Tuesday, July 14, 2009

The little things

Today I wanted to write some of the little things that I know one day I will miss, but right now sometimes wish were over. Some of you young moms can probably can relate. Last week was a...lets say, tough one for me. I was on edge a lot and everything the kids did during the day drove me nuts! Wednesday was particularly memorable (to put it nicely). All day long it seemed nothing got done. I could swear the kids just followed behind me undoing everything I did. I picked up the books off the floor and put them on the shelf. The books were back on the floor. I just put the cushions back on the couch. The cushions were back on the floor. I just put trash in the trash can. That same trash was back out on the floor. On and on and on and on...

I would tell the kids to come in to eat...nothing happened. I told them to follow me to get their diaper changed... Nothing happened. I asked them to stop whining...nothing changed.

Dan had mutual that night so he was quickly off, which didn't help my I NEED A BREAK situation.

Finally I decided I'd had enough. I NEEDED a break. I blocked the kitchen off, turned on a movie for the kids and went into my craft room for a few minutes. And I mean only a few minutes. 5 tops. I came back out and was happy to hear quiet. No fighting, no whining, no toilet seat clanking...mmmmm yeah! But wait....it is much too quiet....take a few more steps...turn the corner....WHAT IN THE WORLD!!! The quiet was not due to a spontaneous nap party, or them enjoying the movie. Instead, I come to find that the quiet was due to immense concentration and an abundance of artistic freedom.

The children had managed to get into the kitchen that I had earlier blocked off, gotten onto the kitchen table and had created an abstract collage with the rocks belonging to my bamboo plant. Ethan had also managed to get a slice of watermelon to munch on. I guess being artistic makes one hungry. The largest masterpiece I found however was on my beige couch. Each child held a plastic jar of honey (no longer full mind you) and now that honey was cascading down in all directions,forms and designs.

Kiera's hair was plastered to her head and her shirt to her belly. One of their socks (I don't know whose) was saturated and propped up in some sort of sculpture. Ethan's red watermelon juice added to the composition of the piece and he too had the clothes to match.

Needless to say, I was horrified! Baths and bedtime happened instantly and I spent the evening trying to get that goey, sticky mess cleaned up. Thank goodness for my steam vac!
The room is still a little sticky in places but for the most part you can't tell anything happened. I know someday I will be able to look back and laugh at these experiences, but for now I will have to get through them one sticky step at a time...

I would love to hear some similar mom stories. It is always nice to know we're not alone out there.


On a lighter note, I have had some fun times too. Recently those times seem to be due to sunnier warm weather! Days like that show themselves now and again over here and we like to take advantage of them every chance we get.
For some reason I really love this first picture. I know it is just a couple of empty chairs but for me it remindes me of how little time we have here and how fast it seems to go by. My babies aren't going to be babies for very long and I am going to miss these days (honey covered couches and all).


I love watching the kids in the backyard. They love to explore and are always finding things to show me. In this one Ethan found a dead clover flower. Glad to see my weed n' feed worked!


The garbage truck was going around our neighborhood in the morning and I caught the kids peeking through the holes in the fence to see what the camotion was all about. I love this picture!!!!

We really need to get a sandbox when we have our own house. Ethan loves to dig and I know sand would brush off so much easier than garden soil does.

Say Cheese!

4 comments:

mom said...

Thanks for sharing. See, the incident has started to take on a lighter flair and deeper meaning already.

I too had similar experiences. Here's just one of many: After saving for a long time to be able to buy new living room furniture (instead of mis-matched hand-me-downs), I was so excited. My excitement was short lived though as within just the first day or two, I came in to find permanent black marker all over the sides and cushions of my new tan sofa.
Luckily, we had just been introduced to an Amway product that took most of it out. Wheew!

But wait . . . the very next day, the couch cushions were on the floor upside down. Upon closer examination, I discovered that someone had taken a paring knife and cut little slits all over the mat of the hide-a-bed and into several of the cushions. I was told at the time that it was Tyler (and he was in big trouble). However, I found out just a couple of months ago that it was really his older brother, Nathan.

I learned thru the years not to jump to conclusions about who was "guilty" or not, because it's often not as it seems. Should you visit my home today, those cuts in the hide-a-bed are still there as well as the cushion repairs done by hand. The couch has continued to serve us well, just with a few memories attached.

Anonymous said...

Oh the story was so funny, but I felt so horrible for you. I couldn't stop laughing when I was reading it and then after I was finished I felt so bad for doing so, but still it was really funny and I know that you will look back and just laugh at this.

Mom said...

You are really a good writer. You should write a book or something.

The Tanks said...

Did you get pictures? I have had moments like that and always wished I had taken pictures (even though I was so angry at the time) so we could look back and laugh together.