First, Dani comes back from a trip to the store with Marcela about an hour before we needed to leave, announcing the movie is off. Marcela had her nose out of joint because Pepe got to go to a party and she didn't, and now she says she's not going to go to Papa's.

Oh, no you don't! It's not going to be that easy! We ARE going to the movie, and you ARE going to Grandpa's!

I was not going to be deterred.

Marcela and I had a little heart-to-heart 'discussion,' ("Yes, you ARE going to Grandpa's."), I gave her a few minutes to pick out a couple of videos to take along with her, and then I loaded her into the car and delivered her to Papa. Okay, she wasn't in the best of moods when we got there. "She'll get over it," I thought to myself as I sped away.

As I am driving back I look at the clock and realize somehow time has gotten away from me. What I had figured to be plenty of time was evapotaring quickly.

"We aren't going to make it!" I began muttering to myself... with a few expletives thrown in... already beginning to mentally lose touch with the real world... and the fact that my window was down... and so was the window of the truck sitting next to me...

Oh well.

But there still was a chance.

A chance that was quickly put out of its misery the moment the three older kids walked in the door from playing baseball over at the school.

No sooner were they in the door than Mannie whipped his baseball glove at Aracely. She gave him a shove, they started calling each other names....

"That's it," Dani said, "You kids are done! You obviously can't control yourselves - you can go to your rooms!"

"But, wait..." I heard myself pleading inside.

"If these kids can't get along, they just don't deserve to go. They can be grounded for the weekend for all I care..."

That was pretty much Dani's position, and now I was annoyed at HER for drawing it so quickly.

"Mannie, if you would just apologize to Aracely..." I offered.

"He needs to go to his room first."

"No I don't!"

"Are you going to let him talk to me like that?"

Like what? I was just trying patch things back together so we could have our fun night together.

By now that's all I could see.. and even that thought was beginning to get a little unfocused.

"Well, if that's all the respect you think I deserve..."

"I don't want to go to the movie anyway," Mannie announced...

Meanwhile Dionel had been surprisingly innocent in all of this. Okay, since Dani was obviously out of the mood, and Mannie didn't want to go, maybe just D and I could go...

But that wasn't the idea! The idea wasn't to go with everybody mad at everybody else!!!!

And piece by piece, I saw my plan for a family night together fall apart.

Oh, what's the use.

Forget it. Give it up. Everyone could just do what they wanted. I am going to bed...

And I did. For the next three days.