Valentine's Day Aftermath

Thank god for insurance.  Yesterday morning I was awoken by my husband, who was in a panic. I thought for sure that the house was on fire, as he knows after 13 years (14? I forgot) that if it is still dark outside that something had better be seriously wrong. 
"There's flooding in the powder-room that is running into the kitchen and going through the floor to your studio." Yeah, that got me out of bed pretty quickly.

The toilet had overflowed (clean water, or at least as clean as toilet water can be) all night in the little bathroom behind the kitchen and water was everywhere- powder-room, mudroom, about a third of the kitchen, then through the wood floor and through the ceiling below into my studio.  Needless to say, I ran right down into my studio to see how bad it was.  Luckily for me, the water was running down into a place where I did not keep any fabric or trims or anything like that. There was a giant puddle, but nothing important got wet.

Then we went upstairs. Yarg...  The wood floor was already buckling in that horrifying mountainous way that pre-finished floors do, as were the wood moldings.  I won't bore you with more details, but for some reason it took my husband a while to find the plunger, but when he did, we found the culprit.

Shiny red candy wrappers.  Hersey Kisses from a school Valentine party.

The kids had had plenty of sugar/junk at those parties, so I told them that they couldn't have anymore for desert, but they would have to wait until lunch the next day.  My 10 year, J, old pouts when he doesn't get his way, but E, the 8 year old, will figure out how to do what she wants, come hell or high water.  Yes, HIGH WATER.  Apparently she (we know who is was because J is not a fan of chocolate, unlike his sister) decided that she couldn't wait until the following day for those kisses.  I suppose it makes sense to a 2nd grader high on chocolate that flushing the evidence is the best thing to do.

My mother once told me that E is payback. Then she laughed.

I give hubby and myself credit for not freaking out at E when she came down for breakfast.  It was worth it to stay calm, as we discovered how compliant she can be when she feels really guilty.

E did not disolve into a puddle of tears or hyperventilate or anything, it just seemed to finally click that there is a REASON that hubby and I have a few rules.  We explained that the toilet overflowed, what we found with the plunger, and that there was a crazy amount of damage because of something being put in the toilet that didn't belong there.  She sat there for a minute, looked down, then admitted that she snuck chocolate and tried to flush the evidence. She wouldn't make eye contact, but at least she admitted it, even though her natural tendency seems to be to lie at a very high pitch with her eyes all wide.  We just calmly told her that being honest is the most important thing, that it isn't worth it to lie.

 Don't get me wrong, I don't generally want my children to feel crippling guilt, but... ok, in the case of damage that equals the value of a new car I admit that I'll take it. But only for a couple of days. If she isn't up to her old tricks within a couple of days I will start to get nervous.

I HATE Homework

I am not naturally a very calm person. Having a lot of energy and moving/thinking a hundred miles an hour has served me well in many areas of my life. Mothering, not so much.  Especially at homework time.  Amazing how children can focus so seriously on tv, yet become so distracted while doing math homework that it is like having a circus with a candy-gifting clown in the kitchen with us when it is time for subtraction.
Last night I was so calm when the whining began. I ignored it and spoke softly. I was the perfect mother, who if filmed had the soft filter and gentle smile.  2nd grade math took almost an hour, but we all came through to the other side happy.

Tonight I was like a completely different person.  I admit that I am tired and have a bad cold, but I still need to be that caring, nurturing, calm and perfect mom. Right?  RIGHT?! Aagghh!! (head spins around, Exorcist-style)

What is it about homework that turns my children into whining messes who just about bang their heads on the table and throw themselves on the floor instead of actually figuring out what 6-4= is?  What is it that makes me grit my teeth because I feel like screaming? (Why do children spend more time whining and complaining about something than it would actually take them to do it?)

Know why I hate homework? It's because it is done at the end of the day when everyone is tired and ready to turn his/her brain off for a while.  E gets off the bus at 4:30 and goes to bed at 8:00. She deserves to play and decompress after being in school for 7 hours. She needs to have a family dinner. She needs to have a bath with her toys. She needs her favorite bedtime story and a quiet snuggle.  She's 7.  I think that it is alot to expect a 2nd grader to do 2 pages of math, read to me or herself for 20-30 minutes a day, and do some page relating to spelling each and every day, plus use a math-game website for at least 20 minutes a day. She is tired. She is not an overscheduled child who plays 14 sports and is tutored 17 times a week, she is just average.

She just hits a wall, just like an adult does.  People may suggest that she do her homework as soon as she gets home from school, but I just can't do it.  We are in Michigan, so this time of year it gets dark so early, plus we eat dinner at about 5:30 or 6:00.  I need to take a break after a long day of work, so why shouldn't my children? I don't want them to be coddled, God knows I probably don't baby them enough, but I really do resent all the homework.  I think that it is unneccesary and just pushes too hard.

I want my children to be well educated and prepared for life, but what happened to being children for as long as possible?