Mike and his boys

Almost every evening at about 4:30, the craziness begins... The afternoon snack has worn off, the house looks like a tornado ran through it, I am scrambling in the kitchen to get dinner started, the sun is going down and the cold sets in.  That is when my boys decide to magically turn the bored hyper switch on and the whining, pestering & crying begins.  That is why the winter is so long... No sending them outside to run off their energy and all of the sudden when it is dark outside ALL their toys are suddenly boring!  So while I can temporarily distract them with markers, stickers, play dough, etc for a few minutes at a time, they pretty much remain in this feisty state until they are nice and cozy in their beds for the night.  Mike has really stepped up lately and it has become a team effort to get this crazy crew of kids from dinner to rough housing to bath to book to bed.  After dinner he tackles, wrestles, tickles and plays superheros with them to get their hyper energy expelled (maybe his too!).  The loud action packed playtime migrates to the bath and the four of them have lots of loud splashy pirate fun while I clean the kitchen, get their pjs, vitamins, toothbrushes, etc ready.  One by one I get them dried off and dressed as he continues to entertain them in the tub... Straight to couch for a book with dad as I gather up the blankets and binkies.  Several cuddles, one on one talks about their days, bedtime prayers and off to bed, our exercise session is over :)!  They sure love their dad & I love you too... Thanks for all your help, you are an amazing father!