Inattentive Parenting

This post could have several different titles. "Disaster," "A Bad, Bad Girl," "Nail Polish Debacle," all come to mind. We'll leave it as is.

This afternoon, Blythe had Ellen come over to play. They were outside and inside and needing a snack, and definitely in the picture so to speak. Kent and I were working on the main floor and Brandt was near us doing Legos, and I wasn't giving Blythe and Ellen much thought.  After being present, they disappeared, and I thought they had merely gone upstairs to play in Blythe's room. I thought wrong.

Staci arrived to pick Ellen up and Blythe came downstairs to inform us, somewhat sheepishly, that Ellen couldn't get her socks on because of the nail polish. Blythe's feet bore the hallmarks of polish application gone wrong. She had very colorful toes, not just toe nails. I went up to investigate and discovered a mess. Ellen's feet were covered with polish. It was nearly up to her ankles. I groaned and tried really hard not to yell. I was inclined to spank my daughter soundly, but managed to refrain. Staci had to take Ellen home barefoot. I assured Ellen the polish would come off before she turned 40, but I'm not entirely sure I wasn't lying trying to help us all feel better.

Kent suggested we get a lock for the hall closet, and put the polish as well as medications in it so the children (read Blythe) can't get to it.  I support him wholeheartedly.

 

The nail polish is kept in a basket at the very top of this closet. I haven't thought about it much because I have thought Blythe couldn't get it. Again, I was wrong.  Using two stools from our bedroom, two additional stools, and her Barbie computer, she was able to get high enough to get the basket down.

Blythe's feet on the left, Ellen's feet on the right.

While a bit of polish on the toes is a problem,

polish all over the feet is really, really bad.

Triple Date

For months, I have been trying to schedule a triple date with Lisa and Shawn Christensen and Paula and Jim Hamblin. It had been complicated by life, but today we we finally able to get together.

Lisa and Shawn had invited us to their home for Japanese food--California sushi rolls, yakisoba noodles, miso soup, and pot stickers. In addition, we had edamame, fresh fruit, and creme brulee for dessert. I made the creme brulee, bittersweet chocolate caramel. All of dinner was delicious, and we made our own sushi rolls. 

It was so fun to be together. We girls are fortunate in that our husbands like each other, so no one feels awkward when we can all be together.  We talked and laughed a lot, caught up on everyone's activities, and just really were happy to spend time together. After dinner we played a couple of very fun games, and rounded out the evening with the promise to do it again soon. Hoorah for good friends!

This is the very first sushi roll I had ever made, and I thought it turned out pretty well. Tasted good too.

Yakisoba noodles and my roll, plus pot stickers.

Sushi making

Sushi eating

Fast friends

Field Trip Friday #24--Museum of Peoples and Cultures

BYU's Museum of Peoples and Cultures has been in a building south of campus for many years.  We went last year for a scout activity.  The museum has been relocated, however, north of campus, in a building they now share with Outdoors Unlimited.  The building isn't very far from our house, and as they have just reopened, I thought a visit would be a great field trip Friday activity.

Turns out, the museum space is very small.  There is one largish size room they have partitioned off to make two separate spaces and there are about eight exhibit cases, but that is all.  The few things that were on display were great, really interesting, but there was so little.  I'm not sure it has been a successful move for the MPC.  We were seriously inside the building no more than 15 minutes, three of which was taken up with picture taking, and three of which was spent sitting on a bench talking about the old and interesting things we have in our house.  That means we spent about nine minutes looking at the eight exhibit cases.  I did ask someone if there was more space we just hadn't seen, but he assured me we had seen it all.  He said they would be rotating their collection more frequently because they don't have much space to have things out, but I'm not sure that is really the best idea.  Oh well.

I wanted to go try out a new food place in Provo called Hot Potato, but the kids groaned and said they just wanted to go home and play.  So we did.  They got into the a bunch of stuff in the garage as well as hauling a bunch of stuff from upstairs to the car parked in the garage, and played in the car for really a long time.  I had to bring them out a snack twice.  Kent wasn't happy when we got home and found they'd been in there, but what do you do?  Sometimes it's easier to let them do what they want rather than fight about something every minute.  Today was one of those days.

Snack in the car.

Potty Mouth

Tonight, as I had finished reading to Brandt and was tucking him in, I sort of kicked his shin. It wasn't hard, but he exclaimed, "Ouch! You kicked my shin. What's my shin?" I thought the follow-up question was pretty funny.

I ran my hand down his shin to show him where it was. It was where he thought.  Being a bit funny myself, I asked, "What other part of your body rhymes with shin?"

He thought, but couldn't come up with anything until I gave him little kisses on his chin.  He giggled.  Then he said, "What rhymes with wee?  Pee!  What rhymes with toot?  Boot!  What rhymes with fart?  Tart!  What rhymes with poo?  Shoe!"  Much giggling in between.  He thought he was absolutely hilarious.  Not super conducive to preparing for sleep.

So I said, "You need to be calm.  What rhymes with calm?  Balm."

"Bomb," he said immediately.  "Like a giant poop?"  And much more giggling.

It took some time for my potty-mouthed son to fall asleep.

Pinkalicious

We went to see another play tonight.  February seems to be the month of performance attendance.  Tonight it was Pinkalicious at the Scera Theater.  Brandt groaned when I said we were going to see the play, because, in his words, "It's girl stuff!"  Too true, but Pinkalicious has a kid brother, Peter, and I knew once it got started, Brandt would like it.  He said he was certain he would not like it, and Blythe said she was certain she would like it.  

Turns out, as suspected, both of them liked it.  Blythe changed her tune and said, "I didn't like it.  I loved it!"  Yeah.  Brandt also conceded, "You were right.  I liked it."  Quite frankly, I was fairly embarrassed for most everyone on stage, and was certainly glad I hadn't tried out for the thing.  It was remarkably silly, but perhaps that's to be expected.  It was a fun family home evening activity.

Me and Blythe and my double chin.

Blythe, Brandt, and Kent

as well as two very pink clad girls sitting behind us.

Pinkalicious and Peter.

She has turned pink after eating too many cupcakes,

and Peter is encouraging her to eat green foods to fight the "pinkatitis."

So much pink!

Field Trip Friday #23--Playing Without Mom

Just like two weeks ago, today's field trip Friday did not involve me.  Blythe had a cowgirl birthday party to attend, and Brandt was invited to go swimming at the rec center with Guy, Mikayla, Brick, and Crew.  I was happy to take them to their respective activities and come home to the quiet house.  They both had a great time; we heard all about swimming and the party when they got home.

Hang Time Birthdays

This afternoon we went to Hang Time to celebrate Guy and Blake's birthdays.  This was totally Guy's choice of fun spot, but everyone was delighted to go.  It really is a fun venue, with lots of trampolines, foam pits, and now ropes you can try and walk across suspended over foam pits.  The kids had a great time, from biggest (Guy) to smallest (Rowen).  My camera had gone off to New York to be repaired, so I took four pictures which were all blurry, but Mikayla had her's, and so I've pilfered pictures from her blog to put on mine.  Thanks Sis!

 

This is Blythe swinging on a rope over the big foam pit.

You wouldn't know that from the picture.

The boys, jumping and chasing.

Collin wanted me to jump in a pit with him.  

He took me by the hand, led me over to the edge, then said, "Jump!"

I wasn't going in by myself, so I pulled him in too.

Then I couldn't get out.

Happy Helper

Look who VOLUNTEERED to help with the dishes tonight.  Blythe said, "Mom, I will help you wash the dishes," and was then absolutely true to her word.  She did a great job, scrubbing when she needed to and getting everything clean.  We had to roll up her sleeves and eventually she opted to wash shirtless, but she stuck with it to the end, and finished everything, even the pans.  I heaped loads for praise on her, hoping for many repeat performances in the days and weeks to come.

President's Day Hiking

What to do on a day off of school, when we don't go away anywhere, and the weather is nice?  Hike!  After a nice lunch with Mikayla and Brick, Grandma Sue and Donovan at Brick Oven, we went for a hike up Rock Canyon.  In all the years we have lived practically at the mouth of the canyon, and the kids go to Rock Canyon Elementary, I haven't taken the kids up there.  So accompanied by Grandma Sue and Donovan, we hiked up to first bridge, maybe about a mile and a half.

It was pretty sunny and not too cold, although when the wind whipped down the canyon, it did get nippy.  We had a bit of whining, but not too much.  The kids did ask several times, "When will we get to the first bridge?" but we made it without too much effort.  We looked at moss and trees, old rusted car parts in the ravine, and even came across some snow, though it was all concentrated in one spot and there wasn't much of it.  The return trip was much quicker than going, and we were all happy to be out breathing the fresh air and enjoying the scenery.  Who would normally think to hike in Provo in February?  We are enjoying the warmer temperatures.  The kids spent the rest of the day playing with friends and watching TV, all making for a fun day off of school.

Blythe wanted to climb up this sheer slope to touch moss at the top.

I encouraged her not to, but she did anyway.

Then she got stuck and needed help getting down. 

Blythe came prepared.

In that backpack she brought owie sauce and band-aids, kleenex, and chappie.

"Just in case," she said.

Blythe wanted a picture on this big rock.

Donovan had a hard time keeping his eyes open because they were looking into the sun.

I had them close their eyes and then I counted to three, telling them to open their eyes

and look at me when I said three.

Donovan had a hard time following instructions too. 

Donovan wanted to climb all these cool rocks.

Then he got stuck.

Ah! The first bridge!

Yeah!

"Can we turn around now?"

When we got to the bottom of the trail, right by the parking lot, the kids saw a bridge, much bigger than the one we hiked to.  "Mom!" said Brandt indignantly, "This is the first bridge right here! Why did we have to hike at all?"  

"Ha, ha!" I retorted.  "I tricked you!  We actually hiked to the second bridge."  As though I had really paid any attention.  We hiked to the first bridge up the canyon!