Sick day

 A cold that kept my nose working on overdrive and forced me through a box and half of Kleenex (and a few shirt sleeves) yesterday also made me a very cranky mom. Lucky for me, Guillermo and Maya were great. I skipped my morning workout, slept in and woke to find Maya and Guillermo eating breakfast. Guillermo wanted to color more construction paper Easter eggs and that activity filled up a good amount of time. Against my better judgement, we went to the library but that turned out well too, despite a troubled start with Maya screaming because she had to leave her crackers in the car. I also had to serve up reminders that mommy didn't feel well and that they needed to be on their best behavior because I had no patience.

When we got home, my plan was to feed them lunch, read our new books, then let Maya nap while Guillermo watched TV until soccer practice, even though that meant 90 minutes straight of PBS Kids, including the never-ending fund-drive that drives him bonkers. Unfortunately Maya wouldn't nap and Guillermo wanted to watch only 30 minutes of afternoon cartoons. (this is a first. Some of his biggest tantrums stem from a blank television screen.) I let them play on the deck while I laid on the couch listening for any sign of fighting or, more importantly, silence, which indicates worse trouble. Maya kept trying to make a break for the backyard, though, and I had to get up and act like a mom. 

Poor Maya was the brunt of my barking that day, though it didn't seem she minded or paid much attention. She continued to sit on Guillermo when he whined and I yelled for her to get up. Despite my not so quiet reminders that we don't hit doors, she still banged on Guillermo's when he closed it to play by himself.  And, Guillermo, well, he got the mean look a lot and threatened with a few time-outs, when time-outs weren't really justified, but they were great and I was just, well, not feeling well.  

At dinner, Guillermo played doctor: "You need to go to bed early tonight. After dinner, you go right to bed."