Ash Wednesday.

Today is the Beginning of Lent for us. It begins the forty days until Easter Sunday when we celebrate the Ressurection of Jesus from the dead. It is also a day of fasting and abstinence. The forty days respresent the 40 days that Jesus spent in the desert. For us it is a time to prepare for the celebration of Christs ressurection by fasting, alms giving, penance and prayer.

This is one of my favorite times of the liturgical year because it's like the culmination of everything from the year ending with something wonderful. For me it's like a new beginning to the year.

We started by going to Mass. Or rather, that was the plan. We didn't make it all the way through Mass because Anneliese started growling and screaming at the lady seated behind us, and Anthony was acting like he was incredibly....bratty. I take that back. He just IS bratty. We did get our ashes though. And he got a movie taken away. And a good yelling at. And Anneliese just got the poo scared out of her, (literally), when I yelled at him. My mom was suggesting very calmly pinching his ear until he behaves when he acts that way in public. I suppose I could. However,I was telling her that he's the kind of child that you could chop an arm off of and he would still act bratty. But with tears. My children are turning into "those ones" that you just want to smack when you see them acting out somewhere in public. I'm not a wuss. I yell. I spank when it is needed. I take things away. I punish. Oh my gosh...They're like the kids in Desperate Housewives?!?!? Kill me now.

I need a freaking break before I lose my mind.

I swear I feel like I'm screaming at him every two seconds to stop doing things---stop hitting, stop pulling hair, stop stealing toys from people, stop annoying people purposely, stop whinning. And then Anneliese starts in on her thing with growling at people. It's so embarrassing. More embarrassing than Anthony being dramatic and falling on the floor crying because he doesn't get his way about something.

I'm going to spend the next forty days whipping my children into shape and getting them to behave and act like nice little children.

(Stop laughing. I'm serious.)