"The Machine"

You remember "The Machine" in Princess Bride? Well, it was designed as a torture device which could suck years off of a person's life. Sometimes, when my children are all crying and screaming, this is how I feel:

I try to keep cool and respond in the best way possible, but I think that after one week of minimal screaming, not only am I getting an extra-big dose of it right now, but my sensitivity to it has increased too. I'm sure that most of our day today was actually pretty happy, but those few minutes of all-out screamfest here and there really wore me out!

Happy events today included playing house with two umbrellas on the porch and going to the park. This was the first time I took all four kids to the park by myself this year. Actually, I started to take them by myself, but my sweet neighbor spotted us and decided she'd tag along and help out. This was kind of a trial run to see how the kids would do. I held two girls' hands, and Everett held the other's as we walked to and from the park. He did a great job and everyone stuck together really well. We must have looked really cute--especially when I had the children walk quickly across the street. Everett may not have done this if my neighbor wasn't with us, but he did release Gwyn's hand about half a block from the park because he was so excited. I'll watch for that next time. All three girls are climbing ladders like little pros now. I still keep an eye on them every time though! The hardest part of our park visit today was keeping all four children in the same area, and persuading Everett to leave the park. He was very patient with us today. I'll have to take him by himself every now and then.