Scary Water

Our complex has a pool and the past few afternoons that I have been solo with the boys, I have taken them for about an hour or so. We have fun, they jump to me in the pool, they put plastic boats in to see whose boat will reach the other side first, or they just sit on the steps and pour water out of a bucket. None of my kids are swimmers yet, but Jack can doggy paddle pretty well and can stand in the 3 ft. section just fine. He is able to jump in the pool in the deeper end if he does it near the ladder so he can quickly paddle to it. This leads me to the other day. Thomas threw he boat into the water near the 4 ft part of the pool and then proceeded to scream and cry because he wanted it back. I didn't really want to get in the water just yet, but Jack was bobbing around and having fun in the 3 ft. part. The boat was pretty close to the 3ft part, though still in 4 ft, and it wasn't far from the ladder, and I asked Jack if he thought he would be able to grab it. He looked at it and said sure it wasn't far. I watched him get right to the boat and then stop. It appeared as though he was just seeing if he could touch down so I let it happen. Then he came back up but didn't appear distressed, he was paddling his arms but then he bobbed under again. I wasn't sure if he needed help and as soon as I was asking myself this, he came up and said-help. I jumped in the pool lightning fast and swam to him. It all happened so fast but felt so slow. By the time I got to him, which was only seconds, he had stopped bobbing. Realizing I could touch, I put my feet down and heaved him onto the side of the pool. He was fine and breathing, he coughed out some water and was, of course, shaken by what had happened. In hindsight, I feel like I should have known immediately that he was struggling, but he often bops and bobs in the water for fun, it was very scary. We agreed no more leaving the 3 ft. area. Not wanting him to become afraid of the water or the pool after about 5 minutes I suggested he get back in and do it by jumping to me in the 3 ft. section, I told him we could do this all afternoon or until he felt comfortable by himself. After just a few jumps to me he was back to jumping in by himself and playing in the 3 ft. section. Oh my.

Pete loves pens. He has loved pens for years. He uses pens for his work and they are essential to what he does, so there are pens in his possession at all times. His shirt and his pants almost always have pens. I have twice this summer assumed his pockets were cleaned out, since his pants were on the laundry room floor vs. our bedroom floor, so I just threw them in. The first time it wasn't horrible and I was able to use a combination of rubbing alcohol and putting laundry detergent directly on the stains to eventually make the spots so light and small that the shorts were still wearable- though it did take a couple days. This time I don't think we will be so lucky. There is actually a lot more ink than what the picture shows. I have tried rubbing alcohol and hairspray but alas they still look like this.

My boys are like many boys and they love sticks. I mean LOVE them. They seek them out, search high and low, and they are very very important. You don't mess with the sticks. They know which stick belongs to which person and what powers each particular stick has and it is very detailed and intricate. No matter where we go, even just to walk to the pool, all boys end up with a stick in their hand. We have quite a collection at our front and back doors. Here is our back door collection.

 I posted this on facebook already but it bears writing here for posterity. We went to the zoo with our friends who are moving away soon. Anyway, between us there were 6 kids. The 4 older ones were running around and racing. They were just ahead of us so we could see them and they weren't bumping into anyone so let them run and have fun. I suppose there was an older lady who did not share this opinion. She saw the kids running ahead and no parents so she said- where are their parents? Then one of the kids tripped and fell. He scrapped his knee and began to cry. The woman saw this too and said- it serves him right. My husband was quite upset by this and said, 'Ma'am, I let my kids have fun now so maybe when they are older they won't be so grumpy.' She looked at him and said-' Well, they are having fun.'

So that has been our week-eventful I'd say. Summer just officially started too- I dare say there will only be more adventures in store for us.

Isn't summer supposed to be fun?

In an effort to keep the kids occupied we have been filling up our summer with play dates, t-ball, chess, library visits, going to the park, visiting the pool ( on days far too cold to actually get in), going to the fountains at Purdue, walks, and throwing rocks into a pond. We have supplemented this with learning time, especially for Jack. This involves practicing writing, reading, math, chess, and whatever sport he is in currently. This has also involved sports for me like, you better brush your teeth now or no iPad for 3 days, no hitting your brother or calling him names just because you think it is funny when he cries, how many days can we eat Mac and Cheese for at least 2 meals before I get called out, and trying to find a few minutes to rest by hiding in my room while they do basically whatever they want just so long as they don't bother me. Ah, summer is here.

Instead of sitting on my back porch with a margarita in hand I am driving kids back and forth from activities, waiting for and/or watching them while these activities are going on, and doing all this while wrangling a semi-demonic 1 year old. Oh, he looks cute for other people but in reality he is the loudest, most stubborn, hard-headed child I have ever met.

Summer, the time of birds chirping and kids laughing, also the time when I realize our windows are open and I have been hollering at the kids for 10 minutes. Also the time I realize to check if windows are open next time.

We had been pretty busy for a few days in a row so I thought (minus one activity in the morning) we would just stay in and do nothing, just relax. Haha. I mean really, I have three small boys and a do nothing day is not restful or peaceful, I know this but I just hoped this one day we could pull it off. Nope. Every single toy, couch cushion, book, and baking pan was out and they were bored by noon. Oh man. I then put on a movie which did work for a bit, but soon the yelling, the fighting, the tattling, the eating foods they shouldn't be, and the playing in the toilet began. At this point I think I said, fine you win do whatever you want. Just know I won't clean it up, if you get hurt it is your fault, and I am going to go lay down for a minute so don't bother me. I don't think I will have anymore scheduled down days around here. I get too tired.

kids in public

Going in public with your kids is always sort of a gamble. You never know what your going to get. Pete took all three boys to Wal-Mart the other night and this is how it went down. They walked passed the Intimates where a purple bra was displayed. Since purple is my favorite color Luke loudly says- purple for mommy! Jack chimes in -No, those are for boobs. Luke then smiles and says-Yeah, boobs. Then reaches out and begins to stroke the bra while continuing to say boobs. There was a couple in their 20s nearby who heard the whole thing and just started laughing as hard as they could.

We have a little zoo in town and there are monkeys that the boys enjoy seeing. One monkey was sleeping in such a way that he was splayed out for all the world to see. Jack looked at him and goes- Mom, why does that monkey have such a long nose? Well, there were a lot of little kids around and moms, so I wasn't sure the correct route to take. Do I come right out and say- That's his penis or do I try to do it in a more subtle fashion? I took the subtle route. Oh, Jack, well that's not his nose, he is a boy monkey. This did not solve our problem because Jack didn't understand. I really should have just said it at that point, but instead I told him to think about it. A minute or two later he starts laughing and says-I get it now and he whispers in Luke's ear and they both start laughing and saying the word penis over and over.

I took all three boys to the grocery store yesterday. Jack has lots of energy so immediately he gets Luke involved in 'playing' with him and they start running and hitting and wrestling, basically they thought we were at home. I devised a plan and told Luke he had to hold onto the cart with one hand or else he was going in the baby seat where Thomas was. I then gave Jack missions so he could still run around but do so in a more helpful way. I would ask him to find various foods and compare the prices so we could know which things were on sale. We kept passing a middle aged couple who thought we were hilarious. At one point Jack disappeared while on a mission. I told Luke we had better go find Jack. The man and woman happened to pass by and with a smile on his face the man quietly says- oh, he is over by the fireworks. Jack was actually very still and calm, he takes his fireworks quite seriously. As we were ending our trip we saw a dad with his 5 pre-teen and teenage kids and I wondered which of us would have a harder time at the store.

Finally, last night I took Luke and Thomas to the Goodwill. I initially had Thomas in a cart to contain the madness I was sure would ensue if they were both out running around. However, they see the toy section so I have to let Thomas out to look. In hindsight I brought it all on myself, I mean I am the mom whether they like it or not so this gives me certain powers. Thomas found this push toy and was so happy and smiling and would actually follow me wherever I was going so I let him stay out of the cart and push the toy. Of course, he managed to slide in between some racks that I couldn't get through and when I turned down another aisle to meet him he was long gone. Thinking that I would just be able to grab him quickly I left Luke by the cart and told him to just stay there for one second and I would be right back. Yes, I should have put Luke in the cart and we should have gone to look for Thomas together-duh, I know that now. At the time it didn't seem like the easiest solution.I couldn't find Thomas right away so I went back to get Luke, now Luke was gone but I could hear him. He was running through the store yelling-Towie, Towie, come here! Sigh. I decided to grab Thomas first and I found him just leaving the toys. I put his push toy in the back and put him in he cart. I can still hear Luke and I know we are right next to each other but somehow he eludes me. Finally, he stops yelling. It is silent. I glance around and a lady looks at me and points to where he is. Really, that was my fault but still......

Taking kids out in public is a chancy thing to do. You never know what will happen.