This week’s high? Feeling like a pseudo-celebrity when a reader I don’t know recognized me from my blog. This week’s low? A rough stomach bug — and, in turn, the number on the scale. (Just looking at the barf bowl as half full, people.)
Lesson #1: Though they may drive her crazy, after a couple busy days apart from her brothers last weekend, Pink finally broke down yelling, “I want my boys!” Funny thing is, I did too.
Lesson #2: There’s hope for this family come dinner time after all. After watching a few episodes of Master Chef Junior, Big’s buddy was inspired to enter the neighborhood chili cookoff, and brought on Big — also a MCJ fan — as the sous chef. And guess what?! They won! (The fact that it was the “Youngest Entrant” category didn’t even phase them.)
Lesson #3: Sometimes I wonder how Big is part of our family. The other night, when I put frozen mixed veggies on the kids’ plates, Little said, “Eww!” Big’s response? “Eww? What’s eww? Lima beans? Yum! Broccoli? Yum! Carrots? Yum! This is the best stuff!” If he didn’t have my raging temper, I’d think I brought home the wrong baby.
Lesson #4: Lenny’s idea (or his parents’, I should say) of stringing a shoelace through a paper plate is a truly brilliant way to teach kids how to tie shoes. That is, of course, assuming you actually have an extra 15 minutes each morning for your preschooler to tie his own shoes.
Lesson #5: It seems people always ask me what I do for a living at the most inopportune times. For example, when Big is sassing back at me and Pink is hitting me in the face. I always feel the need to add, “My blog obviously isn’t parenting advice.” And this week the gal was kind enough to respond, “Obviously.”
Lesson #6: I can’t help but think I should work a bit harder to be on time for things when I patiently (for once) asked Pink to put her shoes on so we could leave, and she started running through the house in a panic yelling, “We’re late! We’re late!” (Obviously Little wasn’t with us. Obviously.)
Lesson #7: You know what’s awesome? New pants. You know what’s not awesome? Sitting on gum while wearing them.
Lesson #8: While toddlers doing ballet is a bucket full of precious, I can’t figure out why one mom insists on recording the whole thing. Every. Single. Time. That is, unless, she’s using the videos to do drills at home and track improvement. This is the land of overachievers after all.
Lesson #9: A two-year old is more persistent than the most terrible stomach bug. If she wants you to read — of all things — The Very Hungry Caterpillar over and over and over, she wins.
Lesson #10: I’m confident that years from now, when my kids study Lord of the Flies in school, they’ll be able to write a darn good paper by thinking back to the Friday afternoon I couldn’t move and they ruled the house.
Look out world (or neighbors, at least), after not being able to eat for a few days, no Halloween candy will be safe near me come Thursday. Trick or treat, indeed…
Use Your Words