Rogue Bunnies...Or, Why My Kids Don't Often Get Sugar

That’s not entirely true…our girls get sugar from time to time, and I’ve often felt like they must be “immune” to its effects. I can’t remember ever thinking they must have had too many sweets, judging by the way they were acting…

…at least until yesterday.

While I downplayed the build-up to Halloween, Christmas, and Valentine’s Day, for some reason the girls were really excited about Easter approaching. I went right along with it. And I had so much fun asking them if they thought they’d get Easter baskets, and what would be in them.

So perhaps it wasn’t just the sugar…I know the anticipation of the day – and the break in our regularly-scheduled programming – also contributed to the day’s “challenges”.

The girls got up on time, and breakfast went pretty smoothly. I told them they’d get their baskets after breakfast, and they were fine with that. I forewent my usual coffee time and let them open baskets pretty soon after breakfast. They enjoyed looking through their goodies, but it wasn’t long before they were asking for CHOCOLATE.

I let them have their morning snack early – including two mini Cadbury eggs from their baskets. After they ate, they were content to play for a few minutes, but it wasn’t long before they were asking, “More chocolate, please!”

I tried to engage them with their new books, but they did not want to sit still. I tried to get them involved in setting up a birthday party with their new play food, but they were too fidgety.

I finally decided we needed to get outside, so we dressed for a walk. The girls did well outside, and played in the yard when we got home.

But…the first thing they did when we came inside for me to start making lunch? “Can we have more chocolate?”

NO!!!

We all ate lunch, relatively uneventfully, but they were a bundle of energy afterwards. I knew they were tired, but I was so afraid they wouldn’t nap.

Thankfully, after Mommy having to go into their room a couple of times, they went to sleep. They didn’t nap long, though, waking up to ask for MORE CHOCOLATE.

I did allow the girls a tiny bit more chocolate as part of their afternoon snack, and we spent an hour or so outside hunting eggs.

We came in for a bath, and my, oh, my, were they rambunctious.

By late afternoon, I just didn’t think I could will myself to bake a ham and roast the asparagus. I instructed Daddy to go pick up a pizza.

When the girls asked why we were having pizza – a rare treat – I said something vague, like, “I just thought it would be nice.” I didn’t tell them that they’d worn their mama completely out today!

And after pizza, what did they say??? “Can we have some chocolate?”

No, I think we’ve had our fill of chocolate to last us until next Easter.

***

As I type this sequence of events, it doesn’t sound quite as bad as it felt at the time. Frankly, the girls were fussy and whiny and just not very content, and it was nothing short of exhausting.

In hindsight, I know I can’t really blame the chocolate. The chocolate was probably a contributing factor, coupled with their expectations of the day, AND the break in routine. I can usually play around with one of those elements, but manipulating multiple variables is something I’ll try not to do again for quite a while.