The Morning After - Adventures in Motherlessness - Part 2

The saga continues.

7:02	From inside a sleepy haze I hear Grant yelling "I need to go potty!" Afterwards, I put him back in bed, telling him, "It's too early, go back to sleep."
8:27	This time the boys will not be denied; they are up and in my bed. After several kicks to the kidneys and other sensitive areas I decide it's time to get up.
8:44	French toast with peanut butter and whipped cream: Yum!
9:28	Cole picks up a cantaloupe. Grant also wants the cantaloupe. I break up the tussle and declare a jump ball. No, actually I tell them it's time for...
9:29	Painting! We get out the water colors to paint a picture for our absent mom. Grant declares he's painting a picture of a "giant effafant and a giant giraffe." When it's done I ask him where each animal is. He points out the elephant (the tan area) and the giraffe (the bright blue area). So I ask where the shark is and he points that out, too (bright red). Then I ask where the slug is and I get a definite, "there's no slug."
	Cole sticks to his declaration that he's painting a "really big lion." Hmmm, it must be nighttime in Africa, or the lion is so big all he could fit on this page is a close up of its nose.
9:53	I cut up the cantaloupe and the boys eat most of one half.
9:54	Dancing (I put on the same CD as last night) in the living room with cantaloupe. Uhh, hey guys, back in the kitchen while you're eating.
10:06	The cantaloupe is done and there is a heated controversy about sharing. Grant declares that he, "always wants to share," and attempts to persuade Cole with everything from gentle words to whining to tattling to physical force. It must be time to go outside.
10:25	After a scramble to find jackets and shoes, the boys are out digging in the dirt.
11:23	A sand throwing incident effectively ends sandbox time.
11:27	After cleaning the sand out of Cole's eye I put the boys into the bathtub.
11:30	I spend a few minutes looking for the plug but fail to find it. I rig up a plug with plastic wrap and fill the tub with water.
11:52	The key to bath time is to keep them in there long enough to soak off the dirt but not so long that they get bored and start pouring water out of the tub. Today, after 22 minutes, they're done.
12:07	It's noon so do I have to make lunch? No I don't! Let's go out.
12:20	McDonalds Happy Meal? Yes we can!
12:34	The search for the longest fry begins.
12:46	Mom calls! She's home and wonders where we are.
12:54	Ice Cream? Yes we can!
12:58	Cole demonstrates the ice cream goatee, reminiscent of the fabled "Yo-tee". Unfortunately, we didn't bring a camera to document.
1:12	The search for birthday presents for Mom begins. Bed, Bath and Beyond? Yes we can!
1:13	Good grief! Am I insane? I just brought two three-year-olds into a store filled with oodles of interesting stuff just at their height. Yes we can, but I probably shouldn't have.
1:17	When did B,B&B start carrying trains? Grant sees the display with trains and exclaims, "Oooo! Some Trains! Maybe mama would like a train." Cole supports that conclusion with, "These are cool!"
1:20	As we walk around the store the boys predictably get excited when they see things they want. At B,B&B that is mostly limited to colorful kitchen implements and candy. They like it when I pick out something and let them carry it around for a while. One of my goals was to get some bath tub plugs. I ended up getting three identical plugs, similar to the one we've been using. We also got some of Mom's favorite candy and several other items.
1:53	Safely back in the car and heading for home I coach the boys on how to be appropriately sneaky about not telling Sue immediately what presents we got for her. This is how the conversation goes: Me: Okay, when mama asks what presents we got for her what will you tell her? Cole: We got plugs! Grant: We got treats! Me: No. You have to say we got her something else. Cole, you say you got a hippopotamus and Grant, you say you got a crocodile. Cole: We didn't get a hippopotamus. Me: I know, we're just tricking mama. Cole: Yeah! We'll trick mama. Me: Let's practice. Cole, when mama asks what you got for her, what will you say? Cole: A hippopotamus! Me: Grant, what will you say? Grant: We got treats! Me: Just say we got a crocodile. We'll trick mama. Grant: I wanna say we got polar bear. Me: Okay, that's good too. Grant: Polar bears are not nice. They have big claws and they bite. Cole: Hippopotamuses are not nice. Grant: Polar bears say "GRRRRRR!" (While attacking Cole with his claws.) Me: Just tell mama that you got a hippopotamus and a polar bear, okay? Cole & Grant: Okay
2:13	After arriving at home this is how the conversation goes: Mom: What did you guys get me? Cole: We got you plugs! Grant: We got you treats! Me: No No No. Remember what I said? Cole: Ummm, we got you a hippopotamus! Oh well, in keeping with tradition in Sue's family, any present presented prior to the actual holiday is to be opened immediately. So she said she loved everything we gave her. Especially the hippopotamus.

As for me, I'm just glad everyone is back where they belong.