It's only 10-something here, and I'm ready for some intense Zebra Cake Therapy. James has been on Strong Prophet mode this morning. ("But I didn't ask because I KNEW he wouldn't let me", "I KNEW it would work now, because we've talked had a long talk", and my favorite, "If I did that, then I KNOW it wouldn't work." Yep, just call him Jonah.) With that, the plastic egg/land mines on the floor, and the discovery that Smidge "shared" his egg (more specifically, the egg yolk) with Baby Girl this morning... I'm getting a little twitchy. Life, or at least my life, is a fine balance, and I can feel the scale starting to tip.
We've accomplished quite a bit, but it's not been smooth. It's been more like that weird uncle's scalp - bumpy and scaly, with a few hairy bits here and there. And we haven't even done anything that requires a pencil yet! So already, I'm on High Parenting Alert. Some days are just. like. that. I know. I know.
But when James disappeared after history, and I couldn't find him to come unload the dishwasher, I immediately dug out and donned my "Authoritarian Child Herder" hat and went to find him.
"JAMES! Where are you?"
"I'm in my room."
(Oh.) "Well, what are you doing in there?"
"I'm reading."
(Oh. Um. Huh.) "Uh... what are you reading?"
"Something from my 'To Be Read' Shelf. It's really good."
(Now I'm getting suspicious - both of his earlier antics, and my own sanity) "Ah. Very well, then. Carry on."
"OK. *pause* Did you need me to do something for you?"
"No, you're good. Thanks, honey."
(Crap.) Why doesn't he ask that when I CAN think of something I need done? I mean, he'll help any time we ask, but it'd be nice if I could take him up on his offers once in a while. The minute he offers, it's as if he's performed some Jedi mind trick, and I turn daft and can't think of a thing to suggest. I simply turn around, trip over the next load of wash in the hallway, wander past the living room with its Bedouin-style blanket decor in the living room (I think there are camels in there, so I don't mess with the tents), and start unloading the dishwasher myself. But did any of that dawn on me when he asked? Of course not.
This better not be one of those things he confesses to me when he's 30. "You know, Mom, when I used to offer to help out while I was reading? Yeah, I knew you'd never take me up on it if I had a book open. It was just a safe bet and an easy way to score brownie points."
I'm going to go see if I can catch him between pages and get him to hold a pencil.
Kiss those babies!
~Dy
7 comments:
Thanks for sharing your Zebra Cake with me over the phone this morning. I think I can make it through the day without the shrill shrew voice kicking in.
I am feeling envious of you and J's get-together tonight. Enjoy each other and share a hug for/from me.
I also forgot to ask you while I had you on the phone how the new church was. Looking forward to hearing about it!
Hugs and smooches,
LB
LOL about the "strong prophet"--what a great way to put that! Jonah visits our house occasionally as well . . . So what was James reading? Here's to a less twitchy day! I'm having one too, although mine is from getting very little sleep last night. I keep thinking "Just 8 (or 6 or whatever) more hours before they'll all be asleep and I can start over again!" LOL!
Did you mention cake?
I have never heard of Zebra Cake? What is it?
Dy,
I just wanted to thank you for such funny and beautiful posts... I've been lurking here for a few months, and I'm impressed by your ability to lay out such fertile and varied posts so often!
Anyway, I and at least one other person nominated you on the Homeschool Blog Awards. Just wanted you to know in case you didn't know already!
Well at least your kids *ask* you if there's something they can do for you. I wish mine would just ask, instead of waiting for me to *tell* them they forgot to scoop the cat's box, pick up their shoes, brush their teeth, etc. But that book thing, ya, I get that. If they are reading a book that doesn't scream "comic" on the front, then it's hard for me to be motivated to tell them that x needs to be done.
-dawn
If I ever found T. reading something I Wanted him to read (as opposed to Calvin & Hobbes, Far Side, etc.) I would probably faint from the shock. Same goes for if he asked if there was anything he could do to help (with the exception of getting dinner on the table, which he has a powerful interest in). I'm sure there were other not-so-fun parts to your day, but That is the kind of bump I would love to see!
I trust Smidge's egg did no harm? I can't keep track of what babies aren't supposed to have either, so he has my sympathy.
Hi guys!
Melora, it was more that she wasn't in a high chair. So the egg yolk ended up all over the living room floor, rubbed into the couch (that poor couch...), in her socks, on the TV. It was bad. LOL. And his reading thing just caught me off guard after the way the rest of the morning had gone. I'd fully expected to find him decked out in war paint, lip-synching to the radio in the bathroom, to be honest. :-)
Dawn, yes they do offer. They are wonderful kids, and do try to easy on their aging, crotchety mother.
Jennifer, that's funny how universal it is. I'd rather snuggle the babies anyday!
Kristen, I just learned of this the other day, and had no idea who'd nominated me. Thank you for thinking of me, and for visiting the front porch of the Forever Home. :-)
Claire, as I walked in, he had finished his chapter on Aristides (Plutarch's Lives for Children), and was picking up Robert McCloskey's "Time of Wonder".
LB, I'll have to blog about the church later. ;-) It was... interesting.
Dy
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