Last year it was the basketball hoop in the driveway which took 400 pounds of sand to fill the base. Yes, 400 lbs that I had to cart back from Home Depot in 50 lb bags. Then there was this debacle a couple years ago. And with the kids getting older the problem only seems to be growing.

This year I thought it would be good to get them a Foosball Table for Hanukah. But not just any table. I wanted to get one that would last many years, providing enjoyment all the way through high school. Did I mention I was a bit of a foosball aficionado back in the day?

I found a table on Amazon. It looked great in the picture and had good reviews. What I didn’t realize, until the guy delivered it on a packing crate, was that it weighed over 200lbs. And there was assembly required.

This is what it looks like on Amazon.

This is what it actually looks like after you manage to get the 200lb box down the basement stairs.

Four hours, 3 finger blisters, and a sore back later, we’re ready to unveil it tonight. Blisters are what happens when you don’t have the electric drill charged and you need to fasten dozens of wood screws by hand. I’m looking forward to the cute deluxe play kitchen I will be assembling on Christmas Eve. This time I will charge the drill ahead of time.

Hot dogs are not a healthy choice for 4 kids, you say? Nonsense. I wouldn’t give them anything I don’t give myself.

This weekend I was not able to help Thing 3 when he needed it, wanted it, and kept asking for my help. It pains me to relive it just by writing about it.

He was playing Super Mario Galaxy on Wii. He was at a new level that he couldn’t figure out how to get past. His usual sources of help in this area, Thing 1 and Thing 2, were not home. So it fell to me.

“Daddy, help me! Show me how to do this”

I tried, but couldn’t figure it out. He got upset. A four year old’s image of a father who knows and can fix everything, shattered, never to return.

The classic toys and games, many of the same ones I played as a kid, are still great and kids love them.

Right now, the most popular game in my house is Hungry Hungry Hippos. It’s not very exciting by today’s standards but seems to work. Thing 3 keeps it in his bedroom and asks to play it all the time.

Candyland, Chutes and Ladders, and Slip n Slide have all been hits in our house. What other classics are still popular?

Can you guess what it is? Put your answer in the comments.

If I had to describe my days in one word it would be: non-stop. Every day is a continuous flow of doing one thing immediately followed by another. There is no break. No time to think. Organization, planning and logistics are paramount, which does not bode well for me since none of those are my strong suit, but luckily SuburbanMommy excels at them.

My day starts shortly after 5 am. Not because I am naturally a morning person, but because Thing 4 wakes me up. And on those rare days when she does “sleep in” until 6, Things 1 & 2 wake up at 5:30 to have an argument about which Wii Mario Brothers world they last played. In truth, I have been woken up that early for so many years now, I don’t think I could sleep past 6 o’clock even if I were to wake up on my own.

Hmm…waking up on my own…to quiet…sounds wonderful. Sorry, I got distracted by a daydream for a second. Speaking of getting distracted, that happens often during my day. I’m working on one or two or ten things at the same time when something comes to the top of my attention and I completely forget whatever I was doing. Now back to my day.

My first order of business is to get all 4 kids awake, breakfast, dressed, and ready for school/camp/daycare while SuburbanMommy is getting dressed and ready for work. Each kid has their routine that I need to cater to. Thing 1 bounces out of bed and is ready in no time. Thing 2 will take forever to get dressed because he likes to watch himself dance naked in front of the mirror (seriously). Thing 3 must have his milk as soon as he gets up or else, and it’s best if he picks out his own clothes. Trust me. Thing 4 can’t wait to put her shoes on. Then there are all the things I need to remember for them that day: field trip permission slips, special lunch items, show and share day, out of diapers, change of clothes. Finally we get all the kids loaded into the car around 7:15, I wave goodbye, and I take a deep breadth.

Now I can start thinking about what I need to do today. But first, there is a good deal of cleanup following the disaster that is 4 kids eating breakfast and running around the house for an hour. Remember when I said there is no downtime? I lied. At this point I take 10 minutes to eat a bowl of cereal or two, drink tea, and watch the Today Show. Don’t tell my wife. OK, break time over. Time for me to shower and get to “work”. I mockingly call what I do at an office work because it’s pretty easy compared to my time away from the office.

But it’s not like I spend an uninterrupted block of time at the office. No, I’m constantly shifting between office and home tasks. Parent teacher conferences, doctor appointments, or, what I did today was take the minivan to the dealer because some parts were recalled and we’re about to take a long drive to the beach so probably should have that taken care of. That’s actually where I am right now writing this post. You didn’t think I get time set aside for blogging, did you? I almost always write blog posts while doing something else.

Today I need to leave the office at 4:30 to take Thing 4 to a swim meet. This is where logistics comes into play. There are only two of us and four of them. Sometimes I need to be in more than one place at the same time in order for them to attend all their activities. In those instances, you just need to pick and choose and sometimes they don’t get to attend. I suppose that sucks for them but it’s just the way it goes when you are part of a large family.

Usually, at 6 o’clock it’s time to pick up the kids. They are at the on-site childcare where I work so it’s convenient. SuburbanMommy gets home earlier to have dinner ready for the kids when we walk in the door, because that is a sight unto itself. Imagine flipping a switch to turn on a Category 5 hurricane. That’s what it’s like to walk in the door with four tired, hungry kids who all want your attention. At the same time. It is quite stressful even if you are used to it and know it’s coming. Which is why the next thing SuburbanMommy and I do is pour a tall glass of wine for ourselves.

The next hour or two are the reverse of the morning. Dinner, baths, teeth brushing, bedtime. With each kid having their own routines and quirks. Who goes to bed first. When and which book to read. Lights on or off. In the case of Thing 3, whether he is sleeping in his room or the hallway floor tonight because he is afraid of dreams. Thing 4 is the first to bed around 7:30. Not because she is ready for bed, but because we are ready for her to go to bed. It takes about an hour to get the rest of the crew through the nightly ritual.

Now it’s 8:30, time for me to eat my dinner hopefully in quiet unless someone comes out of their room needing a drink, or scared of something, or fighting with someone. Then it’s one more round of cleanup and organization for the next day before collapsing into bed, only to wake up some hours later to do it all again.

That about sums it up. If you have kids it probably sounds familiar. If you don’t have kids it probably frightens you. At least now you know.

For example take this birthday present Thing 2 received from Suburban Aunt and Uncle. We’ve seen commercials for the Super Soaker on TV and usually hear comments like “that’s awesome!”.

Not so awesome when I got blasted in the face when i wasn’t looking.

There are lots of reasons why McDonalds has sold a gazillion burgers. It’s cheap, quick, and kids love it. The marketing tie in with Rio the movie was a huge hit.

But now I’m regretting my food decision. Sure it’s not the healthiest choice. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let’s see how you manage an evening with 4 Things on your own, and what you serve them.

That’s not why I regret it. The real reason to avoid fast food is the smell it leaves in your car after hauling 4 happy meals home. I know the smell will still be there in the morning to make me nauseous. I should have gone with the pizza. One word: delivery.

No, what makes me so happy on Monday morning is what I won’t be doing today. After spending the last 63 hours without a minute of peace or time to myself (also known as the weekend), it’s nice to think about sitting at my desk for hours without any crying, whining, screaming, fighting, cleaning, or interruptions. That is, until Friday, when I will have had enough of the “calm” that is my job and look forward to another 63 hours away from it.

It’s an endless cycle.