Yesterday's breakfast was scrambled eggs with yams and potatoes and butter.

Lunch was a garden salad with lettuce, carrots, orange bell peppers and tomatoes with Ranch dressing (Hidden Valley brand).

The kids and I had chocolate therapy and rocky road ice cream which we enjoyed with a movie. I had to stop watching with 20 minutes left to get to work for a couple hours.

I had my dinner after work, which was two bowls of Mexican Chili with mozzarella and cheddar cheese mixed in.

Yesterday was probably one of the most stressful, crazy days I've had in a while. It was mostly the kids acting up in various ways. Kids act up, so no great news there. Just imagine what it might be like if four out of your five kids were doing very normal, but disruptive things all at once. That was how the entire day went. The oldest kid and I held it together... barely. I made a very conscious effort to stay calm all day, and succeeded. That frayed a bit when I got home from work and one of the kids was still acting up. That particular kid may be coming down with a cold, so now it's totally understandable.

Another interesting thing that happened yesterday was that I had conversations with my two oldest (separately) concerning how to deal with a relative who they were finding difficult to relate to. 99 percent of the issues were boundary-related (see Cloud and Townsend's book Boundaries for reference), so hearing my kids' complaints helped me to formulate a strategy for setting some good boundaries so that an upcoming visit will be a more positive experience for all concerned. Having those conversations was a bit of a turning point for me. A reminder of the importance of engaging with my children. I'm naturally introverted so I tend to want to withdraw and do my own thing, even when being physically present. Sure, there's a time for that, but children really need their parents to be present, really present to them. Something else that happened earlier in the week made it clear that this is important for my preschool aged child as well.

I taught a theology class at work, and had a great time. My students were wonderfully responsive.

Today is already going way better than yesterday. I will blog about today later on. But need to get breakfast made or we will have meltdowns.