Last in the Rat Race

While you have to hear these to truly get a laugh, I wanted to write them down before I forgot. So this one is really just for my own benefit – a defense against my slipping mind!

“Tumb” – Thumb.
“Look at my tumb, mommy! It’s healing!”

“Stomp” – Stamp.
“I have some paper. Can you hand me my butterfly stomp?”
Clearly, Kate spent time in the UK in a previous life. She totally sounds like Margaret Thatcher.

“Scooped” – Skipped.
“Wait! You scooped a page…”
She’s too good at this one. She likes to “read” this handwriting book that one of her friends gave her for her b-day. Instead of using a pen, though, she likes to trace each of the 432 lines in the book with her finger. It’s just too much for me some nights, and I try to skip over some of the pages. Busted.

God Bless Kate’s Aunt G. She has more than enough going on in her own life, yet she remembers everyone’s birthdays. Granted the package may arrive a little late, but I’m always of a mind that if it’s late, then it’s remembered more than the gifts that arrive en masse that day.

You can imagine Kate’s delight when she saw the ginormous box that I brought home from work last week. (thank goodness I’m not taking the train anymore!) We popped open the box, sifted through the 3 cubic tons of packing peanuts and found these treasures.

I often forget just how magical an umbrella can be to a young child. G didn’t.

May be a little hard to see, but his blue fuzz is Kate’s new sock puppet. We assembled it together last night and spent the next hour trying to keep it out of the dogs mouth. (thank goodness there are two other puppets awaiting assembly as well as a multitude of additional parts and pieces!

A visit from a dear friend last week reminded me of a vow I had made to myself for this Spring/Summer – GO HIKING! Weather is cooperating now, so it’s time to put the OCD away (laundry can wait ’til Sunday), pack up the kid and dog and head OUTSIDE.

As Saturday arrived early (dear god, is it really 5:15?!?), and MRA was out the door by 6:30 to golf, we girls gathered our gear and headed to the car. Off to hike. Granted we were just going to the JFK Forest in Forest Park, but we’re talking unpaved trails and unleashed dogs. Just what we needed.

As I loaded Paddi in the back of my truck (enclosed, don’t worry), Kate managed to get her hands up on the tail gate as I was lowering the top of the hatch. Then it happened. There was a pause. Then we both realized that the hatch was closed and her fingers were still in it. Realization – and pain – hit. Tears, a few screams and we were back in the house. With the dog in tow wondering how the trip could have been so short.

Nothing terrible that a few hugs and a Dora band-aid won’t soothe. I try to call off the hike, but my game little girl says no. Back in the car, with still the occasional cry/yelp/sniffel, and we’re off to the Forest.

It’s early (dear god it’s early) so we were able to set off down the trail with Paddi off leash, bounding after whatever hit her nose. Kate, still hurt, needed to be carried. I had a feeling this would happen. Whatever, more exercise for me. So with Kate on piggy back, we’re off to explore nature. Mother Nature.

Choice questions and comments:
“Where is Mother Nature?”
“What’s a bag worm?”
“I’m not ready to go back!”
“We’ve already been that way.”
“Why do we need a bridge?
“Mommy, you’re sweating.” (yeah? really? did you forget you weigh over 30lbs now?)

Nearing what I said HAD to be the end of the hike, I noticed blood on the trail. Just a little drop or two, here and there. Odd. We were doubling-back on a trail, so, shocked I looked at Kate’s hurt thumb although I’m sure I would have noticed it bleeding – as it would have been all over my shoulders and head. We hadn’t seen that many people or dogs on the trail and I couldn’t imagine any hurt wildlife taking the trail, looking for a first aid station.

We finally hit pavement again. Paddi is dutifully trotting just in front of us. Then I realize the source of the blood. The dog. Poor kid, in all of her bounding and jumping through the woods, she had cut the pad on her foot.

So, there you have it. Our first hiking foray. Kate gets hurt before. Paddi is hurt during. And I’m spent for the rest of the day and it’s only 7:30 am.

Courtesy of Kay Yates, Super Corporate Secretary.

At dinner Saturday night, in the company of some friends, I told MRA what I wanted for Mother’s Day. (no going back on that now!) He delivered. The next day!

With my new digitoy, I’ve been snapping scenes around the house, trying to get a feel for the features and output.

Yesterday’s experiment was the timer. After the 8th attempt (and after deleting not-so-flattering shots of my ass, shots of just the chair, and shots with a blurry KR), I got it.

You’ll notice the pseudo-serene look on my face (can’t see the grinding teeth too well) contrasting with the lock-hold I have on the kid.

Crews are filming a George Clooney movie next door to our office today.

Trailers are set up in the back parking lot.

No work is getting done.

Need a secretary? Try the north offices. You’ll find them there, all atwitter, with their noses glued to the windows.

(not much time to post… I have, uh, something that needs to be… uh… filed. reviewed. gotta go!)

Ok, I don’t really know what it says… but I do know that there is some mischief afoot in that little head.

Kate and I sat down to dinner to “eat like a proper family” last night.

(as an aside, she prefers to eat in front of the tv, a luxury generally reserved for Friday’s pizza-and-a-movie night. so i like to remind her that we need to eat at a table, without tv, like a proper family. she picked up on that)

Mike was working late, so it was just the two of us.

Or so I thought.

Usually, we’re a “no toys at the table” fam, too, but whatever… she played a little and managed to down a whole taco in between.

Then, it was their turn to eat.

Yikes. Maybe letting her watch Jurassic Park was a bad idea…

Mondays are hard. No doubt.

That doesn’t really explain why I missed the turn though. Lost in random thoughts concerning the car in front of us:
hm, I think she’s a parent at Kate’s school.
why do they have balloons in their car?
why are they turning a block earlier than they should?

I kept driving, only to realize that they had turned at the RIGHT street and I was now turning into the hospital complex. Hm, where did I leave my brain this morning? on the dresser? hm.

So I laughed and explained to Kate how we were going to try and snake through the hospital complex back to the right street. After about three dead-ends, I realized I’d just have to turn around.

“Mommy,” (some day I’m going to count the number of times she says this in a day. i’m guessing it’s around 2,398) “You’re a good mommy, but sometimes you’re just wrong.”

Happy Monday!

KR was a little fired up last night.

Pre-bath, it was laps around the bedroom-bathroom-closet track all the while pretending to be Speed Racer. She finally let me put her in the tub to “wash the car”. Post-bath, she unearthed this stocking hat and proceeded to jump on the bed. A lot.

Finally, she was spent.

Unfortunately, that’s when Paddi got into the act. Snatching the hat right off her head…