Church Shenanigans

Bringing the kids to Mass with us lately has become unbearable. The three of them fight over the books we bring; CC wants to take 5 bathroom breaks; the kids treat the kneelers as a jungle gym; Sweet Pea wants to strew the contents of my purse all over the pew; and Little Man throws a fit whether he's getting what he wants or not. When it's all said and done, I have no recollection of what was going on during the Mass at all, my blood pressure is high, and I know that everyone sitting near us was silently cursing us.

Last week was the final straw. I told MJ I wasn't going through it again -- the twins were going to the nursery during Mass in the future. He was reluctant, and by the time this Sunday rolled around, he'd negotiated it down to just Little Man going to the nursery. Little Man is the worst offender, so I agreed.

I'm happy to say that during Mass this week, I actually cracked open the missalette. I have a general idea of what the readings were about (although not the homily). I wasn't as flustered or stressed as I have been in the past. Sweet Pea tried to pick up the slack from Little Man, but her shenanigans aren't nearly as bad as Little Man's, so it was still an improvement.

I feel a little bad about separating Little Man from the rest of us, but he's been extremely difficult lately and I definitely need a little break.