- It is so quiet right now. I’m at home with the baby and she’s asleep. Ben took Chloe and Marlie with him to the store. He said he was gonna take them so I could get some quiet time. Yes, my husband is amazing. Marlie got out of school early due to freezing rain. Chloe had no nap today. Put those two together and it’s full on shenanigans! They love each other to pieces, but they fuss like cats and dogs. They share a room and it is right next to the living room. You don’t want them closing the door because there’s no telling what terrors would occur if left unsupervised. But the noise from the room is unprecedented. There’s a constant “nooooo Marlie!!!” Or “stop it!!” Both of these are punctuated with a whine. While Chloe is constantly whining no, even if Marlie is not in the wrong; Marlie, in turn, is instigating Chloe’s tantrum. Anyone who had a sibling remembers the old “don’t touch me” followed by your sibling pointing a finger inches from your face and taunting “I’m not touching you.” That’s how it is here. Chloe screams “don’t touch my cheese.” I see Marlie continuing to touch the cheese with a sneaky smirk. Don’t think Chloe is innocent though. She bugs the “you know what” out of Marlie. And now Chloe has learned potty humor and the laugh it elicits from sis. I heard her from the room singing “doodoo, doodoo, doodoo balls!” I’m savoring the quiet while it lasts. Thank you dear husband. I owe you one.
- The above fact reminded me of a story. I never had an older sibling. I was the eldest. But growing up I had a first cousin who was like my brother. Before I had siblings, he and I were it. My Mom and Aunt use to trade us back and forth, each watching the others’ child. Even when we lived far apart we still made time for visits. We would make a trip and stay at the others’ house for a couple of weeks. He sadly wasn’t always the best influence. He was 5 years older than me, and therefore more experienced in stuff. He taught me my first cuss word. He told me to say it. I did. Then he went and told my Aunt and she washed my mouth out with soap. He taught me how to stuff my toys under the bed and in the closet when my Mom told us to clean my room. He taught me how to ride a bike. He had to after crashing my bike and tearing up my training wheels. I still recall being pushed down that steep asphalt hill with a major highway at the bottom. Yep, I learned to pedal and brake. He taught me interesting games. One I remember vividly was called “Heaven and Hell.” It went like this. He was God. I was dead. He told me I had been bad and couldn’t stay in Heaven. He would put me in the closet which served as the elevator to Heaven and Hell. I would go down to Hell where he was the devil. He would then put me in a corner and tell me I couldn’t leave the corner as I was surrounded by a ring of invisible fire. I was five. Then he would open the window of our third floor apartment and throw my dolls out to his buddies down below to toss back and forth. And my poor little brother wonders why I was so mean to him growing up. I’ll have to warn Bailey that it often rolls down hill.
- Speaking of Bailey; we took her to a follow up appt. today. The Dr. gave her a clean bill of health. I’m so happy. I haven’t heard her cough all day. Since I had Ben with me, I suggested a grocery shopping trip. He didn’t seem super excited. I can’t imagine why. But he agreed. So picture this. We have one of those car buggies with Marlie and Chloe in the drivers seat and Ben pushing. I’m following him with a regular basket with Bailey’s infant car seat in it. Of course she’s not in it. I’m holding her since she started crying right when we got inside. She’s quiet and happy in my arms, but that doesn’t stop a stranger from noticing her and making a comment that I couldn’t help but take as a stab at my parenting. She snidely commented, “that’s a little bittie baby you have out in this weather.” I smoothly replied, “yeah, we almost left her at home by herself, but thought better of it.” Anyway, back to the caravan. I held Bailey in one hand and pushed my cart with the other. You really need two carts anyway. Those car carts are awesome at keeping young kids occupied, but they don’t have as much room. Also, they are a hassle to push through the store, but so worth the distraction they provide. I always meet up with some other parent pushing their own car cart with a toddler driving, and as we barely get past each other in the aisle, we comment on how the pros outweigh the cons of this cumbersome buggy. I had to chuckle to myself as I would stop and point to Ben what item to pick up and place in the basket. I usually do the shopping by myself, so I almost felt like I had my own personal assistant. When he gets back with the girls, he’s gonna make pancakes and sausage for dinner. Yes. I think I’ll keep him.
That is all 🙂