One Of Those Days

Hannah has just not been herself this last week. Quite often I have to keep on her to finish her chores in the morning because she gets distracted (she gets this from her dad). She is the best inventor of making a short job long that I know. To pick up the books off her floor, she has to find a blanket, put two in at a time, fold the blanket, put it in Seth's big dump trunk, drive it to the book shelf, open the blanket, put the two books in, and carry on the process. Then she'll tell me how she's found this "neat" way of cleaning up her books. Yeah, neat alright.

For the third time this week, she again dragged her feet doing her morning chores. Her morning chores consist of making her bed, straightening her room, and getting dressed. That's it. It took her two hours a couple of days ago (and her room wasn't even messy), and an hour and a half today. So, I asked her a few days ago what the "deal" was. She told me she has just been feeling kind of tired and felt like lying down. What? Hannah doesn't admit this, ever, so I wondered if maybe she was coming down with something. So far she's perfectly healthy.

She also spent an hour and a half on her math. She is starting grade one a bit early, but going very slowly, because she's just been very eager to learn. When I say slowly, I say 15 minutes to half an hour daily, that's it. In that time she can get up to six pages of math done if she doesn't get distracted. Today she got 2 pages done in an hour and a half. Obviously, she was distracted. Or tired.

While she was doing her school in her room, her darling brother was getting some computer time. Just yesterday while on the computer he had a "slight" accident in his pants, but managed to catch himself before he peed very much. Consequently, he was taken off the computer for the rest of the day because, as noted in a previous post, this seems to be the only time he has this issue. Today he got to try again.

While I was busy in the kitchen, Seth jumps off the chair, goes running to the bathroom saying, "I have to go to the bathroom. I didn't pee my pants. I didn't pee my pants. I didn't pee my pants, mom." What do think the chances are that he peed his pants? If you guessed 10/10, you'd guess correctly.

These really are the funniest times as a parent - at least when it's all said and done.

As I go to check Seth's pants to see if he peed, he's getting concerned. "Mom, I didn't pee," he says adamantly.

"Seth, you did so pee." I reply. He was soaked this time.

"I did not, mom!"

Not bothering to argue, I inform him that he is off the computer for the rest of the week at least. He goes into hysterics.

"I didn't pee, I didn't pee." Over and over. Then, "I'm mad, mom!"

I tell him to flush the toilet - normally if I accidentally forget and flush he gets upset - when he informs me that, "I can't. I'm too tired!" And repeats this several times, while crying hysterically. So, I flush the toilet, and wash his hands for him - he's too tired after all - and exiting the bathroom he turns left. His room is right. I tell him to head to his room. He's tired after all.

Total hysterics now.

I put him on his bed, cover him up and inform him he is NOT getting out of his bed. He is having an early nap since he's so tired, to which he informs me that "he's not tired any more!" I shut the door most of the way. I then march into Hannah's room - I'm on a roll now - and when I see how little progress she's made, (after all, she's tired, too, remember) I inform her she's having an early nap. She doesn't normally nap, but she's having one today. Thus begins her sing song.

And I have a duet. It was wonderful. Harmonious.

I escape to the living room. For a moment. Seth starts a tantrum. I go into his bedroom informing him that if doesn't stop the tantrum he will get a spanking. I ask him if he wants his pillow, Tigger and all his animals (which he threw off the bed), to which he replied, "NO!" I inform him he cannot get out of bed at all. That's final.

I go back into the living room for some peace and to continue to enjoy the music.

Seth hollers from his room:

"MOM, I NEED MY PILLOW!"

I yell back, "GET IT YOURSELF AND GET BACK INTO BED."

He hollers, "I CAN'T."

"YOU CAN." I reply, thinking that his lazy streak was showing.

"MOM, I CAN'T". He insists.

"THEN GO WITHOUT IT BECAUSE I'M NOT COMING." I yell yet again.

"YOU TOLD ME NOT TO GET OFF THE BED!"

Well, that little stinker. I did tell him that and forgot that I did. I have to give him some credit for this.

"GET OFF THE BED, GET YOUR PILLOW, AND GET BACK IN. AND GO TO SLEEP!"

Hannah goes to sleep very quickly. She really must be tired and I'm hoping it's just a growth spurt or something. Seth lies very quietly - remarkable, I know - for about an hour, still wide a wake. He hollers for me to come. I went. He says in his sweetest voice, "mom, will you lay beside me?" Being tired, it wasn't too hard to convince me. I lay down beside him on his little bed. He snuggles up close to me and proceeds to kiss every square inch of my face.

My heart melts. The little schmoozer. God alone knows how I love him. We both fall asleep.

Hannah wakes up, tiptoes into Seth's room, and nudges me. She asks if she can get up and I tell her she can but to be quiet. She goes into the kitchen, gets out the Uno cards (her latest favourite game) and proceeds to play, all by herself, very quiet and content.

Still feeling the "love", I go to the kitchen and sit down and play about a dozen hands of Uno with my girl. She wallops me about 10 hands to 2. She's getting good at it, so much so that she says to me:

"Mom, I can see you're out of green."

"How in the world do you know that?" I ask her.

"Because you laid down a 1. You wouldn't lay down such a low number unless you were out of that color, unless of course you had a 0."

Pretty good for a girl who learned how to play only a few days ago.

And God alone knows how much I love her.