You Stayed With Us

Countdown to Crazy

Lisa was doubled over laughing, useless as always. "You have to admit, babe... she's got your determination."

I shot her a glare so sharp she nearly choked on her laughter.

The mess continued for another hour. I had to separate the twins three times ("Mops are for cleaning, not for decapitating your brother!"). Scarlett kept trying to "help" by wiping the table with a cookie in her hand, leaving more crumbs than she cleaned. Ella made snide comments every time she passed the living room with a pile of folded clothes, like:

"Wow, looks like you're running a daycare, Mom."

And Lisa—oh, Lisa—decided her version of helping was sneaking up behind me every few minutes for a kiss, a hug, or worse, whispering something entirely inappropriate that made me blush while the kids were right there.

"Lisa," I hissed after the fourth time, "if you keep distracting me, I'm adding vacuuming the garage to your list."

She grinned, unbothered. "Worth it."

By the time the sun dipped low, I finally managed to rally everyone together for the finishing touches.

"Alright," I announced, standing proudly in the middle of our now sparkling living room, "look around. What do you see?"

Nathan squinted. "No dust bunnies?"

"No toys," Noah added.

"No fun," Ella muttered under her breath.

"Clean!" Scarlett shouted, twirling in the middle of the room.

"Exactly," I said, clapping my hands. "And because you all finally helped me get this done, I have a surprise."

The kids perked up immediately.

"We're ordering pizza for dinner!"

The twins cheered so loudly Cooper barked in agreement. Scarlett gasped and clapped her little hands together. "Pizzaaaaa! Mommy's the best mommy ever!"

Even Ella cracked a smile. "Okay... that's actually worth it."

Lisa leaned in close, wrapping an arm around me. "See? You're not just the boss, babe... you're the hero of the day."

I rolled my eyes, but I couldn't stop the smile spreading across my face. The house was clean, my family was happy, and for once... I actually felt ready to welcome the new year.

Even if my family needed bribery to get there.

By the time the house was finally clean — well, clean-ish — everyone was sweaty, cranky, and starving. Which was why the sound of the doorbell announcing the pizza delivery nearly caused a stampede.

"Pizza!" Noah and Nathan shouted in unison, dropping their dust rags like they'd just escaped from forced labor camp.

"Triangle pizza, Mommy! I want triangle pizza!" Scarlett demanded immediately, stomping her little sock-covered foot like the whole concept of square slices was a personal insult.

"Scarlett, all pizza is triangle," I sighed, setting the boxes down on the dining table.

"No," she shook her head dramatically. "The one you cut last time was ugly square."

Lisa laughed way too hard at that, crouching to give Scarlett a high-five. "Tell Mommy we only accept proper pizza geometry in this house."

"Lisa," I warned, shooting her a look, but she was already grinning at me with that mischievous face that said you love me too much to actually scold me.

And just like that, chaos erupted. Ella, ever the picture of teenage patience, tried to take a slice calmly. Except, of course, Noah and Nathan lunged at the same box like starving wolves.

"I saw it first!" Nathan yelled, tugging at the gooey slice.

"No way, it's mine!" Noah countered, pulling just as hard until the cheese stretched between them like some horror-movie spider web.

"Boys!" I snapped, but they ignored me completely.

Ella rolled her eyes, plucked the slice right out of their tug-of-war, and took a huge bite. "Problem solved."

The twins' faces were priceless—mouths wide, betrayed gasps echoing in the dining room.

"Ella!" they shrieked in perfect unison.

Meanwhile, Scarlett had climbed onto her chair and was poking each pizza slice with one tiny finger, loudly declaring, "Not this one. Not this one. Not this one. This one!"

And while I was distracted trying to convince Scarlett not to fingerprint every single slice, Lisa leaned over and swiped the piece I had been carefully saving on my plate.

"Lisa!" I gasped.

She had the audacity to look innocent, her cheeks already puffed out with stolen food. "What Sharing is caring, Babe." She winked and then leaned close, her lips brushing my cheek as she whispered, "You taste sweeter than pizza anyway."

I wanted to stay mad, really I did. But instead, my face warmed instantly, and I found myself hiding a smile behind my hand. She knew exactly how to get away with everything.

Dinner continued with shouting, laughter, and the occasional, "Scarlett, stop licking the crust!" until finally, everyone was full. Or at least as full as the twins could get before declaring, "I could eat a hundred more!"

When the table was cleared (well, cleared enough), I pulled out paper and markers. "Okay, everyone. Since it's almost New Year's, we're going to write resolutions. Something you want to do or try in the new year."

The kids perked up instantly. Ella sat down with a determined expression, while the twins immediately started scribbling nonsense. Scarlett grabbed three markers and somehow managed to draw more on her hands than on the paper.

Ella read hers first, her voice serious. "One: study harder. Two: be nicer to my brothers. Three: try new hobbies."

The twins immediately booed. "That's boring!"

"Yeah!" Nathan said. "Ours are better."

They shoved their paper at me proudly. Scrawled in wobbly handwriting were resolutions like Eat 100 pizzas, Win snowball fights, and Make Cooper talk.

"Really?" I said, raising an eyebrow.

"What? They're good goals!" Noah defended.

Scarlett giggled, then slapped her paper on the table. "Mine says... be Elsa."

I looked. Sure enough, it was just a stick figure with snowflakes everywhere.

"You... want to be Elsa?" I asked carefully.

"Yes," she said with complete seriousness. "With powers. And a sparkly dress. And I freeze Dada when she steal Mommy's pizza."

Lisa snorted, choking on her soda. "That's fair."

Finally, Lisa leaned back in her chair, looking smug as if she'd been preparing her grand moment all evening. "My turn."

I crossed my arms. "This better not be something ridiculous."

She smirked. "Resolution number one: spend more time kissing Mommy."

The kids erupted in groans and fake gagging noises.

"Noooo! Gross!" Noah covered his eyes.

"Dadaaa, stop being disgusting!" Ella complained, though she was definitely fighting a smile.

Scarlett pointed an accusing finger. "No kissing at the table!"

My entire face turned bright red as Lisa leaned closer, her grin wicked. "Sorry, I don't think I can keep this resolution waiting till next year."

I swatted at her, but she caught my hand easily and pressed a quick kiss to my cheek, making the kids shriek even louder.

The house was filled with laughter, teasing, and warmth, and as I looked at all of them—chaotic, loud, messy, mine—I realized this was the only resolution I needed: to never take a single one of these moments for granted.