Where Ordinary Meets Mom
When your child suddenly says, “well this is disturbing” in the middle of a truly tame cartoon when you are on vacation at a friend’s house at the lake…it makes you wonder what her little mind is doing…
Never fear….she isn’t talking about the show….she is simply thinking ahead.
“What’s disturbing Delaney?”
“We have to go home today.”
There you have it.
Delaney comes to the door of my office.
She says, “Mommy, I have a surprise for you.”
I turn around in my chair.
She says, “He’s furry. He’s blond. He carries a blue bit (blanket). And he has itty-bitty feet. Here he is….presenting: Cooper!”
What an introduction for the little guy.
Hmmmm….I wonder where she gets the ‘furry’ part?
“Mommy…you are the best Mommy in the whole world. God told me to tell you that.”
“God told you to tell me?”
“Yes, he said I should tell you.”
“You’ve been talking to God a lot lately, haven’t you?”
“Well….yeah.”
“When does He talk to you?”
“At night.”
“While you are sleeping or while you are waiting to fall asleep?”
“While I’m sleeping.”
“What else does He talk to you about?”
“I dunno.”
Guess that is the end of that for now.
“Mommy, I don’t want you to die.”
(well, me neither)
“Baby, I’m not going to die. Where did that come from?”
“God told me.”
Hmmmm….. Is it weird that I actually find that a bit disconcerting? Clearly my “Baby, I’m not going to die.” is trumped by anything God has to say about the matter.
Coop’s new habit? Sharing his inevitable misdeeds. With a question.
“Hoo did dis?” (Who did this?)
Who wrote in pen on our new couch pillows? (that’s what he’s showing me in the picture)
Who colored on the wall in blue crayon?
Who colored on Delaney’s dresser in red crayon?
Who emptied the toothpaste tube on the bedspread?
Who covered his bedroom window in Vaseline? (yes, that one was especially fun)
I always say, “You tell me.”
And he always says, “I di it.”
At least he’s honest. And who can resist that face?
PS: Go visit the Blog Train!
So I take the kids with me on some errands today…grocery store and and office supply store.
“Mommy, I have to go potty.” Delaney pipes up as we round an aisle. I seek and find the nearest, grab Coop out of the cart and head in. The wheelchair stall is occupied (I always look there first since it is the easiest way to manage the posse) I notice the woman in the stall has hung her store employee apron over the stall.
(hang on to this tidibt of info…it will be important in a minute)
I squeeze and shuffle, manuever and stuff the three of us into the stall. As I’m in the process on helping Delaney….the toilet flushes in the other stall. The other woman leaves the stall and immediately exits the bathroom.
Do you know what’s missing?
Yep…she didn’t wash her hands. Yep…she’s a store employee. Yep, my 4 year old instantly noticed the lack of running water generally associated with washing one’s hands AFTER ONE USES THE POTTY.
“Mommy, how come she didn’t wash her hands?”
(Fill in bright, witty, understandable-to-a-4-year-old-response here)
Sadly, I’m not entirely sure what I said. I think the word ‘gross’ came flying out of my mouth. In fact, I know it did, because Delaney instantly repeated it. I think I became more concerned as we exited the stall that my kids would touch the bathroom door where the non-hand-washing-store-employee had just put her dirty hands.
Yuck and double yuck. We did exit unscathed, and germ-free, thanks to my use of multiple paper towels.
I hope.
However, Delaney spent the remaining 10 minutes in the store looking down every aisle and asking, “Is that the lady who didn’t wash her hands, Mommy?” and “Is that her?” Of course, I was concerned said ‘gross’ employee would be checking us out. Fortunatley, no. I was starting to hope she worked in the stock room, but she did appear at the front as we were getting ready to leave. I recognized her as she was the only woman in the store wearing a red apron. By this time, Delaney was focused elsewhere.
I, however, wanted to call her on it. Because, seriously….how many things is she going to touch in the store with her unwashed hands? But, I decided a quick exit was my best bet.
Yuck. Double yuck.
So, every now and then, I feel compelled to try to save a little money (when this urge hits me, it is imperative that I take full advantage of it!)
Tonight, we decided to take the kids to see Wall-E (contrary to the reviews, it isn’t making its way into my Top 10…). Instead of paying the $400 fee for popcorn, I decided to bring some in my bag. I had some leftovers from when I had bribed the kids in Target.
Delaney was determined to get gummi bears, but decided she could live with popcorn and lemonade.
Of course, as soon as I handed her the popcorn (still in the red Target popcorn bag) she says (bellows at the top of her lungs is probably more like it), “Wow! They have Target in the movies too?”
Despite the stength of her 4 year old lungs, we didn’t get kicked out 
Busted.
Learn more about starting a business from home with little ones in your midst.
