Sticks and Marbles!

There's this game that my kids have. It's called Kerplunk. The basic idea is that there are all these sticks holding a bunch of marbles up in a tube. Each child is supposed to pull out a stick and try not to make the marbles fall. The thing is, my kids actually like to make the marbles fall. They all screem and laugh when it happens and find themselves trying to see how quickly they can make them fall.
Of course, the proces of setting the game up is a bit complicated for little ones, so guess who gets to put it back to gether? It's not that big a deal. I don't really mind doing it a couple of times. It's when I have to do it over and over again that I begin to get frustrated. What really upsets me is when they start pulling sticks out before I'm done putting them in.
There is a purpose to this story...

Why is it that just when you think you've got every thing starting to come together you loose controll of every thing all at once? It kinda feels like that game my kids have. One or two sticks really aren't normally a problem. As long as they're aren't important, you can actually have several taken away with out to much trouble. It's when just the right one is pulled that the whole pile of marbles come crashing down.

I reset my marbles on a regular basis... and I feel like the kids are just racing around after me pulling out sticks. I know the game will end soon with that oh-so-familar crash. So why is it that, just like in that game, I find myself replacing sticks faster and faster? Then I start trying to put two or three sticks in at once. This never works, just so you know. You end up not getting them in all the way and some even fall out on their own. Finally, I throw my hands up in the air and give up! Some giggles and pulls that last stick out and there they go!

Okay have you ever had one of those days where every thing just seems to go wrong?

Today I just can't seem to get it todether, so what do I do? Well I have banned the older kids from the inside of the house, put the three younger ones down for a nap, and sat down for a good cry.
I cry about every thing and nothing! I can't get the_________ (choose any following item) house clean, meals made, school taught, baby fed, laundry done, errands run or, kids bathed and dressed. It's just so frustrating! On days like this yelling, screaming, spanking, time outs ...none of them will work. I have found that the best thing to do on a day like to day is to quit. Not for good, just long enough to eat a pice of cake (I highly recomend strawberry with chocolate frosting)... and reset your marbles!
If you send the kids away from the table while you put the sticks in they can't pull them out before your ready. NOTE: THEY WILL PULL THEM OUT AGAIN! Once again you'll hear the warning from one or two that start to fall. Then the crash will follow. But at least you'll be prepared, and it will have taken them longer this time. When your prepared for your mables to come crashing down, you'll be a lot less likely to loose them! :)