Driving the Truck

Yesterday

Yesterday was a little bit crazy. Fun, but crazy. Normal day for us, I guess. Kate was laying on our bed and she said, "Tase, can you get me a bankty?" Then she got down and gave Case his toy lawn mower and said, "Here Tase, you go to workt." I also overheard her the other day say, "Tase you be da Dad and I be da Mom." It seems like yesterday was one of those days where I have every intention to get things done, but it just doesn't seem to work out that way. It was getting later into the afternoon so I thought that I could just catch on the house and have dinner ready and try to pick up a little more before Bryan got home. Then he called and and asked if I wanted to go visit some friends that night. I thought that sounded good. Usually I don't take showers unless Case is asleep, but because I needed to and they were playing pretty well I just ran into the bathroom and jumped in the shower. BAD IDEA. Despite me being really fast, I came out to see my kids unloading my fridge. Kate had spilled yeast on the floor and they were stepping in it. They had also unloaded the silverware drawer and the little utensils and thrown them into the mess too. Then I went into the other room for a minute and they had a chair up to the counter and Kate had opened the plastic container with the sugar and was starting to spill that onto the countertop and floor. So I took that away from them and moved the chair back to the table. I didn't want sugar all over the house, so I thought I would put them both into the bath so they couldn't track it everywhere. Besides, Kate's legs were covered in green marker. Another little episode of the day. So I put them both in the tub, hoping that maybe having them corraled would give me a chance to do my hair while I watched them. It was fine for a minute, until they thought it was so fun to dump their water onto the floor. Pretty soon they were fighting over the plastic bottles in the tub. Kate kept dumping water onto her brothers' head. He doesn't like that very much. Then they were just upset at each other. They kept hitting at each other. So I put them at opposite ends of the tub. Then Kate tried to hit Case and he dumped water on her head. All I wanted to do was have a chance to do my hair! Pretty soon both of them were all-out screaming. Just screaming. Our poor neighbors in the basement. So I had to take them out, and while I was getting Kate dressed, Case found the markers that Kate had left behind and colored his feet and face. Ahhhhh!!! Now Kate was telling me she was hungry. I started some noodles on the stove for dinner. I was still stepping in sugar and yeast. Then Kate wanted a "Dink" of water. I got her some water from a glass (I know another bad idea) because for some reason our dishwasher didn't wash the dishes in there. Note: We have now put a child-lock on the dishwasher to keep them out but it is common for my children to stop the dishwasher and usually I have to restart it several times to get a load done. They hear it running, and turn it off. Same goes for the dryer which happens to be in our dining room. So whenever I look forward to fresh, clean dishes or warm laundry, usually the process has been stopped. So back to the glass of water. Of course, it got dropped on the floor. And of course, they both had bare feet. And I knew Case would not listen if I told him not to go into the kitchen. So, I picked up Case, put my shoes on put him into his high chair. I told Kate to back off and cleaned up the glass. I tried to get dinner going again. Bryan got home, swept up the sugar (Thanks Bryan) and we ate some dinner. Then Kate had this giant meltdown that had something to do with I helped her put her pants on and she wanted to do it "hertelf." I am sure Bryan is wondering why my patience is running a little thin by this point and why am getting a headache from the screaming. I told her she had two choices, stop screaming and go to a friends' house or go to bed. Huh. Funny how when the options are presented like that, they can turn off the waterworks. Two little year olds are a lot smarter than I realize. So we are leaving, my house is mess, (which I hate leaving that way, because what if someone broke in or something and saw it like that) and we get in the car and I realize that Case does not have shoes. And that in the rush we didn't have family home evening. And that we didn't give Case Motrin for his teeth. And without his shoes, his feet are colored green with marker. And at this point I do not care. This is good stress relief to write this all down. It makes me feel a little better when I am putting myself down for whatever reason- messy house, not getting dinner ready, etc. My life is busy. If my kids were in daycare all day they would not be making my house a mess. But that's not what I want. I wouldn't change it. (Okay, a maid and a little more money wouldn't hurt.) I think that being a Mom is so interesting. One moment you think you could just pull your hair out and the next you are standing there admiring how your little girl drew her first picture of a rainbow or how your little boy was able to disconnect all of the jacks to the vcr and somehow put them back into the matching color holes. Or when he has the determination to keep scooting the chairs across the kitchen floor to the counter no matter how many times you take them back to the table. Amazing how, through all of this, they are still amazingly adorable when they sleep and so charming when they blow me kisses. I realize that being a mom is a really hard job. Thanks Mom. I guess no other job could teach how to handle life better than this one. Well I have to go, Case is tugging at me legs and pushing the keyboard in and out and Kate is standing on my chair getting into my pictures. Well, back to work. Case is upset. Now they are both throwing fits. Whew!

Fun With the Tractor

My kids love to drive the toy tractor around.

Labor Day Bummer

Not that we had really anything planned for Labor Day but it would have been nice to have at least gone somewhere. Sunday night, our kids started throwing up within an hour of each other. Thank goodness we didn't really get it and it was over pretty fast. But still not the funnest way to spend Labor Day Weekend. Oh well. It was so nice to have Bry there. Otherwise I would have been dealing with it myself. They really didn't look sick though. And by Monday morning they were in pretty good shape.

Sweet Boy

My little Case sure keeps me on my toes. He is into EVERYTHING. He is such a boy. He points at anything with wheels and goes, "Whoa!" It is still a constant battle to keep him away from the outlets and all things with cords. A few weeks ago, he climbed onto a chair and was grabbing at the can opener cord and my crockpot. I got to him just in time to see him pulling the cord of the crockpot down so he could find somewhere to plug it in. That could have really hurt his head. His favorite toys include, the vacuum, my blowdryers, my straightener, phones, the computer, and his toy truck. He loves to knock things over now and I've decided that he will be an electrician or do demolition when he grows up. It's amazing how someone can be such a BOY and Momma's boy at the same time. He gives me kisses and hugs all the time and loves to be close to me. He is a great snuggle bug. I love my sweet boy, even though at times he really scares his Mommy.

Poison Control

Funny this should happen today, since we had a play group and were discussing poison control. I was out in the yard with the kids this evening, taking pictures. And Kate was talking and I wasn't paying too much attention and finally it registered to me that she said, "A Booberry." (Blueberry) I looked up to see that she had eaten a berry off the vine on our fence. Then she spit it out. I really didn't know what it was, so just to be safe, I rounded up the kids and took them inside so I could google it, just in case. It's called a Virginia Creeper and guess what- Poisonous. So I decided to call Poison Control. Luckily, our landlords have it taped up the number about three places in our house. This plant is related to a poinsettia and can sometimes irritate the throat and cause it to swell, blocking the airway. The lady on Poison Control said kids eat it all the time but only once in her 7 years of working there had the swelling actually happened. Anyway, I had to watch her closely for one hour and see if anything happened. Luckily, she is just fine. That's my second time calling Poison Control, because the first time, Case gnawed on a dishwasher tablet. And in case you are wondering it was an electrasol tablet and they really weren't even that concerned unless it burned his mouth. They said even if he swallowed the whole thing he would probably be okay... besides sick to his stomach. Good to know I guess. We buy liquid now....

Kate Kate Kate!

Kate and I had a little photo session today while Case was taking a nap. I love my sweet little girl. I asked if she wanted to wear Mommy's shoes, and she said, "No Daddy's!"