Wild, Wild Week (so far!)
What a week it's been, and it's only Thursday~
Sunday: Where There's Smoke...
Kiddo and I were taking a walk Sunday morning, toodling around the neighborhood. We'd stopped in at a cafe; small latte for me, he chose a croissant to share with a friend later, and we headed back out to wander through the neighborhood.
It was one of those glorious Sundays, sunny, gardens a-bloom. We passed a church and heard the singing of worship and praises to God. We saw lots of people walking along outside, enjoying the morning air. Kiddo chose our route and as we hit the other side of our block, we passed a house that was noisy with incessant BEEP BEEP BEEPs alternating frantically with each other.
This was unusual. There was no car in their driveway, and nosy me, I thought something just wasn't quite right. After instructing Kiddo to stay on the sidewalk, I walked up to the house. Their curtains were open and the inside of the house looked hazy, even with the sunlight. I rang the doorbell twice and then noticed that I could smell smoke. Not seeing any flames, and seeing the neighbor's car was in the drive, I decided to see if we could contact the homeowners first before calling the fire department, because that was next.
When the neighbor couldn't get her neighbors on their cell phones, I did what you're supposed to do: dialed 911 and called it in. Then I called Joe and asked him to come pick up Kiddo, who was getting noticeably anxious. Since Joe was still in the shower and I had to leave a message, I did the next thing I was supposed to do: reassure the little fella that things would be fine. "No one is in the house, the family is safe, there are no flames, and the firemen will come and take care of this." I had a feeling that this smoke was one of those "small potatoes now, but could be big potatoes later" sorts of things. I reminded Kiddo that we might hear a loud siren, that we might see the firemen in their uniforms (which can look scary to kids sometimes) and that, if the firemen were asking questions, this was a time to let Mama talk so they could do their job quickly.
I'm happy to say that everything went relatively fine. No one seemed to notice the loud beeping or us standing outside the house, but as soon as the fire truck came to the house, the neighbors came out quickly! Joe came in time to help get Kiddo home before too much adult fuss reached his ears. We have a very histrionic neighbor in our midst, and I'm glad he didn't have to listen to that. Funny, but I think that having been there for the time I was and even with the adrenaline I was experiencing, I was calmer than a few of the people who rushed over. The firemen were so very careful in breaking the lock to the home and sure enough.... a pan of eggs set to boil that morning had boiled dry, the eggs (I learned later) had exploded...
Later that evening, I told Joe that I felt awful for the family. "This poor family has to come home to a house that's going to need serious cleaning and their lock's broken." Joe brought it down to earth for me: "Honey, they still have a house. Don't feel bad about it." Joe always has good advice, so I decided he's right and relaxed a bit. Kiddo asked me later "Why did you know about the smoke?" My answer: Baby, your Mama pays attention. (This is one of those times when being hyper-vigilant is actually a good thing!)
Monday: Want a Sibling, Kiddo? Here's the Reality....
No, I did not go and get myself pregnant. I got myself a job taking care of the Cutest Bit of Baby you've ever seen. BabyGirl is six months old and I'm helping her mothers out for a few Mondays by watching this little sweetheart. Kiddo's been wishing for a brother or sister, and the reality is simple: ain't gonna happen. But when this job came up, I took it, knowing it would be a good experience for us.
BabyGirl and I got on very well. We get each other. I knew she would need some heavy-duty bonding with me, so she spent much of the day on my body in the Ergo carrier. Kiddo spent much of the day playing second-fiddle. BabyGirl sleeps in half-hour cycles, and I really did try to make sure that Kiddo got a lot of love and snuggles, but I could see the jealousy manifesting itself. He'd take her toys away, wanted to lay in her cozy nest of pillows (to fall on if she toppled over while sitting up) so I suggested he bring out his sleeping bag. We took her out for a nap walk and I did what many moms do, bent the rules and got him a little Special Treat--- a mini scone.
It was our first, and longest, day we'll be doing together. The next time, mom can come pick up sooner. Kiddo did pretty well until dinnertime. We'd already planned to go out for pizza when Joe got home. Kiddo was playing outside and bounced into the house. "Mama! When we go to pizza, I'm going to get chocolate milk!" oh dear. That wasn't happening. It's not a matter of principle, either, it's the fact that when he has the chocolate milk, he turns into a child I want to sell to the circus for peanuts. It was now up to me to burst his chocolate milk bubble...
His face got all sad, his eyes huge and his mouth turning large into a wail of anger and disappointment. I decided that he needed some say in his day... some sense of not being A Victim to the Adult Plan, so after acknowledging his disappointment and how much he really wanted that crazymaking brown milk, I suggested that perhaps we could go up to pizza early and order breadsticks while we waited for Daddy? Would he like that? He nodded and wiped his eyes and brought me a few books to take up to the restaurant. This was a good compromise. We snuggled up close in the booth. I read him the chapter "In Which Piglet Meets a Heffalump" (his favorite story lately) and we were glad to see Joe not too much later and eat our slices of pizza, two with anchovies, one without...
Tuesday: Things That Go Crash in the Night
It's about eleven at night. I can't sleep. ugh. Laying in bed, reading Anne Lamott's newest book "Some Assembly Required" and finally, I turn out the light. It's then I hear a snap-snappity-snap sound, a crash, and then quiet.
Really? I go downstairs, wondering what the *bleep* Joe's doing this late. As usual, it's not him. (I say as usual, because the last time I heard noise and thought he was doing something crazy, it was a small earthquake going BUMP!) Also, as usual, he's not the least bit curious. I make him put on his pants (because I'm hardly dressed for success in my underpants and tee shirt) and he goes outside. Returning, he tells me that the next door neighbors are standing outside talking-- because the house across the street had a tree fall into it. I got dressed and went outside too, asked if any help was needed and then just got out of the way. Fortunately, the family in the house was all okay, and spent the night with friends. As I type, the tree is being removed carefully. There's a hole in the house, and I am thankful the weather's been good enough to hold off the rain.
Returned to bed with a small sherry glass of brandy to help me sleep. What the heck is going to happen next in this neighborhood?
Wednesday:
All I have to report is an awesome three hour park playdate with an awesome friend who has awesome kids. And having nothing else to add to this is also awesome...
The garden calls. I want to restructure my rock garden and get my carrot seeds in soon, so out into the sun I go....
Sunday: Where There's Smoke...
Kiddo and I were taking a walk Sunday morning, toodling around the neighborhood. We'd stopped in at a cafe; small latte for me, he chose a croissant to share with a friend later, and we headed back out to wander through the neighborhood.
It was one of those glorious Sundays, sunny, gardens a-bloom. We passed a church and heard the singing of worship and praises to God. We saw lots of people walking along outside, enjoying the morning air. Kiddo chose our route and as we hit the other side of our block, we passed a house that was noisy with incessant BEEP BEEP BEEPs alternating frantically with each other.
This was unusual. There was no car in their driveway, and nosy me, I thought something just wasn't quite right. After instructing Kiddo to stay on the sidewalk, I walked up to the house. Their curtains were open and the inside of the house looked hazy, even with the sunlight. I rang the doorbell twice and then noticed that I could smell smoke. Not seeing any flames, and seeing the neighbor's car was in the drive, I decided to see if we could contact the homeowners first before calling the fire department, because that was next.
When the neighbor couldn't get her neighbors on their cell phones, I did what you're supposed to do: dialed 911 and called it in. Then I called Joe and asked him to come pick up Kiddo, who was getting noticeably anxious. Since Joe was still in the shower and I had to leave a message, I did the next thing I was supposed to do: reassure the little fella that things would be fine. "No one is in the house, the family is safe, there are no flames, and the firemen will come and take care of this." I had a feeling that this smoke was one of those "small potatoes now, but could be big potatoes later" sorts of things. I reminded Kiddo that we might hear a loud siren, that we might see the firemen in their uniforms (which can look scary to kids sometimes) and that, if the firemen were asking questions, this was a time to let Mama talk so they could do their job quickly.
I'm happy to say that everything went relatively fine. No one seemed to notice the loud beeping or us standing outside the house, but as soon as the fire truck came to the house, the neighbors came out quickly! Joe came in time to help get Kiddo home before too much adult fuss reached his ears. We have a very histrionic neighbor in our midst, and I'm glad he didn't have to listen to that. Funny, but I think that having been there for the time I was and even with the adrenaline I was experiencing, I was calmer than a few of the people who rushed over. The firemen were so very careful in breaking the lock to the home and sure enough.... a pan of eggs set to boil that morning had boiled dry, the eggs (I learned later) had exploded...
Later that evening, I told Joe that I felt awful for the family. "This poor family has to come home to a house that's going to need serious cleaning and their lock's broken." Joe brought it down to earth for me: "Honey, they still have a house. Don't feel bad about it." Joe always has good advice, so I decided he's right and relaxed a bit. Kiddo asked me later "Why did you know about the smoke?" My answer: Baby, your Mama pays attention. (This is one of those times when being hyper-vigilant is actually a good thing!)
Monday: Want a Sibling, Kiddo? Here's the Reality....
No, I did not go and get myself pregnant. I got myself a job taking care of the Cutest Bit of Baby you've ever seen. BabyGirl is six months old and I'm helping her mothers out for a few Mondays by watching this little sweetheart. Kiddo's been wishing for a brother or sister, and the reality is simple: ain't gonna happen. But when this job came up, I took it, knowing it would be a good experience for us.
BabyGirl and I got on very well. We get each other. I knew she would need some heavy-duty bonding with me, so she spent much of the day on my body in the Ergo carrier. Kiddo spent much of the day playing second-fiddle. BabyGirl sleeps in half-hour cycles, and I really did try to make sure that Kiddo got a lot of love and snuggles, but I could see the jealousy manifesting itself. He'd take her toys away, wanted to lay in her cozy nest of pillows (to fall on if she toppled over while sitting up) so I suggested he bring out his sleeping bag. We took her out for a nap walk and I did what many moms do, bent the rules and got him a little Special Treat--- a mini scone.
It was our first, and longest, day we'll be doing together. The next time, mom can come pick up sooner. Kiddo did pretty well until dinnertime. We'd already planned to go out for pizza when Joe got home. Kiddo was playing outside and bounced into the house. "Mama! When we go to pizza, I'm going to get chocolate milk!" oh dear. That wasn't happening. It's not a matter of principle, either, it's the fact that when he has the chocolate milk, he turns into a child I want to sell to the circus for peanuts. It was now up to me to burst his chocolate milk bubble...
His face got all sad, his eyes huge and his mouth turning large into a wail of anger and disappointment. I decided that he needed some say in his day... some sense of not being A Victim to the Adult Plan, so after acknowledging his disappointment and how much he really wanted that crazymaking brown milk, I suggested that perhaps we could go up to pizza early and order breadsticks while we waited for Daddy? Would he like that? He nodded and wiped his eyes and brought me a few books to take up to the restaurant. This was a good compromise. We snuggled up close in the booth. I read him the chapter "In Which Piglet Meets a Heffalump" (his favorite story lately) and we were glad to see Joe not too much later and eat our slices of pizza, two with anchovies, one without...
Tuesday: Things That Go Crash in the Night
It's about eleven at night. I can't sleep. ugh. Laying in bed, reading Anne Lamott's newest book "Some Assembly Required" and finally, I turn out the light. It's then I hear a snap-snappity-snap sound, a crash, and then quiet.
Really? I go downstairs, wondering what the *bleep* Joe's doing this late. As usual, it's not him. (I say as usual, because the last time I heard noise and thought he was doing something crazy, it was a small earthquake going BUMP!) Also, as usual, he's not the least bit curious. I make him put on his pants (because I'm hardly dressed for success in my underpants and tee shirt) and he goes outside. Returning, he tells me that the next door neighbors are standing outside talking-- because the house across the street had a tree fall into it. I got dressed and went outside too, asked if any help was needed and then just got out of the way. Fortunately, the family in the house was all okay, and spent the night with friends. As I type, the tree is being removed carefully. There's a hole in the house, and I am thankful the weather's been good enough to hold off the rain.
Returned to bed with a small sherry glass of brandy to help me sleep. What the heck is going to happen next in this neighborhood?
Wednesday:
All I have to report is an awesome three hour park playdate with an awesome friend who has awesome kids. And having nothing else to add to this is also awesome...
The garden calls. I want to restructure my rock garden and get my carrot seeds in soon, so out into the sun I go....
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