One right after the other

Today was a very loooong day. It seemed that my kids were extra busy making messes. There was a new mess every time I turned around. Just one mess after another. On days like today I thank the good Lord above for only two kids.
The main reason why today was so hard was because I didn't get much sleep last night. I get weird twitches in my legs some nights. I don't know if it's restless leg syndrome or poor circulation or too much sugar before I go to bed, I just know it wakes me up and keeps me up.
So I was tired and cloudy when the kids awoke and only became more so when I looked outside and saw the rain coming down sideways. Usually I love a strong rain storm, but today the kids, and I, really needed some sunshine.
So what were we to do indoors all day long? Well, to start, the usual, breakfast and cartoons. We have a ritual where we eat breakfast together then the kids get to watch an episode of Dinosaur Train or Curious George while I clean up and get going for the day.
The first mess occurred during the usual cartoon time. Franklin decided he wanted to be naked and jump on the couch without any cushions. My son has been fascinated with being naked lately. I don't know what has spawned the new obsession of being sans clothes and why he does it at the most random times. I guess it's not really all that random because he usually strips down right after he goes to the bathroom. So he did his customary morning peepee and supposed he needed to take it all off.
I don't mind that he takes the cushions off the couch. It reminds me that I need to vacuum under them every so often and it keeps him in my sight while I clean the kitchen. I just don't like cushions strewn everywhere because it cramps the living room and my style.
Since it was raining I decided to make the most of the cushionless couches by draping blankets over them and making a tent. The fun of that lasted about 45 minutes. The aftermath was blankets and cushions strewn everywhere and a 3.9-year-old boy ready to do something else.
I wasn't in much of a mood for entertaining the kid, in fact, all that going up and down the stairs to fetch enough blankets to make a decent tent seem to put my uterus in a bit of a tizzy. I started having cramps and dull pain. So I had to take it easy for a few hours. I tried just sitting on the couch with even more cartoons on, but the kids weren't watching it. Instead they were busy jumping on the cushions, which had been on the floor for hours now, with cookies in their hands.
Franklin, being the generous big brother that he is, offered his little sister a pink frosted sugar cookie. We made 6 dozen of them the other day when it was raining, again. Beatrice was extremely thankful and made sure she left her mark of both crumbs and frosting everywhere. I know she targeted each cushion individually and ensured that she smeared frosting on each arm of the couch and love seat as well. She had to leave her mark and I just watched her, too tired and crampy to really even bother.
I don't know how anybody could ever be on bed rest, especially with kids.
After watching Franklin sit on his sister a few times and try to put her in some wrestling position his dad taught him, I had decided enough was enough. Cramps, contractions, Braxton hicks, whatever was not enough to keep me down. I was going insane sitting around.
I got up and got busy. I put some rice in the rice cooker and pulled out some chicken I had been marinating over night. Just as I started stirring the sauce that the chicken was to go in, I turn around to see Beatrice tugging on the cord of the rice cooker. No body, no matter how fast, could've reached that rice cooker in time to stop it from tumbling onto the ground, spilling ALL of its contents. No super hero, no wizard or witch, not even Inspector Gadget with his gadget arms could've stopped it from happening even though it all seemed like it was in slow motion.
I feel like such an idiot of a parent! Such a rookie mistake to leave an electrical cord where a toddler could reach it. So it was all my fault and how fortunate we were that things weren't worse. Sure it made a mess, but luckily Beatrice had on long, thick clothing that stopped any hot water from totally scalding her. The water was boiling hot, but, again, fortunately she wasn't close enough to get it splashed on her face and the rest of her body.
I admit, I swore. It was partially because I was so scared by the noise, and partially because I was mad at myself for leaving the cord where it could be reached, and partially because I was so worried Beatrice had been burned, and partially because I was sooooooooo tired at that point and seeing all the rice and the water on the floor just about drove me to tears. There have been studies showing that cursing helps to cope with pain. So it's quite possible cursing tonight really did save me from just breaking down completely.
I left the mess there and started all over again. New rice, new water, new seasoning all while stirring my Trinidadian Curry Chicken and all while the kids were back to their shenanigans. i.e. smearing even more frosting on the couch and watching even more cartoons.
At 6pm my husband finally walked through the door. I had warned him multiple times that the house would be a disaster when he came home and sure enough, the kids made good on that warning. Frank walked into the house to find Franklin naked (for the third time that day) and Beatrice in her diaper (I had to take her rice infused clothes off), and half the kitchen splattered in rice and rice water. The spill was so bad it splashed all over the place.
It splattered the fridge, the stove, the microwave above the stove. It was that bad.
Like a good husband, he changed his suit than came back to the kitchen and started cleaning the floor. Like a typical husband, he didn't quite get all of it, but the effort and the thought did not go unrewarded by a good meal.
My chicken turned out smashingly. It was a new recipe. One which we will keep and use over and over. The rice was ok, but it was the dessert that saved the day. Nothing helps smooth over a rough day like something sweet. I had some dough in the fridge that I cut up and smothered cinnamon, sugar and butter all over to make Monkey bread. It was messy and sticky just like the rest of my kitchen and the kids and the couches for that matter, but it was so good and a great way to end my day.

I sure hope the sun comes out tomorrow.