an evening like ours

Recipe:

Take 4 kids, right before dinner time. Change their clothes and do their hair (make sure at least two of the kids are girls so that you get the full effect of "doing" the hair). If one of the kids is almost 3 months old, make sure you cut her nap short and don't take time to feed her. Find 3 pairs of socks and 3 pairs of shoes. Put them on kids' feet. Do this again for the 2-year-old after she takes them off. Get loaded up into the car and drive to a park to meet Dad for a family photo shoot. Get kids to sit still for a picture. Tuck 3-year-old boy's shirt back in at least 7 times. Distract 2-year-old long enough to stop throwing a tantrum. Chase kids around park, preferably in 3 different directions. Take a break so 5-year-old can find a bathroom. Put shoes back on 2-year-old. Bribe 3 kids with fruit snacks and other random promises that come to your mind in moments like this. Continue until the window of good lighting has passed, hopefully during which time you have managed to take a picture with 2 adults and 4 kids all present. Get loaded back into the car and head for home. Feel grateful while Dad makes dinner for the kids so you can feed the baby. Listen to a few more tantrums from the 2-year-old. Wipe off 6 sticky hands and three sticky faces. Get kids into jammies. Read stories. Help brush teeth (make sure you get all the fruit snack pieces out of those little teeth). Say prayers, sing songs, and say "good night."

Note: You might find yourself laughing if you hear your 5-year-old say something like this to her little sister during dinner: "It's not just a pancake, SCC; it's a Swedish pancake...because it's sweet."