Too Many Distractions

I am working, or trying to work. It is so terribly hard with the stuff going on in the kitchen, let me recap what is happening....

Owen is eating a peanut butter sandwich and chips, then suddenly he is in the fridge and announcing he is going to make himself a quesadilla. While he is in the process of obtaining the supplies for the new dinner, he and Greg realize the cheese grater is missing. They find it in the living room with Ivy's toys.

Back to work.... that is until I notice Owen walking around with a big knife to cut open the cheese and Ivy sitting, unsupervised, on the bar stool eating chicken, all the while screaming at the top of her lungs... ba ba ba ba ba ba ba.

Greg is trying his best to make his dinner with no luck. The cheese is cut open and Owen insists on grating it himself. He does as he wishes and places the quesadilla in the microwave yelling down to me .. "Mom, should I push 911?" "Should you call 911? NO!" "No, should I cook my quesadilla for 911?" "Probably not."

Back to work..... nope. Owen and a triangle quesadilla step into a dish on the floor (a product of an emptied kitchen cupboard). With the dish as an alternative to an ice skate, he scoots around the kitchen. Greg firmly asks Owen WHAT he is doing and viciously takes the dish away. I gently, or perhaps not so gently, depends on who you ask, remind Greg it is a .50 tupperware dish and I will buy a new one if something happens to it. I will actually buy a few extras just for Greg. And here comes my favorite part of the night. Owen agrees with me and then yells at Greg saying: "Mommy is going to have more kids so you can learn to be nice to kids!!"

Back to work as I am laughing my head off...not for long. Greg comes over to the desk with the block of cheese and asks if the small bite out of the block looks like a little girl bite. Well, it is either that or a mouse came sprinting into the kitchen during the chaos and took a quick bite and ran away. I choose Ivy. Not a big deal other than that cheese makes her throw up. We will wait for that.

Back to work ....until Ivy comes by to say hi. She takes my plate that I had a taco on, a glass one. I tell her to take it to Greg and send her on her way. Why would I do that? Naturally, she tripps and falls, breaking the plate to bits. Greg sweeps up Ivy, then the mess. Owen begins to cry saying that he has to leave the kitchen and has to go through the glass. Sweep, sweep, sweep and then he is given the go-ahead to step there. I look up and he is over that, just sitting calmly, eating a quesadilla.

It isn't over... Ivy empties out the entire recycling garbage. Owen is sad that my favorite plate (which it is not) is broken. In a state of panic, he checks to make sure I have more - we are in luck, I have 2 more! Ivy is now pushing her high chair around the kitchen like a walker while Owen plays a little piano at the table. Once the highchair is successfully pushed into a wall, the next logical thing to do is to empty the contents of my purse onto the kitchen floor. Owen starts laughing at the top of his lungs as he covers Ivy with stickers.

I look up to find Greg looking forlorn (def: Pitifully sad and abandoned or lonely) at the table with a taco. All of that and all the while he was just starving for a taco. I love him.

Owen just asked me if we can make some potato salad tonight cause he really wants some.


And in case you were wondering, that is why I don't get anything done at home.

A Good Day

After reading a friend’s blog, I decided today was a good day to head to the wildlife animal park.  I had never been there, actually, I had never even heard of it, but it looked like fun. We packed our snacks, our lunch, and ourselves and made the journey down.

The three of us had a great day!! 

We made good time on the way down, we enjoyed our tram ride of animal viewing, we leisurely explored the rest of the park, we made it out of the gift shop spending $3.46, the kids were saints and we missed all the traffic on the way home.  Today was a day for the books.

    

Ivy stopped walking periodically and did an occasional down dog, then we would continue on our way. 

  (Owen rode, she walked)  

 

Goodbye Yellows

Back in the summer of 2008, when Owen was 3, his favorite Kiki bought him a pair of yellow shoes.  Yellow imitation crocs.  They were an instant favorite.  The yellows eventually became the only pair of shoes he wore.  They were winter shoes, summer shoes, water shoes, playing shoes, everyday everything shoes.  The most amazing part, they grew with his feet.  We replaced the yellows about a month ago. He wore these yellow shoes for 3 years.  What a great investment. 

Goodbye yellow shoes, thank you for taking care of my baby’s feet for 3 years.  You took all you could take.  You will forever hold a special place in our hearts.  

7/16/08:

9/1/08:

 

4/7/09:

5/29/09:

8/4/09

9/18/09:

9/26/09:

10/28/09:

1/30/10:

3/19/10:

5/7/10:

SUMMER, 2010:

Thanks yellow shoes!

Miracles

Two things happened today that were miracles, at least in this household.

The first being Ivy’s nap.  A miraculous 4 hour nap.  4 hours! Are you even kidding me.  I don’t think she has slept that long other than in the womb, and even then it is questionable.  I just kept waiting and waiting for the famous cry to come get her.  A little whimper would come and then silence.  It was indeed a miracle.

The second being related to my phone.  I left it home today while we were out, not on purpose of course.  So, the miracle is not leaving my phone at home on accident, but rather the fact that I did not die!  I am honestly addicted to my phone.   I told Owen we had to hurry or we would be late to where we were heading.  I was down the street and realized the little pink phone was no where to be found.  I mentioned running back to get it and was promptly and accurately reminded that we would be late if I got it.  Deep breath in and we were off.  I wanted it multiple times and had I had it, Angie would have known I was just down the street buying our dad a taco and I would be right back.  As the trusty little friend rang unanswered on the floor at home, Angie and my fresh eggs zoomed off to her house.  Had little pink been in the car, Greg would have known we were running late at the office and we were ok. 

But Greg is fine and we were fine, I am fine and the eggs will be there tomorrow.  

Today was such a good day that I am getting greedy, the next miracle on my list: Owen to eat vegetables. 

We had Fun and an Unexpected Guest

The party was fun.  But why wouldn’t it have been! 

13 kids, a bouncy house, cheetos, goldfish crackers, the world’s biggest cake from Costco (thank you Costco for making a cake my child wants every time we go there), a treasure hunt, presents, toys, friends, good weather, Greg home from work to help, ice cream, Angie and cousin over to help, balloons, receipts for money (a lot of money) well spent, a little boy loving being 5, water balloons, candy, juice drinks and a mom who forgot about being stressed. 

The perfect recipe for a perfect party!

   

That is until dusk….

I hear: “Jen, um Jennifer!”

“What”

“Come Here!”

“Why”

“What is this thing”

“What thing”

“This thing in our room, I think it is a bat.  Why is there a bat in our room?”

“A real one? Or Owen dressed like one?”

“Um, come here”

The last remaining party guests scrambled upstairs to find.. A REAL BAT.  Who wants to see a real bat hanging upside down on their screen.  NOT ME.

Those remaining party guests I mentioned above, all adults.  Or more accurately,  adults mostly all afraid of bats. 

Angie quickly packed her bags to leave.  (Little Evan could not be in the same house as a bat!)  Steve temporarily goes insane and is convinced the bat has been living here for days. Who says that? Kati and  I cannot stop laughing and starting snapping photos.  Mother-in-law Jayne goes in for a close look and begins to profess how cute it was.  Hmmm. 

Seeing that I have never had to get a bat out of my house before, or the fact that I have never even had a house before, much less a bat in one, we have no idea what to do.  Enter Internet: how do I get a bat out of my house. 

Stay calm. Don't panic.  (too late)

Close all doors to corral the bat in one room and keep him from flying around the house. (check, bat is hanging on screen in bedroom, bathroom door closed, main door closed, closet closed)

Put your pets in a different room and close the door.  (check, poor outdoor pets)

Turn on an overhead light. This will disorient the bat for a few moments because he will think it is daytime. (luckily it was still light outside and I am quite sure the bat knew it was daytime, I am also quite sure he was thinking what the hell have I done)

Wait for the bat to roost. Bats roost in the daytime. He will fly to the nearest object, often a curtain. He will cling on and hang upside down quietly. (check.  bat is roosting on screen.  And in fact, in an effort to assure the bat did not leave his roosting position, my brave husband took a flashlight to shine a bright light in the poor bat’s face the entire time.  There will be no question of the daylight for this bat.  Do not even begin to think it is night.)

Get a hand or dish towel and rubber gloves (optional).  (first let me say, OPTIONAL? to remove a bat, the rubber gloves are optional?  second, thank the heavens above for my mother-in-law.  Her son is less than brave when it comes to bats.  He carried the flashlight)

Enter the room quietly and close the door behind you. (we tried, but watching Greg shine a flashlight two inches away from the poor bat while his mom works to capture the bat in a towel and her doubled up rubber gloves while Owen is sitting there looking at the bat is just too funny for me to be quiet)

Carefully place the towel over the bat. Wrap it around his body and pull him gently off from your curtain. (check.  Only after a small mishap where he seemed to be trapped in the screen and the window. Ooops)

Talk softly to him. He is frightened and will make buzzing noises. This is his echolocation.  (check.  He was assured it was ok, he was given a name and I laughed my head off, on the verge of peeing my pants)

Take him outdoors.  (check.)

Open the towel and wait for him to fly off. You can just open the towel and put it on the ground, also. (check.  We did temporarily lose him in the towel but he was successfully shaken out of the towel.  I suppose it wasn’t as gentle as this step implies us to be).

The bat will not 'turn on you' or attack in any way. He is just glad to be free. (thank heavens!)

(http://www.howtodothings.com/home-garden/how-to-get-a-bat-out-of-your-house)

 

The bat was gone, the party was fun.  It was a good day.

(And I know this for sure, the next time we have a bat: 1) please don’t let Steve be here,  and 2) please don’t let me be alone here with Greg.)

I am a little stressed

I am about to have a party.  A party for a boy who turned 5.  A party that has 15 children at it.  I have never had a true kid party before.  One with kids and a game or two and a take home bag.  Owen has only ever had two friends to invite.  We have done a much more intimate setting.  He has expanded his social network and we are going all out.  This party for 15 is at my house.  I am stressed on so many levels, for example, what if it isn’t fun, what if the bouncy house forgets to come, what if my treasure hunt is a flop, what if the wind doesn’t stop and the clouds don’t leave.

In the end, I must realize the boy that is 5.  At 5 he wants to play, eat cake and open presents.  I am sure I can host a party consisting of those things. 

5 hours till kickoff!

Stay tuned…….