Take 2 & Keep Out of Reach of Children

Take 2 & Keep Out of Reach of Children -- That's how my yesterday turned out. NOT because the kids were out of sorts, but I had a huge headache that controlled my day. Yesterday after breakfast, it was still cool enough to play outside, so I stripped the babies to their diapers and let them do what they wanted in the yard. Will was still clothed, but he is pretty good about staying out of the mud. The little ones spent a lot of the outside time on the porch and had a blast when I filled the sink of the play kitchen with water. They spashed and splashed, and then I caught Ben on his tip toes leaning in to blow bubbles in the quickly muddying water. They loved it. Jon was upset that Maddie and Ben were monopolizing the sink water, so he got Shadow's water dish and dumped it on himself.

It wasn't long before Maddie and Ben joined Will in the sandbox. Jon, still a little timid on uneven terrain, stayed on the porch and stared longingly at his siblings. Will came and gently coaxed Jon off the porch by offering a helping hand. Jon eagerly grabbed the lifeline, and I was mesmerized as my oldest helped my youngest across the sun-dappled grass. The kids came and went for about and hour and a half and I alternated watching them and reading a magazine on the porch. I drank as much water as I could just to try to get the headache to go away.

When it started to get hot and I was considering calling the kids in, I saw Ben trying to climb the playset ladder. He managed to get the motions down: hook a leg on the rung, reach up and pull, stand on other foot, push up, hook the leg behind a rung, repeat. The daredevil climbed the ladder, but I got to him before he got to the top. With four exits to fall out of the playhouse and me on the ground, I asked Will to hurry up the playhouse and help me get Ben to the slide. Somehow, Will and I got Ben to the slide and I still made it to the bottom in time to catch Ben on the slide. I let Ben climb and slide two more times, but I was quickly worn out from the maneuvering and the stress of wondering when he might fall. I took Ben and Maddie to the hose and rinsed all the sand off them, wrapped them in towels, and took them to the kitchen for a clean diaper and clothes. Jon was quietly playing in the sand, and I wasn't too worried about him trying something scary. From the kitchen I kept my eye on Jon and Will. I got Ben dressed and looked up and saw Jon at the bottom of the curly slide. Still not worried, but paying close attention because I was afraid Will might slide and knock Jon over. Maddie was undiapered when I looked and saw Jon quickly ascending the slide. In a wild fury, I put Maddie down and quickly prayed that Jon would stop climbing and Maddie would not pee on the carpet. I ran outside faster than I knew possible and got to the playset just as Jon proudly sat at the top -- of course his butt was on the edge of the ladder, and he has a tendency to topple off of things. Will said, "Look at what Jon did all by himself!" I told Will, "that can be dangerous, you shouldn't have called him up here." Will said, "Well, he did it by himself so he should be fine, Mama." Yes, I saw it all, and Will was cheering him on the entire climb. My heart raced, but I got him down, and realized I'd better run back in the house to diaper Maddie. She was so giddy to be running around the living room naked, and luck for me, dry.

I got all the kids cleaned and dressed and and the little three down for naps. Will got cleaned up and he and I played with a new set of stamps and paint that Nanna got him. That kept him busy most of the rest of the morning and I alternated helping him and lying on the couch next to him as he worked at the table.

That's it. I slept the rest of the day and woke up to dix dinner. Allen was a sweetie and took care of the kids for the afternoon. My headache dulled a little with the nap, but I was so glad to wake up today without the headache. After dinner, Will asked if he could play a Wii game (we got Wii for Allen for Father's Day.) Allen asked what game, and Will said the swimming game. Oops. Allen repeated the word "swimming" and the tirades started. . .

Jon from his chair: "Wimmy?! Wimmy?! Yay-yay!"
Ben from his: "Ouoot? Ouoot! Bye-Bye!?"
Maddie from hers: "Bye-bye!"
Allen from his: "Oops. Wrong word. No, not tonight, guys. We can swim tomorrow. It's night-night time now."
Jon: "Wimmy! (boo-hoo-hoo sob sniff) Wimmy!"
Allen: "It's night-night time."
All the babies were having sob-sessions and/or pounding on the windows that look over the back yard. "Wimmy!" "Wimmy!" "Out!" "Buh-bye!"

Allen set up Endless Ocean for Will and we got the little ones in bed for the night. The hadn't had an afternoon nap, so they were exhausted and soon off to dreamland.