Ham cut his third tooth yesterday. It's his top front left. Today I half-considered weaning him. But then at dinner Gabbers said the prayer. She said, "Dear Heavenly Father, We are thankful for Mommy, Daddy, me, um, baby. Please bless baby Ham that he will um, uh... get a snug. And bless the food. In the name of Jesus Christ AMEN." Snuggle is the word we started using for nursing when Pookie was a baby. Somehow it got abbreviated to snug with Ham.
This evening Ham has been so fussy. I think he's trying to cut his other top tooth. And the ONLY THING to calm him was to nurse.
This afternoon while I was blog-hopping catching up on everyone's posts, Pookie and Bun were playing prison underneath the dining table-- which is four feet from this computer. They were giggling and having a really good time with Pookie's bowling toys. Ham was sleeping. thankfully. And I thought that Gabbers was finishing her "Fun Friday" painting in the classroom with the little bit of purple paint I left for her.
Well, G came downstairs and asked me to take off her painting smock so she could use the toilet. So I directed her upstairs to the bathroom to take it off there since it had a little paint on it. Then I noticed the squishy sound her socks were making on the way upstairs. Then I noticed the unnatural green color her beautiful beaded socks had to them. Then before even getting to the classroom door I noticed a VERY STRONG paint smell. There before my disbelieving eyes I observed waterpaints all over the floor, a sopping wet bath towel that appeared to have been the mess-cleaner of choice underneath the school table, 12 paintbrushes dripping with multiple colors, all the lids off of the kid paints, and Pookie and Bun's paintings embelished. I bit my lip and held my breath as I went into the bathroom. The bathroom had red and green paint smeared on the sink, the soap pump, the counter, and the floor. There was an empty bottle of green paint. Then I saw it.
There was a perfectly green little girl's size 7 footprint on my quite plushy natural white bathmat. Then I had a flashback to my ultrasound when I was pregnant with this little girl and you can see her footprint in one of my pictures. And I smiled and said a silently prayer thanking Heavenly Father for Zoloft and my little girl. Then I stripped Gabbers down. She used the toilet. Then I instructed her to get in the shower and de-paint herself. She happily got in and said, "Momma, may I please have the pink shaving cream? I want to make pictures." This little girl is a budding artist. I just know it. So, I got a dark blue towel and placed it over the towel bar on the shower door so she could have a dark background. Then I took the pink shave gel that Santa gave her for Christmas and drew a few squiggly lines on the inside of the shower door. I bribed Pookie and Bun with one M&M each to sit on the reading couch so they wouldn't step in the disaster area. And calmly, without chastizing or lecturing, I cleaned it all up. After her shower and she was all dressed, she said, "Momma, where is my painting?" I had to break the awful news to her that it was so soaked that it fell apart when I lifted it off the table. Her lip almost started trembling. I quickly added, being the Mommy in charge of Fun Friday, "I'd sure like it if you could draw me a picture with my markers. Would you help me?"
Then I paid Pookie and Bun their one M&M and we carried on our Fun Friday day.
I am thankful for my little people. I've always wanted to be a mother. I couldn't be happier.
P.S. I wish I had taken pictures before cleaning it all up.
8 comments:
Please, PLEASE, teach me how you keep your cool? These kind of thigns seem to happen consistabtly around here (rather it's dirt from planters outside, paints, etc..) and I just don't know how you didn't even lecture. You are a wodnerful mommy!
Now... teach me. :)
This is an incredible line, Nikki, "There was a perfectly green little girl's size 7 footprint on my quite plushy natural white bathmat. Then I had a flashback to my ultrasound when I was pregnant with this little girl and you can see her footprint in one of my pictures."
Hooray for you for encouraging your little artist.
That is so crazy. Kudos for keeping your cool. I would have definitely had a twitch for the rest of the day.
...and the Mommie Medal goes to ...Nikki, for calm reactions and loving words! Congratulations
I wish I had your patience.
Days like that make the other crazy days more bearable. I will try and remember your story the next time we have a crazy paint-attack around here. Or other liquid mess.
Goodness, goodness, I kept thinking on how I would have dealt with the accident and I assure you that it was not the same reaction. I need to work on that. Thanks for the inspiration to be a better mom!!
awwww, come on, when are you going to start instilling some of my tried and true parenting methods! Where is the Yelling, where is the Beating? hahahaha...just kidding...or am I?!? (creepy music plays in the background)
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