Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Yep, this is my life (part 3)

The Napless Nap
On Saturday afternoon I tried reinstituting The Nap because the night before we had all enjoyed a late and raucous evening watching “Shark Boy and Lava Girl” (a campy movie my kids loved).

Thinking all he needed was a little encouragement I laid down with Zack trying to psych him to sleep. But my eyelids were so heavy they became blinking hazards and when I did manage to open them my eyes would cross. I’m sure my wiz kid was onto me. I'm sure he was thinking to himself, She’s almost out. Just a li-ttle bit longer and I. will. be. free.

Fifteen minutes later I awoke in a panic. His bed was empty and I couldn’t hear him nearby. Knowing that without anyone standing between him and the great beyond (the Hub was running errands and my other two were playing in the backyard) I ran to the front. He was sitting on the street corner in his diaper and a t-shirt, his Elmo trick or treat bucket full of Disney Cars in his lap. My heart was in my throat seeing how absolutely adorable, and snatchable, he was.

The ways in which I am blessed could be listed on a scroll of paper that wraps around the moon twice.

The Library Brawl
Now this wouldn’t be on my moon list, but it tops the list of things I’ll laugh about later.

After finding Zack on the corner and determining that there would be no Saturday naps, I rounded everyone up for a trip to the library. By that time it was about 3:30 and we were all feeling the napless strain. But we pressed onward with excitement (our library has a fish pond inside—a must-see each time we enter). Kaleb found a Spiderman comic, Zack found both an Elmo movie and a picture book and Leah danced through the isles in an elaborate Easter dress and her clicky church shoes. Zack went to share his spoils with Leah who, seeing his enthusiasm, must have thought he was coming to pummel her with both. She ran from him squealing, her clicky shoes especially loud in the easy reader section. Zack thought it was game and tried even harder to catch her. By the time I reached them they were in a pile on the floor; Zack had fistfuls of Leah’s hair, and Leah was in full-freak mode with her head back, her mouth open and..nothing. That is, until she caught her breath.

Everyone in the children section watched as I pulled Leah and Zack to their feet, slung the book bag over my shoulder and proceeded to checkout.

My children had just participated in their first public brawl. And I’m choosing to blame it on The Nap Crusade. That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it…

And so ends this sad little series, “Yep, this is my life.” Just a sampling of events that happened at my house over one weekend.

14 comments:

Blog Owner said...

Sitting on the corner with the Elmo trick or treat bucket? How can you STAND it?!

They are so stinkin' cute, aren't they (especially when they're sleeping!)

Maude Lynn said...

My daughter made her first great escape about a month ago. She managed to unlatch the front door and had made it two blocks from the house. To the large duck pond, in fact. In the rain. My heart STILL hasn't quit racing!

erin said...

Mine are banned from the library right now. They have no patience for the check-out process, or the book-finding process, or the staying out of the road as we walk to and from the library processes. I wait until Jason gets home and go by myself--hey I gotta get my books too. In September we will start the craziness that is Storytime at the library...probably just in time for Jill to start crawling--but Rory can go through the little green door with Eli--giving me a half-hour of freedom! Maybe.

Becky said...

They get away so quick.

Once we were outside washing our car and Matthew wandered down the sidewalk. I never noticed he was gone until my neighbor 2 houses down walked him home by the hand.

My heart dropped and I felt horrible.

Shauna Loves Chocolate said...

Loved the series!
We don't do the library. Nicholas is too loud.

GustoBones said...

Oh man, you should be sainted. Your cuties do keep you on your toes. You have the right attitude though, you WILL laugh about it later. It just laughing about it now that can be the hard part, right?

Rachel said...

I hope that "yep, this is my life" makes a comeback every once in a while... highly enjoyable!

Karen said...

great series of posts! i can so relate. that was my life at one time. now i've moved onto bigger and ?better things like pre-teens and teens! ACK!

shauna said...

Mama Zen and Becky, that is so scary. We live just three blocks from a canal that Zack is obsessed with. After your posts I realize 15 minutes would have been enough time for him to walk there by himself!

Erin and Shauna, we don't go to the library nearly as often as we used to when they were super little. And each time we go I swear we won't go back for months! (The first time we went Zack had an incident with that fish pond).

Rachel, I'm sure this series won't go away for awhile. I just hope we can pace ourselves around here. :)

Mamacita Chilena said...

That's probably not going to be the last time it happens either! My brother was always so sweet to me in private but he would just wait until there was a good chance for everybody to see him whaling on me!

This series was highly entertaining and someday you'll probably be glad you have their madness documented (I'm thinking you print out these stories to hand out at their respective weddings!)

Rhonda Barnes said...

I don't know how many times I fell asleep to find who I was sleeping with gone...lucky we live in a not so busy street area but I did lose Denise once and lucky the dog came when I called and there she was...with 6 kids I was always looking for someone. Those where the days!! love mom

Anonymous said...

Never a dull moment in your home!! Loved this series!

I remember I used to not be able to fall asleep at night without my dad telling me a story in bed. And I do remember sometimes waking up to him snoring right next to me!!

And who knew the library would be the place for a brawl? I guess I should go to my library next time I'm looking for a little excitement!

Jane, Pinks & Blues Girls

MomOf4 said...

I can really relate to the reluctance to give up nap time! This will make a great story later, even if it is heart stopping now.

Anonymous said...

I love your blog. I can so relate to the brawling children. Naptime is always a question of instant gratification for me. If she falls asleep, I get instant peace adn freetime. But I pay for it later. So whether or not I let her nap usually depends upon how fresh in my memory a late night after nap is.