Whine; Party of Three

Whiner #1: Me
I may as well get used to it. Again.
Bowling season has officially commenced and Eric is a bowler. Since this is like Eric’s 10th year, you’d think I may just decide to accept this as fact. That every Wednesday evening for 30 weeks I will be a single mom. Then again, the nagging, resentful and selfish side of me wants to nag him to quit every minute that leads up to bowling night since he’s already put in his DECADE. And let’s not overlook the fact that he just happens to have 2 kids at home now. That’s entirely a different scenario from when he first signed up. And while I’m on my rant, one very important point not to overlook is that Eric also attends his weekly fire meeting every Tuesday evening. He is a little bit more lenient on attendance for those, but still. Husband gone 2 evenings a week; wife gone zero. Okay. Rant over. Now my children.

Whiner #2: Elaina, scheduled to whine from 6-7:00 p.m.
So, Eric leaves for bowling at 6:00. And mind you, it’s not like I have ever felt “put out” to watch my own children, but tonight was different. From the beginning, Elaina was desperately tired and acting out by whining and breaking down into full blown drama queen-mode. Nothing made her happy, if I even thought the word “NO” she held her hands over her eyes and began to fake cry and whimper, thinking she would get her own way. Unfortunately for her, Mommy wasn’t in the mood to play her game tonight. I exercised every bit of my patience tonight as I resisted her tears for nearly an hour.

Whiner #3: Lincoln, taking his turn on the whine shift from 7-8:00 p.m.
And then there is Lincoln. Baby Lincoln is always such a good boy that there is rarely ever an instance that I have anything but positive to report on my little love. And wouldn’t you know it, tonight was different for him too. I’m guessing that Elaina’s temperament was a little bit contagious. Most nights I can count on Lincoln taking a nap in his swing for at least an hour or two, most times overlapping the same time I am putting Elaina to bed. Not tonight! Lincoln woke from his ONLY 20 MINUTE NAP and began to cry. Umm, did I say cry? I mean wail. Like someone was pulling out his toenails out. One at a time. And since he rarely cries, I do find it alarming and immediately begin to wonder what in the world could be wrong with my Little Sweetums. Trying to soothe him and ultimately feeding him early took the better part of an hour.

Let the Party Begin!! The Whine is flowing!!
Going into the third hour of our evening, just when I think I may finally have a handle on my cranky kiddos, Elaina starts with her Oscar-worthy performance of fake crying over going to bed, Lincoln begins to belt out a few cries of discontent because he can't put himself to sleep and I want to wrap a pillow around my head to cover their noise while I pound my head into the wall. Both kids are crying at the same time!

So here, mother's of multiples are faced with a crossroads of sorts. I can choose either to let myself give into being overwhelmed with this crappy evening and cry too, or I can step it up and take command. If you know me personally, you'll know how bossy I can be and know that I opted for path #2. It's time to take charge! I popped a fussy Lincoln into his swing, which he put himself to sleep within 2 minutes and hauled the drama queen off to her bedroom. Her very last request was for Mommy to lay down with her. Considering the night I had, I just so happened to oblige her last request. We snuggled down, cozy and tight in her bed about 8:50 and the house was quiet at last. Everyone was content and there was peace in the land. Just then, I heard Eric come home from bowling to a quiet, peaceful home full of FAKERS!!