ClusterF*&^

That is one of the better ways I can describe yesterday. Really.
A kind of fun Cluster, but a Cluster, none the less.
I spent most of the day with the kids. After I made a giant bowl of guacamole, that is. (And yes, CK, all she really had was the avocado. Was a good thing I brought what I did.)
My particular buddy of the day was Dewey, my four year old nephew. He's a riot. But not when he hasn't had his nap. And getting him to take a nap usually involves someone going into his room with him, and holding his struggling body down until he surrenders. During this time, he has more moves than a pro wrestler. I've taken a foot to the trachea many times. But wrestle him down yesterday I did, because without a nap, he's a NIGHTMARE. Since I was so successfull wrestling him down, I got sent to the rocking chair with Louie, the almost 2 year old, too. He was so tired he didn't even fight. Feeling pretty good about that, I went outside to await the arrival of BIL.
However, all the bratty kids that accompanied their parents to this shin-dig, led on by my oldest nephew, Huey, changed all that. They got so raucous they woke up Dewey, who came outside, saw all the people he didn't know, and sat down and had a HUGE meltdown. So, back to the wrestling mat I went. Problem is, those bratty kids kept running through the bedroom to get into the play room. There is another door to the playroom outside, and I STRONGLY suggested to all of them they use the other door. Every time Dewey saw another kid, he started yelling and crying. The more often this happened, the more irritable I got, as well. Then they started throwing things against the wall that is shared by the bedroom, and play room.
Aunt Mielikki turned into the 'house troll' at that point, and I kicked every single one of them completely out of the house. No playroom, no nothing. My sister and BIL have a huge piece of property, with a sandbox, and a Fort, and other things for kids. They could go there!
I never did get Dewey back to sleep, but, after about 20 minutes of quiet time, (during which, BIL showed up, I missed that whole thing), he was ready to go back out and face the world. So away we went, my date and I. I fed him his weight in tortilla chips and ice cubes (it was all he'd eat), grumbled at the maurauding children, and then, took my cake to go and came home. I didn't get home until 10:00, and I went straight to bed. I don't need anyone to hold me down until sleep claims me. I was happy to go.
Oh, and BIL? I saw him twice. And, I left before people started telling stories about him, thereby dodging that bullet. The cake wasn't even served until after 9 o' clock at night. I'm sure the maurauding children were all sugared up!