I Bit Him

My younger sis put out a challenge on her blog…asking “how’s your summer shaping up?” And ours is off to the greatest start! Unlike Katie, I do have dirty clothes in my house. I too own a Bissel Flip Ease (and I paid $40 for mine, with EVERY penny being worth it! Seriously, go get one at Tuesday Morning!) and my floors, though I vacuumed yesterday and “bisseled” them today, still have dog hair and various bits of dirt. I don’t have any petunias and I’m certain if I did they wouldn’t be dead headed…but my house is picked up. My dishes are done. And slowly but surely I’m working off my list of commitments one at a time…I keep realizing I’ve forgotten about freelance jobs that were sort of in limbo. I’ve decided to go through my files, thus prompting my memory of any stagnant jobs that might creep back up on me in the next few months. Then I’m going to send out an email to each client explaining that I’m going on “holiday” at home with my children and won’t be doing any freelance until hmm…after September 1st. I’ve got three stationery jobs, one logo, two brochures, and one mail out that I can think of so far. Wow. I can’t imagine nothing on my freelance “to do” list. Ahh…the bliss!

We met my Mom for lunch and to get the kids on Tuesday. We’d set our meeting spot and the meeting time for 11am. T and I, at the last minute, asked to change the meeting spot 20 minutes further from us, but of course, closer to Mom. We were, um, 20 minutes late getting there. Mom had unloaded the kids and had to reload them…sorry Mom! Lunch was fantastic! We stopped in a store in the area and I was, once again, amazed at what a BOY T3 is! We were on the second floor of this store and T3 ran to the railing and stuck as much of his head through it as he could…fyi, I did have a death grip on him, even as he neared the railing…the point is just that he is afraid of NOTHING!

He slept most of the way home. MW slept a little bit of the way. They were both clearly worn out from a long weekend with grandparents! MW has talked nonstop about her adventures, including riding a train and a camel. Hmm…going home to mom and dad isn’t so exciting!

We did stop to buy fresh strawberries, just picked! We got a HUGE bucket and all ate some on our way home!

We pulled into the driveway around 5 and decided to can “the plan” and hang out in the backyard. We unloaded the car and pulled out the baby pool and let MW and T3 swim. They had a blast! T3 would hold the hose to his face and half way gulp water half way gasp for air, all the while, loving every minute of it! Like a kid, T pulled T3’s little tykes slide to the side of the pool so the kids could climb up it from the yard and slide into the pool. Ok, get this, T3 slid once and wasn’t so crazy about being so out of control. The next time he climbed up, he decided to dangle with one arm, off the top it…BOYS!

Our sweet neighbors gave us their old little tykes play cube thing…so T put that on the other end of the pool. Of course, T3 wades to the edge of the pool, climbs the side of it, pulls up on the cube and climbs inside it onto the platform…he was ready to jump off. I saved him! Will my heart survive a boy?

We grilled out and even made use of that little gas eye off the side of the grill. We had yummy teriyaki salmon, green beans with lemon pepper seasoning, edamame, and strawberries. It was a feast! Eating outside made clean up fairly simple. Yea!

Today we made our debut at the pool. It’s going to be an interesting summer. MW still gets upset when water is splashed in her face…ugh! Hopefully swimming lessons will help with that. We bribed her with an entire bag of jelly beans today (it was a miniature bag) and still, she refused. She spent the first half of the morning in the baby pool stealing infants “boat floats.” (You know, the kind you put a baby in and it keeps them sitting upright…) And then she spent the last half in the “big” pool by herself (not to worry, we stood right there on the edge and even got in a time or two), but ONLY because she could touch.

T3 surprised me. Then again, he didn’t…he, of course, went straight for the deep end and even collapsed in a little fit when we steered him in the other direction. Upon our “redirecting” him, he headed straight for the diving board…we put him in the baby pool and he didn’t much like it. He didn’t cry, but kept trying to climb out. Finally I went and got him a cup of ice…that’s the only reason I wanted to join this pool – for the ice! They have that yummy shaved ice and if you bring your own cup, it’s free! (As long as you don't count the cost of membership!) So I got him his own cup of shaved ice. The kid sat in my lap almost the rest of the time, eating shaved ice. As long as he had his ice, he was a happy camper. Like mother like son…

We came home after a lunch of PB&J and T3 went down for a LONG nap! MW chilled on the sofa with a movie. Yea! I got much accomplished!

It’s been a sweet welcome home with the little ones. Time away was wonderful and much needed, however, cuddling and reading with them has been so wonderful! Last night and tonight I curled up in MW’s bed with her and we read and talked and prayed together…last night I rocked T3. He curled up against me and wrapped one arm around Bo Bear and put that thumb in his mouth, while he rubbed my arm with his free hand. Sweetness that I could just eat up! I didn’t get to rock him tonight. He was exhausted and as I walked past his crib he actually made a dive for it.

Oh, this might be of interest to you…I bit T3 tonight. The kid keeps snuggling up in the crook of my neck and then taking a chunk out of it. I’ve scolded and fussed and even spanked him on the leg once for it…He did it tonight while we were out. I screamed and he pulled his head back and cried – oh wait, he wasn’t crying, he was laughing. He was laughing HARD! And then he dove back in for another bite. So…I bit him back. (Don’t get all worried. I didn’t bite him hard at all. ) He pulled away and looked at me with a bewildered expression and then cried. I don’t think he’ll be biting me again!

I’m not one for cruel and unusual punishment, and I don’t think this is either. MW did the same thing to me. Finally, after several reprimands, I bit back. She did the same thing, pulled back with a bewildered look, screamed, and has never bitten again. It works.

Ok, it’s late, very late. I’m exhausted. About those summer plans and how they’re shaping up…

I want to (in no particular order)
1. finish freelance work
2. love my little ones and eat them up
3. do art and cooking projects with MW (baked onion soup this week!)
4. spend many, many mornings at the pool
5. have some pajama days
6. tend our veggie garden
7. paint (not the house, but canvases)
8. if I’m really brave – and I’ll probably never let ANYONE but T see it, (but I bought a GIGANTIC canvas at this great sale and) I’ve been wanting to attempt …a portrait…of MW and T3 – so don’t ask to see it if you come over, ‘cause seriously, I’m not talented in that area and I’m not going to show it…I just want to try my hand at it. I haven’t “portrait painted” since I had to in college…might be better if I was doing it because I wanted to and not on a time frame…
9. work out at least 3x a week
10. edit all my Bible Study notes and bind them for use next year
11. make about 25 more super cool acrylic clip boards for Bible Study…I’ll post about those later
12. spend more time in the Word
13. read a bunch for fun
14. keep my blog “up”
15. just for T: did you realize there isn’t a SINGLE home improvement project on there? That’s on a separate list of not what we want to do, but what we WILL do this summer…just kidding!

All right…later gator!