fall blog

Thursday, August 25, 2011

The Shower

Anyone who knows us is aware that my husband works long hours at his job some days. In fact on occasion I encounter some of the struggles of single parents, such as getting a shower when your 14 month old does not need a nap. Some days just get away from you and you don't get that shower in while the child is napping or before they get up in the morning. It is a conspiracy that Wednesday is always that day.

I play piano on Wednesdays and since we have a keyboard at home I like to go early to practice. Most Wednesdays I call my husband to see if he'll be home on time for dinner. This time I called to see if I could get a shower. No such luck, a machine needs to ship and there is a problem.

I see that Hailey is being really good and playing with her books. I say to myself, "Self, now is the time to get a shower." Now I am the kind of mother that worries about things so I get the doors locked ( she is the escape monster after all) and leave the bathroom door open, just a crack, so I can hear if there is a big bang, or any tears. I take myself in and get in the shower..." aaahhh" says self. I feel a presents in the room.... then my nice leather heals ( the really impractical ones that Randy likes because they are "sleek with a low profile" ) come flying into the shower. The Hailey Monster has struck. At this point she has already fled the seen of her crimes and I am reminded that I never should have helped her learn to walk because now she can run. I toss my heals out and continue on, determined that my time with self should be enjoyed. The heal of the aforementioned shoe hit me in the back of my knee. Once again the small terrorist had escaped to, I can hear the evil laughter outside the bathroom. Careful to not be harassed again I toss my shoe into the sink where Hailey Monster will not be able to reach.

I this point I can only assume the perpetrator of these crimes was Hailey Monster. Jack was the only other suspect. Since he has no thumbs and tends to steer clear of my shoes I acquitted him without proof. The next items that entered the bathtub confirmed my suspicions. Two small white sandles. It could only be Hailey Monster.

After a few moments of uninterrupted showering I believe myself safe once again. Then I felt a presents, a pair of eyes boring into my back. I turned slowly. The Monster said " Hi!" and ran away again. I am almost done. Just a few more seconds and I can dress and catch the little criminal. I then come to the most demoralizing part of this tale. She pops her head in and looks at me seriously. Then she begins to laugh... and laugh....and laugh some more. She turns and walks slowly out of the room chuckling as she goes. I am now depressed.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Camping

We went camping with our Pastor and his wife Penny over the weekend. May I just say I love camping and haven't been since we were married, which both my husband and I found odd since we love it. We went after a disastrous day looking forward to a restful escape. Somehow we didn't find it up there in those Mountains. We found fun, fellowship, laughter, and a skunk.

After and a fund drive up the Mountain we arrived at the camp location and Pastor and Penny had chosen. They chose well. The camp was shaded by tall pine trees and the Mt. peaks. There was real green grass, wildflowers of sunny yellow, faded purple, and brilliant orange. We were camped under trees and next to a creak created by snow running off the Mt.

The water was frigid. Using a simple math equation you should be able to conclude what happened next. 1 C (child) + 1 MW (moving water) = 2 soaking wet children's shoes. Randy is indulgent and felt she should be allowed to submerse herself. I indulged both and we played in the babbling brook until we were freezing. Then we enjoyed a lovely evening chatting and playing with Shawn and Penny.

That is when a good night turned bad, but still fun. We tucked Hailey into bed then about an hour later we climbed in. We were all just falling asleep when a very small person began to laugh, and crawl about our ankles. This, very cute and very small person, commenced to climb across our faces, then she sat between us and very cutely and politely began a conversation. This monologue continued for awhile, then she began to pull hair and squeeze noses. At this point we could no long ignore this tiny little monster.