Chickens in my bed

Imagine driving down your street when you see a neighbours 4 year old boy dressed as Super man without shoes on, knocking on his own door.  Alone.  Early in the morning.  No one else appears to be home.

Fortunately for me, a friend and neighbour saw exactly that!  I had left for carpool but had Caleb at home with the sleeping boys.  Caleb was on the living room couch so that he'd hear the boys wake up.  Apparently that plan is flawed.

After I returned home I talked to Whittaker about what happened.  He said,

"I chickens in your bed."

"I not find anyone."

"I not know the password to the house."

Translation needed???

It made perfect sense to me.
After a few more questions and some deciphering.

'I checked in your bed.'  He apparently couldn't fine Miles whom he typically sees when he wakes and shares breakfast with while I return from carpool.  (Miles had an early club meeting at school) He didn't find Caleb in his bed, Sarah wasn't in her bed and I wasn't in my bed.

'I not find anyone.'  When he couldn't find anyone in their beds, he naturally looked for the car.  (I wonder why finding Emerson in his crib didn't occur to him as 'finding anyone'???)

'I not know the password to the house.'  When he went to look for the car, the door shut behind him and automatically locked.  We have a keyless entry, so you have to know the code to type in to open the door. He doesn't know the code.  He can not reach the door bell.

He was outside at least 10 minutes according to witnesses.  When his rescuer called me, I was able to suggest the front door by the living room couch where Caleb was sleeping.  All ended well thankfully. Thanks again Ellen and her carpool rescue squad!

I do wonder what he must have said to his rescue squad though.  If he mentioned the chickens in my bed, they might have thought he'd lost his mind!

 To us... talk of chickens is completely natural... so I did check my bed for chickens after my chat with him...

Just in case.

Did you know that if you act like a chicken, they will come closer?

All fall down

"I had nothing to do with it.  I'm telling you just what happened.   I was sitting here pondering the cosmos and the leaves... well they just all fell down."

Wednesday's child

I guess we shouldn't tempt fate.   Caleb and I were discussing the last few Wednesday's of our lives..

Last Wednesday, he crashed the van.

The Wednesday before, he crushed his thumb in a ladder incident.

Two Wednesday's before, Whittaker leapt into a bookshelf resulting in stitches to the head. 

Today Caleb attempted to do nothing but lounge.  I told him he could hide from fate on his own time but today I needed him to start up the propane burner and process a batch of apple butter. 

He singed some hair  off his arm when the flame ignited.

If that wasnt enough.  As he headed down stairs to bed tonight, he slipped on the last 3 steps falling onto his backside, ramming into the wall, knocking a picture frame off the wall,  the glass and getting a tiny cut in his toe. 

He hobbled to bed muttering, and whining... Why? Why?

Problems with a capital P

Pragmatism, Pride and Patrick... I don't think they all start with P as a coincidence. 

I have been referred to as pragmatic numerous times.  I think it is a compliment of sorts. As the steps to take after the car collision unfolded I was faced with procuring transportation while the situation was resolved.  The needs were to have a vehicle to go from point a to point b, with the capability of transporting multiple people at once. 

Fortunately we already owned such a vehicle that would suffice.  However it would require that we register it.  We had already been in the process of preparing it for registration anyway.  Patrick spent the next evening completing all the work on the trooper that would be required so all that was left was to go to the DMV and pay the fees.  A simple task... if you have a way to the DMV that doesn't require you to drive the unregistered vehicle. 

Our insurance provided a rental car.  I called and arranged for a car so I could toodle around and care for details.  It's a long weekend and the only car they had available this morning was not the car I would EVER have selected.  

Because it was the only car available they gave it to me for the rate the insurance was willing to cover.   I found it amusing they thought that was the only reason for hesitation. 

Oh no.  My reasons were many;
-I was too scared to drive it.  

-I didn't want to touch any of the MANY buttons.
-It would not fit my family.
-It would likely cause some tension among the other drivers in my household... since I was the only allowable driver on the contract. 
-It was the sort of vehicle that attracted attention.  I was not interested in attention.

-Because our insurance would pay for it for 30 days, but we didn't need it, I knew I would have a fight on my hands from my kids (including the biggest kid Patrick) when I returned it.
-I simply was not impressed by cars. Even this one.

After I sat down in the driver's seat I became even less excited.  How could I even admit to people that I didn't like it.  It wasn't very comfortable.   It felt like I was sitting on the ground.  I was glad I had walked all the way around it before getting in or I may not have realized how big a nose it had on it that I wasn't accustomed to. 

Oh well. It would do the task I needed it for.

I drove home to take Caleb to work and grab some paperwork.  I discovered some new reasons to dislike the car.

How is it that even my 1 year old seemed excited by this piece of machinery.  I practically had to pry my boys out of the car so I could run my errand.  Sarah pleaded with me to keep it until Monday so I could drive her to school.  I gave them each a ride (except Emerson) to the end of the road and back.   I think we'll have a discussion about pride (bragging... showing off... )  very soon.  

And to make matters worse..... Caleb's drive to work had to have the top down.  The temperature outside, according to the car, was only 50 degrees.  Granted it was a sunny day.  Still not really 'top down' type weather. 

A group of preteen girls saw us in the car and stopped in their tracks.  I heard them say, "you got a new car?", "wow... Is that a 'stang??!!"

As I passed my friends house she and her boys happened to be outside.  The boys were picking up their jaws and I think I may have seen so me drool.  My friend even said, "we should go cruising someplace tonight.   Just us ladies."

Why doesn't anyone else understand.  I want to return this car as soon as it has served it's purpose.  Or is there something I am missing?  I'm telling you there is something about this car that turns perfectly normal people into lunatics!

I drove the 30 minutes to the DMV (just slow back roads), waited over an hour to register the trooper then drove the 30 minutes home again. 

-This car is bright red.

-This car wants to speed.

-This car must be returned.

-This car is like a moving target.

-I got the most unusual looks from people as I drove.

-I have a cold.  I was wearing my big sweater and had my hair in a ponytail, and had box of tissues in the front seat with me.  I think people expected me to be wearing a little black dress.  Stereotypes are evil.

-People also don't tend to let me in their lane or merge... they expect me to speed up and cut them off instead.

Once home I simply waited for Patrick to come home so I could return the car.  I knew if I returned it before he saw it I would have an upset husband on my hands... on the other hand if I didn't return it before he came home I would have a pathetic husband on my hands....

Jim hasn't swung by to visit in about a month.  Why today?  I think he could smell the car.  He stopped by on his own new wheels and stayed to play a game of Yahtzee with the kids.  No one at all was on my side about the car going back.   Oh what to do?

......I have a pathetic husband.

The car will go back tomorrow.

Our blessings are many

This is our mantra.

With a year filled with emergency surgery for emersons collapsing intestines, miles concussion, Whittakers stitches, Calebs broken thumb, a dead computer monitor, a swimming cell phone, the cats broken leg, an ear infection, miles has the worlds most resistant wart gone wild, 4 with pinkeye, 2 rounds with the flu, daddy's speeding ticket, Sarah's collision, Calebs collision which has resulted in the demise of our van .   

We prefer to dwell on how many blessings we still have.  we have a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs , food to eat, employment, a bumper crop of apples, a garden that produced, keen minds, we are all alive and well, okay so perhaps a few of us have a cold but we will overcome that, family, friends a plenty, and good neighbours, love, laughter and an abundance of blessings.  

Cooperism -- waiting.....

We've been in a few waiting rooms lately.  Cooper typically brings a book to read.  When he forget it is torture for everyone there. This morning he forgot to bring a book and he pointed out the only other person waiting in the waiting room..... 

" this is what happens when you have to spend so much time in a waiting room without a book. I feel for you fella."

50 miler

Scouting merit badges aren't just for looks on a sash. Some I think are just for fun, such as the archery, Chess, Fishing and Canoeing. I've been impressed that many of the merit badges introduce the young men to career options they may not have considered or hobbies and interests that they may have never dabbled in otherwise. However, there are some merit badges that take a great deal of effort and perseverance for the boys to earn. Some that stretch their limits both mentally, emotionally and physically. I suppose you could say, I'm coming around to seeing scouting in a new light. Perhaps it isn't all fluff after all.

One of the most physically exerting badges for Caleb was his bicycling badge. He initially thought it would be a fun and simple one to earn over the summer. He learned that instead it would launch him into bicycle history, mechanics and a rigorous training program for his actual cycling portion. There were two, 10 mile rides, two 15 mile rides, two 25 mile rides and then finally the 50 mile ride. He and his counselor actually went on many 15 mile rides throughout the training and he found the 25 mile rides fun and exciting. The 50 mile ride however found him home afterward with shaky legs and a desire to stay at home and in bed for the next 16 hours! He was completely wiped.

He has since been on many shorter rides (10-20 milers), and finds that he enjoys cycling more than he thought he would. He is working on building a new bike and I hope he eventually stops growing so he can fit a bike for more than a year!

An apple a day...

An apple a day keeps the Dr. Away. I guess 30 or 40 buckets in a week does the opposite.  

Maybe Caleb was feeling left out with all our hospital visits this year. Or perhaps just wanted to get out of having to pick any more apples. He got into a fight with the ladder. And it crushed his thumb.

Natural Consequences

 A fun field trip day to the zoo.  The morning dawned... WAY TOO EARLY!  I had been up ALL night with Emerson who had developed croup.  Fortunately one of the best things for croup is to bundle up the child and take him for a drive with windows open in crisp cool weather.  The morning was indeed CRISP and very COOL.  So... we did not postpone the field trip to the zoo.  We bundled him up and off we went.  I'm happy to report that the cool weather and the extra bundling did the trick and he no longer appears to be suffering from croup.

A small set back to getting an early get away was a stubborn streak in Whittaker.  He insisted that it wasn't windy so he didn't need to wear anything but his shorts and t-shirts.  After a time out and a major temper tantrum and both his and my part, I decided to let the natural consequences prevail.  So off we went.  Four of us in long pants, cozy sweaters, coats, hats and mittens, and one of us sporting a summer outfit.

As the trek through the zoo progressed, he whined a lot about how 'he was sooooo freezing'.  I calmly asked if he'd like to put on his pants or his hat etc....  Slowly he acquiesced and was willing to put on a long sleeve shirt.  Then after about 15 minutes, he changed from sandals to socks and shoes.  Then maybe 5 minutes later he wanted his hat.   The zoo, by the way, showed signs that there had been snow there in the night and it was melting, but it was VERY cold. We had been at the zoo for well over an hour before I managed to completely dress him for the day.

Would you believe he almost immediately stopped whining once he was dressed.  I think I only mentioned how nice and comfortable he was now that he was properly dressed about 100 times.

The boys really enjoyed posing with the animals.... well the statues of them.  

At this point in the adventure Cooper began requesting to be able to have a pet to bring home from the zoo.  I agreed that this one would be perfect.  Small, quiet, still, no maintenance.  It wasn't what he had in mind. He apparently been hoping for a monkey..... a golden lion tamarind to be precise.  

The polar bears were playful.

As we walked up to the grizzly bear exhibit, Whittaker, who for the most part had been unimpressed by most of the animals and didn't say much.. (other than whine about it being 'sooo freezing'.), exclaimed, 

"Awww... this one is sooooo cute.  I want to pet it and give it a hug." 

The Grizzly Bear!!

We had to search high and low to find the tiger hiding in his exhibit.  Eventually we found him lounging in the patch of sunlight on the overpass that was built from his exhibit over our heads to his indoor habitat.  Due to the height of the overpass we couldn't get a great look, but we could tell he was quite a large feline specimen.

When we walked into the giraffe house I couldn't help but make a comment to Whittaker.  

"Look, the giraffe must not have listened to his mother.  See, he's standing in the corner.  Do you think he yelled at his mummy when she told him to put on his warm clothes?!"

He stayed in the corner for our entire visit to the giraffe house.  Whittaker left saying, 

"no, no. Bad, giraffe.  Have to do what mummy says."   

(There may have been a mineral salt lick thing hanging in the corner that apparently drips down the wall and the giraffe's tend to stand there and lick the wall.  Like Whittaker would believe that.)

Cooper insisted that a visit to the zoo isn't complete until you visit the small animal building... 'you know where they house the reptiles!'
He's been reading the first Harry Potter books and was a tidge disappointed that he was not a parseltongue. I believe he attempted to speak with every snake in the building.
By the way... he insisted I take the snake photo for his mother!  Something about how she loves a good snake photo, he loves to torment her with snake info and photos.

 Duncan was impressed by all the colourful birds and was eager to find the iguana the zookeeper claimed was hiding somewhere in the exhibit.

Oddly enough, the crocodiles were.... well... boring. Perhaps I would not feel this way if there hadn't been a protective glass between their enclosure and myself.  They really didn't even flinch or appear to breath the whole time we stood and stared at them.

A zoo visit would not be complete without a visit to the gorilla's to see how we measure up. 

And of course pounding on your chest while calling out, "Ahhhhhh, ahhhhh, ahhhhhh"  wouldn't be a bad end to the day either.

(Emerson had fallen asleep by this point in the day so he was no longer included in photographic opportunities.)

A quick update on the Whittaker clothing situation:

Once we arrived in the van to return home from our delightful zoo visit, he refused to get into his seat until he was stripped back down to his shorts and t-shirt once again.  I think I'll take that as a 'Gee, thanks mummy for packing all my warm clothes for me.'

On the outside looking in

It's tough being the youngest. All the real fun seems to happen behind closed doors and gates.