Lost At Home

It's amazing how many people have accidentally washed and dried crayons and, thankfully, the number of solutions seem endless (everything from toothpaste to WD-40). I tried rubbing alcohol and a citrus solvent...neither of which did much to clean the sea of blue...but I have had some luck with nail polish remover... think I'll get more agressive tomorrow with some other things people have tried.

I dread having to intricately search each piece of clothing before putting it in the washer, but Alex is such a pack rat these days, there's no telling what that girl has stashed...and where! Speaking of stashed, I have a feeling she's behind the second serious disappearance of Little Lightning...he's been gone for three days now...

Little Lightning is Max's favorite toy at the moment. Little Lightening McQueen that is. He loves the movie Cars. (It was the first movie he ever saw in the theater. Dan took him to the late show one night after Max took some gargantuan afternoon nap and wasn't going back to bed any time soon. Dan said it was a riot watching him with his soda and popcorn trying to stay in the chair that kept spitting him out. He was apparently an amazingly captive audience...especially with the sound booming all around.) ANYWAY, he calls him 'little' because he also has a BIG Lightning McQueen that once held bath bubbles and a smaller version found in a McDonald's Happy Meal. The Hotcar-like-LM is thus the littlest. At least that's what I think. Actually, he probably has a much more profound reason....

So one thing is for sure: Little Lightening is currently lost in the house somewhere. Dan and I have done a thorough search and so far he has eluded us. It doesn't help that it's difficult to pinpoint his last whereabouts. All Max could contribute after an exhaustive interrogation was: "I really don't know, Mommy, but we really need to find him." Having a 3 year old try to help you find what they've lost is like... well, I can't think of anything right now, but let's just say it's borderline ridiculous. It's very sad though, especially when Max wants to use the bathroom (he likes lots of company)... or goes somewhere... goes to bed... "I want my Little Lightening, Mommy!" "He's lost, Max, we can't find him." "Well, we have to go look for him." "There have been many search parties, Max. None of which you have helped with I might add and we just can't seem to locate your friend. Maybe we can look for him again later." "Okay. But we have to look for him later because we have to find him."

If any of my past finds are any indication, Little Lightening could be lost for a very long time. A couple a months ago I finally found the H and the T. They were missing for almost a year or something. I found them in my toothbrush cup. (No judgements. It stays very clean.) This is where Alex comes in. She's at that stashing age! She could have happened upon Little Lightening while crawling the floors and in her astute sensibility, snatched him up before someone turned their head.....only to then sneak him behind the can of beans, in the dirt of a potted plant, in the trash, with the fruit in the refrigerator (strawberries are red - lightening is red), or maybe, in her 15 month old wisdom, she placed him back in the little parking garage... with all of the other little cars. I'm not sure if I did check there...I bet he's in the elevator...

Help!

Does anyone know how to get melted crayon off of the inside of a dryer?

Moments That Make Me Smile

Max sitting on top of the washing machine watching for his favorite orange shirt to surface amidst the churning bubbles and crying, "There it is Mommy! There's my orange shirt! It's very wet in the water and it's very dirty. Soon it will be clean and I can wear it again!"
Alex trying to immitate monkey sounds with her Daddy. OOOH. OOOOH. OOOOH.
The way Alex will throw her head on my chest and hug me for a long, long time.
When we're riding in the car and Max will tell Alex where we are going and what's happening. "I'm going to music class, Alex. You will be going to your little daycare. You're going to cry and be very sad, but it's okay because I will come and find you when I'm done. Okay?! Okay, Alex? This is a red light. We have to stop and wait for it to turn green. There's the train, Alex. It has coal in its cars..."
Yesterday Max saw Alex sitting in her high chair waiting for me to feed her when he announced that she was very hungry and asked if he could give her some Snap Pea Crisps (the bag was sitting on the table). I said it was okay and he proceeded to pour the entire bag on the plate in front of her. "There you go, Alex. BOY, THAT'S A LOT OF SNAP PEA CRISPS! Maybe, I should help you!" Alex had the biggest grin I've ever seen, then she dove right in.
Sometimes, when Alex wakes up from a nap, Max likes to go in to 'get her' by himself. Lately, he grabs a book before climbing into the crib with her... and with this sweet little voice (the one you don't hear very often) he starts to read to her. I listen to them on the monitor and it melts my heart. He describes all of the pictures to her...she squeals with delight.

"What Happened, Max?" "Well, I don't know."

You know, you are led to believe that toilet training will relieve you of this huge burden...and it does...but what you don't realize are the events that replace the whole diapering experience. Take for example, the increase in the number of times that you actually clean your toilet in a week. It's at least 10 fold in a non-diarrhea-from-daycare period. (Personally, I don't know how I ever lived without those Clorox wipes.) Then there are the frantic searches for a restroom when out and about while carrying, not only your 1 yr. old, but also the one who needs the bathroom because he can't run AND hold it yet. (Well, that is pretty tough even at my age.) If you're lucky, you'll find one quick enough and you will be able to set your baby somewhere without cringing too much. If you're not so lucky, (like today) all you can find is a port-a-potty...it stinks... is disgusting in many other ways...and somehow you have to manage the entire fiasco with a baby on your hip and another restraining the trainee who wants to put his hands everywhere - except where necessary. What I mostly didn't foresee was the sometimes neverending prep.
"Mommy, I need to pee!!!"
"Okay, good, go ahead."
"NO. I need my trains. I have to get all of my trains and line them up............where's Gordon?! MOMMY, I NEED GORDON!"
"I can't find him. Can you just go without him?"
Long Pause.
"NO, I really need Gordon because I really need him and you have to go and find him so I can put him up on the toilet right here and so that he can watch me. I really need him."
Shlep that I am...I find Gordon. (You could also substitute Lightening McQueen.) Same damn thing.
"OH GOOD! YOU FOUND GORDON, MOMMY! Hi, Gordon. I"m going to pee now. You sit right there and watch me."
15 minutes later he finally goes. But he does go...and I am very thankful for that.

Learning the art of fun.

It's another snowy day today. What a great winter! Max and I were out working in the yard yesterday. It was 50 and sunny...but I was missing the snow on the ground. We were going to take down this little, cut tree that has been sitting out front in it's water pot since Christmas. However, when I took it out, it looked like it has started to root. I suppose it's possible although I've never heard of that happening. It does still look quite alive. It's a Christmas Miracle! I don't have the heart to mulch it now. I guess I'll keep watering it.

Max was quite the helper yesterday. He's fairly adept with the wheelbarrow given their size ratio. I have to say, I love his unwavering enthusiasm. "What are we doing now?" "Where are we going now?" These are daily, if not hourly questions. Still, he's always up for whatever you throw at him.
"This afternoon, Max, we are going to clean the bathrooms."
"The bathrooms?! Yay! That's a good idea, Mommy! They are very dirty. I want to clean the toilets. (He loves swirling that brush around.) And the mirrors. I want to clean the mirrors too. They are also very dirty." (There is lots of squirting, not so much wiping...still I appreciate his help.)
Yesterday he was just as excited to help me weed, pick-up leaves, and trim the landscaping fabric. "Yes, hooray, let's go outside and clean the yard, Mommy. I will need a shovel...and that rake...can I have that hammer?!" (NOTE TO SELF: When in need of a break, give Max the hammer and tell him to go play in the dry river bed.)

I will mourn the day he's not exhilarated to participate in the routine domestic tasks. He has taught me so much.

hangin in there

So this is my first post and it feels a bit strange. I always think I have lots to say and share throughout the day when I'm with the kids, but can never seem to find words in these rare opportunities to sit at the computer in peace. Perhaps it's too quiet...ever since I became a mother, I have felt a bit lost when the world around me is silent. Very strange for me.

Well, it's been quite a week.

Kelley and the boys came over on Saturday and we all went sledding. Everyone had a grand time, of course, what's not to like about rocketing downhill on the snow. We sent Brooks down several times in his baby sled. It was quite a site to watch him go. He was grinning ear to ear.

On Sunday we drove up to Frisco to X-country ski. As usual, I-70 was stop and go and it took us twice as long to get there. So annoying! Dan skated first and I hung with the kids in the lodge. After a very short while it was clear we weren't going to make it much longer without wrecking something or someone so I pursueded Max to try to ski with me as long as we could find him poles. (He REALLY wanted skis a while back so I searched high and low for them and finally found some, but didn't think of getting him poles.) The guy in the rental department helped us out with some and they didn't even charge to rent them. But I think I lost my mind somewhere between the time they handed Max these cute little poles with very sharp, pointy ends and when we actually made it onto the snow. Stupidly, I hadn't envisioned Max with poles inside this tiny Nordic lodge- full of people- while I tried to get snow gear back on a 1 and 3 year old before we could go outside. AMAZINGLY, noone was hurt from all of the twirling and stabbing and wielding in general and we managed to get out on our skis just in time for Dan to get back. So I handed Alex (in her backpack) off and took my turn. Dan said Max shuffled and poled for a little bit before he had to carry him back to the lodge and wait for me. And then we made the long drive back home...

Saw Kelley and her boys on Monday.

Backed the car into a sign post on Tuesday smashing the rear headlight and severely tweeking the bumper. It sucks when you get out of the car to inspect the damage and there's noone to yell at but yourself.

Went out for sushi on Wednesday. 10 min in, Alex was over it and started screaming because she couldn't roam...thankfully, there were lots of fish tanks everywhere. 15 min in, Max started to gag on his extremely large bite of 'orange fish' (he loves salmon sashimi) and proceeded to vomit everything he had shoved in his mouth thus far. After just 20 min, we packed it in and drove home. It was one hell of an expensive meal on the run!

Alex took her first solo steps Wed. evening... after the unfortunate dining experience and their bath...she had the happiest look on her face. I cried. I don't remember being that affected when Max took his first steps. It happened so quickly and he never wanted our help. One day he was crawling and the next, it seemed, he was walking! But Alex likes to hold our hands. She points to where she wants to go, reaches out with both hands-demanding some assistance, and leads the way...and around, and around, and around the house we go. I think she'll be chasing after Max in no time. He certainly doesn't see it coming. He is still a bit shocked when she crawls..."Mommy, Alex moved!" Poor guy's about to be bind-sided.

Noone slept Wed. night so Thursday was quite a blur. I did manage to cut Alex's bangs. I didn't want to have to do it, but she kept yanking all of the clips out and she couldn't see otherwise. Anyway, I don't think it looks too bad considering my lack of experience cutting hair on heads that are completely still. Talk about stressful. Sharp scizzors and a bobbing, shaking, twisting, writhing toddler is an exhausting combination.

And here we are: it's Friday once again. Should get back to the laundry.