What Does Dad Do Here?

We came home Monday after an all too short weekend of visiting Eric in Lexington, Kentucky where he is now working and living a VERY bachelor life in graduate student housing. The boys were very impressed with his "digs." They saw things like the fold out couch and cushions and thought it made a great place for as many people in the family to sleep in all at once. I, on the other hand felt squished. They liked listening and watching the numerous sirens and ambulances scream past the bedroom window. I thought my brain would melt from traffic noise. They thought the carpet was cool. "Isaac you don't want to spill your milk on this very nice carpet" (Benjamin). I was afraid to take off my socks and thought the carpet looked very industrial and probably hadn't been cleaned for a decade. They were thrilled with the sliding door that divided the kitchen area from the hallway (which was strange because the rest of the kitchen opened up into the living room--why a door?????) That door went back and forth ALL weekend long!! It was the "elevator" after all. Eric and I were about ready to buy tools to remove the door.

We also had a great family day that the "Explorium", a children's museum. We got to watch snow, throw it and Benjamin even tasted it (Hey, it doesn't really snow where you live--it's a bit of a novelty). We played lots and didn't worry about dishes or what we ate. We had a lovely time "making new friends" (Benjamin) at Eric's work get- together. We enjoyed church services and even got a shout out during the Bishop's talk.

Mostly we were so happy to be with Dad-Eric. None of the boys wanted to leave Dad. We drove away with big tears dropping down Benjamin's face while Dylan screamed, "MY DA-DA....DA-Daaaa!" Thank goodness we managed to get the DVD player to work just a little bit longer (there's a loose wire so the picture comes and go) to lift their spirits and keep me from crying too! Let's just say that kudos go to my husband Eric! I may be home with the three boys. But I am HOME. He's a great guy to be up there at the new job making sure that we can buy our groceries and preparing for our adventure--NOT living in any kind of luxury. (Yes, Eric WITHOUT television...) I'll take my side of this bargain.

So Benjamin asked at some point, "What is it that Dad does here in Kentucky?" I told him something like, "He works on projects to try to understand mosquitoes better so that he can keep the mosquitos from getting people sick with the diseases they carry. He's trying to help people that way." Benjamin responded quickly. "That's nice of Dad!"

Yep. We have a nice Dad. Sure miss him!

ça va?

Benjamin chose to watch a "Bob the Builder" DVD for his show time. One little tiny hiccup. The language. For some reason, Bob was speaking French. That confused him a little. So my friend asked him, "Would you like to have it in English?" "No," Benjamin replies, "the Georgia way."

Oh, the fun we will have when we live in a place where not many people speak the English or the Georgia way.

Why I Love My "Job"

I had a great morning. This is why:

Mother Memory

When Benjamin wanted his blue caboose, I remembered that it was upstairs, in the corner, under a pile of little people toys.
When Benjamin wanted his Timberland sandals, I remembered that he had taken them off and left them in the car two weeks ago.
So why can't I remember where I put either of the two hammers?

And why might I need one or two hammers?
Maybe it's good I can't remember where the hammers are...

Economizing

Maybe I should not have turned off the downstairs furnace last night.
This is Isaac and Dylan at breakfast. Isaac said, "I need my gloves. My hands are FREEZING!"

For Travelin' Dad

Isaac at bedtime: "My puppy is sad."
Renee: "Why is your puppy sad."
Isaac: "Dad-Eric is back in Kentucky."
Benjamin: "My puppy is sad too."
Renee: "I'm sad too. We'll see him again real soon."

But we're all chin-up and no tears. Besides. Benjamin had so much exercising to do that it sure took his mind off of things. He kept asking me for more drills to do and then would do more laps around the downstairs counting all the way (to a hundred...kind of). Then he went upstairs to weigh himself. "I'm a new number now!!! 3, 6!" So that convinced him that a peanut butter sandwich would help him grow better than a donut and he told me that if we would go pick strawberries, then he would eat them because they wouldn't be too big. We might make 4, 0 before he's ten yet!

Old Adages

So I always thought, "Don't cry over spilled milk" was primarily directed at children learning to deal with mistakes. Now I'm a Mom. I tell myself every day sometimes several times a day not to cry over THEIR spilled milk, juice, cereal, play-doh, clothes (or mine too actually)...Either way most messes can be cleaned up--or so I keep telling myself and them as we learn how to handle the world together. But sometimes those little phrases come in handy when you're looking down at a Dylan surrounded in his juice and all you want to do is stamp your foot and say, "NOT AGAIN!" So I now know that when most mother's say, "Don't cry over spilled milk" they're really reminding THEMSELVES!

Dylan-locks

Eric (what he might say): "Someone's been sleeping in my bed. And look he's STILL THERE! I can't fit in the crib!"

In the Kitchen

"Servant, here's my tray (pushing a blue stool into the kitchen). Please put my food on it." (Benjamin to the kitchen help--NeeMom)

"Too much air in my mouth. I full." (Isaac)

"I finally found the salt! It was in the refrigerator." (Renee)

Dylan doing squats--just like his Mom is doing. Grinning to beat the band when she finally sees him. Up and Down. And again.

Eric's Last Trip Home from Lexington

New Album 1/13/09 7:40 PM

The last time that Eric came back from a trip to Kentucky, we were sure that the whole jeep would just start falling apart piece by piece when he pulled into the drive way. Each phone call update would go something like this, "Well, I thought I'd be home by..., BUT NOW it looks like... BECAUSE...(blown tire, fender bender, insane traffic back up in Knoxville, etc.). We were glad he made it and we are saying all kinds of chants and prayers over this jeep that it will make it a few more road trips to come!

Over Hot Chocolate

Isaac: (While drinking his favorite frothy "fuzzy" hot chocolate at breakfast)
"Look a mustache! I a man now!"
Later
Isaac: "Mustache gone. Not a man."
Benjamin: "What happened. Did your mustache run away?"

Rank and File Part III

"And Grammie in Utah? She's asking about her special number."
"900."

Rank and File Part II

Benjamin: "Puppy is SUPER special."
Me: "How special?"
B: "185."
Me: "And Dad?"
B: "5."
Me: "And your teacher Ms. Cynthia?"
B: "103!" (Ms. Diane too.)
Me: "And how about me today?"
B: "2000!"

Aaahhhh...(Dad, you're dropping! Better play some ball with this boy when you're home this weekend.)

Rank and File

Benjamin counting until he gets to 35. "Pup-pup is that number special to me."
Me: "What about Dad."
He counts to 12.
Me: "What about me?"
He counts to 10. Then he recounts for pup-pup. "Pup-pup is a hundred special!"
Me: "Hey wait a minute. Who takes you to school, reads you stories, plays with you makes you chocolate milk (and I list numerous good deeds)."
Benjamin: "OK. You and pup-pup are both a hundred special."

I know I shouldn't compete with a stuffed dog, but sometimes a mom's gotta feel the love!

57 Reasons

Wisdom from PBS Kids Curious George. The man with the yellow hat and the neighbor boy have fallen over the edge of a cliff and are stuck on a ledge at the top of Lookout Mountain. Their only hope of rescue is George. The man with the yellow hat looks a little discouraged. The smiling, optimistic boy says, "I can think of 56 things that are worse than this!" The wind then snags the man's yellow hat and it gets carried away down into the valley and he looks forlorn. Boy grins and says, "Make that 57!"

You may wonder why this is pertinent on this Sunday morning--why I was curled up on a couch watching Curious George. Because I have just spent the night rotating between feverish, throwing up Chambers boys. All three. Sick at once. So it's like a series of good news and bad news. The bad news is that all the boys are sick. The good news is that I'm not sick and they're all sick at the SAME time. The bad news is that Eric won't be home until NEXT weekend. The good news is that Eric is not here to join the infirmary. (And if you've ever been within earshot of Eric sick, you can really grasp why this is about all the 57 reasons of how my weekend could be worse).

Here's to a day of cuddling sick boys and cartoons and may our Monday dawn throw-up buckets free. After all, there is always something worse. Right?

Like only having 40 anytime cell phone minutes until Friday. Oh yeah. But wait. That is worse!

OK. You're all right. It doesn't really compare to pioneers, so I'll grin and dance anyway.

Happy Birthday, Renee!

You may have had this sort of feeling the last few days....


...and you may think that life has been fun and games for the single bachelor in Lexington....


...just remember this day and enjoy your birthday week!

I love you,

Eric

Prayer

Isaac has been waking up, "scared...bad dreams. Trees scare me." So let's hope that tonight his prayer, "to dream about Stone Mountain" comes true. After all, the other day I caught Benjamin waking up with a HUGE smile on his face and guess what he told me. "I was having the best dream. I was dreaming about Stone Mountain." So it can and does happen at our house.

Maybe we should start the Stone Mountain fan club.

When Dad's Away...

...little boys will play--in the BATHTUB. It was all going great. I thought. Eric left Monday morning to start his new job at the University of Kentucky. Isaac and Benjamin were having a grand time in their "boat/swimming pool/pretend anything garden tub in the master bath. I was just down the hallway. After all, they weren't actually taking a bath. There was no water. What could be the danger? Then I heard Isaac. That kind of cry--the kind that makes you run. He'd hurt his arm. He was jumping from the shelf ledge into the tub. And fell. A few phone calls and a Benjamin/Dylan drop-0ff at friends later, Isaac and I were at the pediatricians office with much cajoling and promises of a no shots visit. I then had to soothe him through x-rays even though we knew it was hurting his little arm. To no avail. The pediatrician referred us to the Scottish Rite Children's Emergency Room. It could be nurse maid's elbow (FOR THE THIRD TIME) or he could have fractured his elbow. Better go check it out. After a 20 minute drive of "I'm hungry" ("but you can't eat anything until after the doctor sees you, sweetie') over highway and past "tall buildings" we checked into the Emergency Room. I played with the very cool magnetized car/sand table. (Can I have one of those at home?) Isaac loved the child-sized recliner seats and Lilo and Stitch. Before we could get comfortable, we were being seen. The doctor met us on the way to the room, grabbed the x-rays, guessed nurse maid's elbow (dislocated) and had Isaac laughing as he used his puppy to talk to him and had his elbow twisted back into position in no time at all. Isaac sucked on a popsicle while we were both checked in and checked out at the same time. The popsicle, comic act and elbow repositioning only cost $150 and took about ten minutes (Did you ever think that you could be in and out of emergency so fast?). Thanks for the blessing of no elbow fractures!

I said to Isaac (who is proudly showing one and all his new "watch"/hospital wrist band that he wont' let me take off), "You know, you really shouldn't jump from the side of the tub anymore. Let's not do this again."

He said, "Yeah. I know. I need a better parachute! Benjamin had a good one. But I didn't."

For that laugh alone, I'd almost go through it all over again. Love that little guy and his humor! Let's hope though that my stint as temporarily single mother while Eric is in Kentucky is not this eventful anymore.