Time at the Park

Today we took a walk down to the park.  It is pretty close and we should do it more often.  The kids love it and it is a nice little bit of exercise.  I forget how much I actually enjoy being out there walking and watching the kids run around.

Was a little chilly today but within 5 minutes Tyler had her jacket off.  Jesse as usual climbed up things that I really believe a 3 1/2 year old has no business climbing.  Austin then tries to follow suit and part way up decides he is in over his head and I have to come to the rescue.  Maybe we'll go again tomorrow if it is nice!

Here are some pictures for my family and friends to enjoy.  Especially those of you who don't get to see them very often.  They are all growing up so fast!

Tyler trying to save Jesse from falling into the "Lava"

(we built a volcano today that we are going to set off on Monday if it is dry)

Oh NO!  I think Jesse's toes may have gotten burned off by the "Lava"

Tyler being dramatic and cheesy

Another "Lava" rescue - Jesse looks really upset here but in reality it was all acting.  He's pretty good!

Jesse climbing one of the things mommy thinks no 3 1/2 year old should be attempting.  I'm not usually what you would consider an overprotective mom but I tend to stand close by when he insists on climbing this to get to the top of the slide.  He's barley tall enough to reach from bar to bar!

Austin attempting to be brave like his little brother - he's a bit nervous here and Tyler is trying to help him.  He wants help but doesn't seem to trust her enough to allow her to do it.

This is the point where mom comes to the rescue and Austin practices his death grip on the bars and then mom - usually around my neck!

Notice the single tear under his right eye (on our left) - he had fallen down pretty hard and scraped up his fingers.  But here he is telling me it is all better - Mommy kisses heal anything!

Slide time - of course the only one Jesse will go down is the biggest one in the park.

Austin going down the slide - this was our second attempt.  The first just got a very small part of his head - he slides down this thing pretty fast!

Tyler being dramatic again - there is no real fear here for her.  She's been climbing this same thing making Mommy nervouse since she was about Jesse's age.

This was supposed to be a Smith Kid Train but Austin got a little impatient (and a tad bit scared) waiting for everyone to get lined up together.

Today's Excitement: Angela, the crazy car people magnet!

Tonight I think I need to take a warm bubble bath, maybe have my wonderful hubby make me one of those rare drinks I enjoy occassionally and just find a good book to read and forget about my day.

Why?  Because today I was a magnet for crazy people on the road.

The day started out ordinary enough.  I worked from home today as with every Tuesday.  My daughter was with me as usual - doing her homeschool work.  We actually made it through our items for the day in pretty good time today.  Then about 2:30 we left the house for a meeting with our supervising teacher with the charter school.  We were a bit late getting out the door because as I started to leave at 2:15, I had a last minute "fire" pop up that I needed to take care of for work.  So I sent a text to our supervising teacher telling her I had gotten caught on the way out and might be a few minutes late.

A few minutes later found us sitting at stop sign just a couple miles from the house when all of a sudden we found ourselves pushed into the middle of the intersection.  We had been rear-ended!  They are so right when they say most accidents occur within just a few miles of your house.  In the past three years I've been rear-ended twice now and both times it was within a couple miles of the house, both times I was at a complete stop when hit.  The last time was in the Tahoe and a Mini-Cooper hit us.  No contest - the Tahoe had some minor scratches and the Mini-Cooper was totalled.

Today though I was in our Accord and the culprit was a taxi cab.  It actually took me a moment to realize what had happened and then I pulled off the side of the road.  The cab driver tried to talk me out of trading information but I nicely told him that I would take his information and let my husband take a look at the car when he got home tonight.  The damage does not appear to be much on the surface - a slight ring where one of the bolts from his license plate hit the bumper and next to it the bolt actually came out and got stuck in my bumper.  Can't pull it out at all!  At first actually he tried to tell me he did not think it was his bolt!

There is road construction going on near where this happened and at one point a truck driver stopped and asked if I needed any help.  He said that he had seen the whole thing and would help if need be.  How sweet!  I really appreciated that.

So in the end I got all his information which I'm passing off to my hubby tonight and he'll take care of things from here.  I've learned the hard way just because the surface appears fine does not mean there is not worse damage that needs to be addressed.

To the right you can see the indent (a bit of a hole on one side) where the one bolt from his license plate hit my bumper.  On the left you can see the bolt that came out of his license plate and got stuck in my car.  Will take pliers to get that thing out!

Here's a couple better close up pictures of the bolt.  Stuck in there tight!

This would be enough to shake up my day - but it was not done yet!  On the way home from the meeting, just as I was getting back into town and hitting traffic (it was just about 4:40 at this time) a sliver car full of young men came flying up behind me swerved around me and cut me off.  Then they slammed on their brakes.  Tires smoked and the back end of their car swung over to one side.  I had to put on my brakes pretty quickly and swerve to the side to avoid hitting them.  Talk about unnerving after being rear-ended myself just a few hours before!

I then watched as they began swerving in and out of traffic - once going from the far right lane all the way across to a left turn lane.  At that point the car screeched to a halt again and three guys piled out of the car.  At that point I noticed a small white BMW in front of them that put on its blinker, turned back into traffic and took off across the intersection.  By this time I had already passed the silver car which the guys piled back into and it pulled back into traffic.  Now myself and two or three other cars were stuck in what had now become a one lane road between these two cars.  The BMW turned off the main road a little further up and once the road went back to two lanes the silver car took off in pursuit.  I was thankful they had pulled off the main road.  Then less than a mile up the road as I passed a side street I noticed the white BMW waiting to pull out.  As I passed I saw the silver car pull up behind and the three guys piled out again.  I could see the fear on the other guys face as he pulled out directly behind me. 

My turn was coming up so I got into the left turn lane and then my heart dropped as I saw the BMW's blinker come on and pull into the lane behind me.  But he went across the other lane into a fast food restaurant parking lot that was on the corner of the upcoming intersection.  The silver car pulled across the lanes going into the parking lot as well, narrowly missing a head on collision with a truck coming from the other way.  As I sat in the left turn lane I saw both cars come flying out the otherside of the parking lot onto the same street which I was waiting to turn into.

At this point I was able to find my bluetooth (which had been knocked onto the floor when I was rear-ended).  I called 911 and found out that the dispatcher (I wonder if we only have on in our little town) was on another line with someone else who had reported the same thing.  Not sure if the cops ever found them, but I am worried about the guy they were chasing.

Talk about a freaky weird day.  Like I said - I was a magnet for crazy drivers today.  I was praying for the guy in the white BMW.  Traffic was very busy and the guys chasing him did not seem to care that others were around.  I had the feeling if they were able to corner him they were going to drag him from that car and pummel him regardless of who was around.

So that was my crazy day.  How was your day?

A Weekend with Austin

I have two adorable little boys. They really are good kids, but they are exhausting! So here is a little peek into life with my middle child (my eldest son). He'll be 5 next month - a bright boy if I do say so myself (yeah, yeah - I'm a little partial) and full of drama! I just know he'll be on stage someday.

Saturday morning my three year old comes running into our room, crying and babbling. The only word I can make out is "Austin". Right behind him comes Austin, saying over and over again "I said I was sorry, Jesse!" This is my first clue that he did something that probably is not an accident. My daughter does the same thing when she does something to Austin and is trying to keep him from telling us.

I finally get Austin to tell us that he "accidently" knocked Jesse over. As he says this Jesse starts going crazy again. He has a ticked off look on his face as he says something over and over again. Once again all I understand it "Austin" but his gesture is clear. He looks like he is hitting himself in the neck with his arm. Jesse has a habit of tattling on his brother, but is usually so upset that he can't talk clearly. So he proceeds to demonstrate on himself what Austin did to him. I think he usually inflicts more harm upon himself with his demonstrations than Austin ever does.

I look at Austin - "So, you hit Jesse in the neck with your arm and knocked him down? And you say it was an accident?"

Austin looks at me for a moment and I see the wheels spinning in his head - how can he get himself out of this one. Finally he looks at me, sighs deeply and then turns around and walks out of our room. As he leaves I hear a dejected mutter, "Fine, I'll just go put myself in my room now then."

I wish they were always that easy to punish!

Then on Sunday we were in Target, shopping for school supplies when all of a suddent Austin very loudly announces - "Oh no Mommy! I have to go poop REALLY bad!"

In the past I would have been mortified, especially when I noticed the couple near me start giggling. But this is just pretty much normal for Austin. I tell people that he has no volume control, no on/off switch and no filter between his brain and mouth. We are working on installing these things but it is a very lengthy and arduous process.

Since I know he has a tendency toward dramatics as well, I calmly ask him if he really has to go right this instance or if it can wait until we get checked out.

He looks at me for a moment, rolls his eyes up like he is thinking and then says "Yes, I have to go right . . . oh wait a minute mommy." (pauses while reaching back and touching his bottom) "Yep, my poop went back in, we're all good to go now Mommy."

At this the couple beside me can no longer hold back and they both double over in laughter. I just smile and push my cart on to the next item on our list.

Then later that night (Warning: this might be TMI for those with a sensitive stomach!) he walks in and announces to my husband and I that he has finally learned to wipe his bottom all by himself.

"Great job Austin" we tell him.

"Yep, I only use three squares and then I use my finger to check to make sure I have it all."

I looked at him for a moment and then asked, "You use your finger to check your bottom?"

"Yep!"

"Okay, Austin. We're not going to do that anymore. Don't touch your bottom with your finger. Use another piece of toilet paper to check, okay?"

"Okay"

Then I had to ask - "Um, do you wash your hands after that?"

"Yep! Oh. . . um, I mean nope! I don't!" He smiles at me.

"Okay, so from now on please use four pieces of toilet paper, don't touch your bottom with your bare hands and please always wash your hands afterwards, ok?"

"Ok, mommy!"

Ughh! Boys!!!!!

A Morning in My Life

So here is how my morning went - in the past I would have been in a horrible mood by the time I got to work - but today I was able to just brush it off with a laugh (my thankful heart blog must be working!) So now I'm going to share it with you in the hopes that it might bring a snicker to someone else and brighten their day!

Normally I take our two boys to daycare in the morning and pick up my daycare's two grandsons and drop them off to school on my way to work. Today however, I needed to be at work by 8am in for a webconference. So my hubby did "kid duty" this morning and I got up early so I could be out the door by 7:30 at the latest. I wanted to hit Starbucks this morning because I had a hankering for a Peppermint White Mocha. I figured that would give me time to get through the drive-thru and then to work and logged in.

I actually got out the door a little before 7:30 and was congratulating myself on being so efficient this morning as I pulled out of the driveway. I was about a mile down the road when I looked over and realized I had grabbed my computer and my books but I had left my purse at home. So I flipped around and headed back home. I called my husband figuring I would have him bring my purse out to me and save a few precious minutes - I would still have time for my coffee!

So I called him (yes, I used a bluetooth) - no answer. I figured I would try again. I've learned this trick with him. Dial once, then dial again and he usually picks up. My daughter answered the phone. I told her what was going on and as I pulled up to the house the garage door opened and out she came with my purse. It was now exactly 7:30 - I was still on schedule!

I made the drive into town (about 7 miles to where I work) and pulled into the drive thru at the Starbucks just down the road from my work. The line was a little long but as I looked at the clock I noted it was 7:42 - the traffic had been light on the highway and I had hit no red lights on the way in. I had plenty of time still.

As I sat there I decided to pull out my debit card now so I would not have to do it later. Good thing I decided to do that because when I opened my wallet there looking back at me was an empty credit card slot. It was then that I remembered having slipped the card into my jeans pocket the day before. My debit card - my sole way of paying for my drink was in my jeans at home in the laundry!

In the meantime, a van had pulled into the drive-thru behind me. I put my car in reverse but she did not see my lights because we were so crammed into the drive thru. I tried to motion to her but my back window is tinted too dark. So I rolled down my window, motioned that I needed to back up and then backed out total embarrasment.

I did make it to work in time and did grab some coffee in the little kitchen at work. Not a peppermint white mocha, but it was caffiene. I am thankful that I was not further through the line or that I had not already ordered by the time I realized I did not have my card on me. Can you imagine getting up there and then explaining that you had forgetten your debit card at home! Ugh!! Welcome to a morning in my life! :)