Here comes the night…

My husband is rarely off on the weekend. This weekend was one of those rare ones so we decided to “do something” before the kids went back to school. I had been wanted to take them to the new trampoline place so after having bought a groupon deal for it, we decided to take them on Saturday. They had soccer at 11 am so I thought we’d do the trampoline place and then get dinner and go home. That thought was mistake #1.

They were tired after soccer, but we came home, had lunch and rested for a few hours. “They’ll probably be ok.” I thought. We’ll hit up the trampoline place from 3-5, get dinner and be home by 7, which is their normal bedtime. It won’t be too much later than normal. I’m sure they’ll be able to handle it. Mistake #2.

The trampoline place is an hour away. They use their ipod/ipad/nabi on the way up, they are content. This gives me false hope at how the rest of the day will go. Mistake #3.

We arrive. The place is FUN! We bounce for an hour straight. My husband and I are sweating our butt’s off. The kids are having a blast…but then I see it; the first signs of the things to come. Jacob gets a teeny rug burn from the trampoline and cries for 5 minutes straight about it. I sit with him for a bit and let him rest while Mr. Pea jumps with the girls. After his rest, he’s ok to continue. Then Abby gets hurt and it’s her turn to cry. Oh lordy, I think. We still have a second hour of jump time, I don’t think they will make it! Mind you, Hannah, my party animal is still going strong.

After a brief rest, Abby is ok to jump again and we barely skate by the second hour with minimal crying or injuries. Who knew the trampoline place would be so traumatic?! Our time is up and they say they had a blast and want to immediately return tomorrow. Umm, no. We will return again, but after a few more weeks so I can recover from all the band aids and tears.

It’s 5:00 and it’s starting to turn to dusk. I’m getting worries. Here comes the night…my kids don’t do well at night. I know some kids that do great in the evenings. I see their parents posting Instagram or Facebook pictures of them at 8, 9, or even 10 pm (seriously!) with big happy eyes, doing crafts or watching fireworks or some other bull crap. Not my kids. It is a known fact around here that my peas turn into little werewolves when the sun sets. They grow fur, cry at everything, yell at anyone in a 50 foot radius of them, kick, scream and maybe even sprout fangs; I’m not quite so sure but I think they do. I believe it’s due to the fact that I have had them on a schedule since they were born and they are used to going to bed at a certain time. This is great and all (yay me) but occasionally it would be nice to go someplace in the evening without having to endure this transformation!

Alas….the night is coming, but we still need to eat so we go to Oregano’s, which is a yummy local very kid-friendly place not too far from where we were. In the 5 minute drive we are asked “when will we BE there!!” at least 72 times. We arrive, finally!, and can be seated immediately on the heated patio. Perfect, I think, the quicker, the better. We are seated by the fireplace (Mistake #4) which the kids are loving! (for now) We decide what we want and order immediately. My husband is unaware of the changes in the kids- he thinks they are “doing great” and “will totally last the whole dinner”. HA. They are fine for the first 15 minutes. Then things start to change.

Everyone wants to “bake” their play pizza dough that they give you to play with in the fire. No, we can’t do that.

Salt, pepper and oregano shakers are spilt.

Someone cries that their dough is too hard.

Someone else cries that they can’t eat the dough.

They are hot. “Want me to change places with you?” I ask. NO! they say.  (Mistake #5)

Garlic bread comes, we eat it quick. I ordered a Bellini (thank god) and sip on it, pretending I am someplace else.

Suddenly it hits them: night is here. A and J are laying all over the table: “I’m tiiirrreeeeddddddd!” they say. “I want to eat now!!!!!” Oh lord. Food comes, hooray! They start eating. Three bites are taken. “I want to be done now!” Hannah gets up and starts playing with a plant in the corner. Some Christmas lights on a nearby tree are suddenly not working, which I am sure we were the cause of somehow. Lord help us!

Then Abby has her melt down. Crying, shaking. She can’t eat. “I can’t even look at it Dad!!!!” (What the heck??) I HAVE TO GO POTTY!!! We had already ordered dessert so I am praying it’s there when we get back. I take her potty. When I get back, Hannah has to go. Then Jacob. We have to play musical chairs because now everyone is too hot. The ice cream is melting. Everyone is a mess. Please let it be done! Finally we finish, pack up the uneaten food and get the heck out of there.

We drive home- you’d think since they were “so tired” and “couldn’t eat” they’d sleep on the way home. Nope. They start an engaging conversation with one another about new names for crayons. Did they sleep in the next day since they were up a little later? Nope again, they were up even earlier, waking me at 6:00am!

So I made a decision to have no more “evening” or “late-afternoon” outings at least for 3 years. Nope, we shall stick to morning and early afternoon trips. I don’t know why I even thought this evening would have had any other outcome. I should have known better.

Do your kids do well at night? I love my early bedtimes so I think I’m ok with avoiding the evenings, for now anyways. I’d rather be sitting on my couch with some wine anyways 🙂