bits and bites

about this weekend.
Andy was home and on Friday he was on the war path. He really can't handle Lydia at all. Her whining puts him over the edge very quickly and he responds with a sudden outburst that terrifies her. She made a scene at Tiger Jacks (we took her and Leila out for Lydia's bday, and that's her favourite restaurant). They were both whining about how long it's taking to get the food, even though they got Shirley Temples to sip on and crayons and colouring pages to do. Then the food arrived, and about five minutes later, Lydia started screaming that her lip hurts (she had a fever and her lip was dry and the ketchup and the spicy fries irritated them). I forgot the lip balm at home. Andy tried to suggest to put ice cube on it, or sip the cold water, I gently wiped it with the napkin and blew on it, but she still screamed, making a lot more noise then was warranted, frankly. She demanded that I go home for the lip balm, and I said, no, you need to wait until we are all finished eating, try sipping the cold water until then. She lost it. She whined and cried and carried on, until Andy threw his fork down and asked for the bill. We didn't finish eating, half the food was left, we stormed out, Andy angry, Lydia crying, Leila quiet as a mouse, I was scared so I made sure to keep up with Andy to keep an eye on him and Lydia. After we got home, I put the lip balm on her and she was fine. Half and hour later she wanted to eat, but I was mad at her for making such a scene, so I just gave her crackers. Andy went into my room and closed the door and was there for the rest of the night. After I took Leila home, Lydia was whining, but I put her to bed earlier and had a chat about making such a scene.
The next day (Saturday), we all went to the beach, pretended we were a family, it was actually pretty nice, we made a sandcastle and swam far out with Lydia in her floaty.
Sunday was the Talk Exchange, it was a good discussion, and everybody had lots to say about whether we are evolving ethically and morally as human beings. It's amazing how much evidence there is that we are, indeed getting better, but there is as much evidence to suggest, as someone said, that we are six meals away from anarchy. It's true - when it comes to basic survival, we are all creatures of instinct.
That same night, the family down the street had a "School is Out" party, so Lydia was there while I was at the Talk Exchange, and I went back there after - it was fun, about 8 kids and as many parents, bbq, salads, desserts, pinata for the kids, it was great. We all sat around and talked, the kids were playing under the sprinklers in the back yard. Still, she wasn't tired when we got home, so it took me a while to coax her into bed. How do kids get all this energy??? Cuz I want some.
Today again, I took them to the beach, Leila came too, and another mom from the street with her two girls. I'm beat, but it was a nice long weekend.