches away from her. THE CHANDELIER WAS RIPPED FROM ITS WIRE IN THE CEILING. I sat on the stairs and fell apart. Ten minutes at the most had passed since I had left that room. HOW COULD THEY? HOW COULD THEY HAVE ACCOMPLISHED THAT? They know, after a bazillion scoldings, to not touch the chandelier. I have never actually caught them swinging from it, but have walked in to see it swinging. There is an undeniable lure to touch the pretty fixture. It's shiny and has at least fifteen bulbs on it. It also hangs directly above the couch and a console record player table, accessible. Sigh. Is this a sign of a full moon? Is this a sign that something is going on in the mind of my kids that I'm totally missing? Is this a sign that we have been away too long? Or is it because they know I'm not at my best right now and their Dad isn't home? Who knows. At least we're finally getting a new light fixture. One closer to the ceiling. My husband even suggested one with a climbing rope attached. I guess he sees the humor in it, I still haven't.

"Tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet."

L.M. Montgomery