Bubbling Zombie Brains and First Steps

I read Bradley the list of Dr. Dreadfuls experiments he could make, “Bubbling brains, zombie barf, skin, or a zombie bug mixture. Which one do you want to make?”

He picked the bubbling brains.

He measured, poured, mixed, and stirred the crazy concoction. It started to fuzz and fizzle over the edges. 

“It’s ready to eat,” I told him and passed out the spoons.

“Ewww…It’s sour!”

Bradley was a little worried at first. “No, it’s not real brains. It’s just candy.”

Collin loved it.

It’s been a crazy busy day. Up early because Collin wakes up too early. Work. Visiting with family. Chasing babies. Dinner. Dishes. Laundry. It’s been a very busy day.

Now, late at night, I feel like my brain is starting to fuzz and fizzle over just like Bradley’s experiment. I’m tired. I really wanted to do his Zombie lab another night, but he has been looking forward to it since he first opened it up Christmas morning. So we had to at least do one experiment. It was fun.

AND! AND! AND!

Terri, who watches the babies during the day, called me at work.

“Elsie walked! She just took off like she has always been walking. She walked from the living room to the dining room.”

I was so excited all day. I couldn’t wait to get home to see her walk.

I bragged all day about her walking at work…and also mentioned, “Watch, when I get home, she wont do it.”

And she didn’t. It wasn’t until right before bed that she started walking. She just took off. It was so cute. (And soon I will catch her on video.)

I hope she starts walking more. She will be able to keep up with Mallie and Collin. And I have really been worried about her knees. She walks on her knees almost all of the time. She’s fast on her knees, but we have all hardwood floors. Her poor little knees are like elephant knees, all calloused and red. You know that’s got to hurt. Every night I put Aquaphor on her raw little knees.

So hopefully, she will start walking on her feet more often.

Keeping my fingers crossed. (I know she will do it eventually, I have never seen a two or three year old walking only on his or her knees. She does things when she wants.)

xxx

Skateboarding Baby

The skateboard wasn’t Elsie’s Christmas present, but I think it was one of her favorites.

I can’t believe she held so still and didn’t fall off. I held my breath the whole time. Brad comes up with crazy ideas. The kids always have fun.

Check her out in action in the video below.

Mallie rode it also. She didn’t stay on it as long.

It was Cedrik’s Christmas present. Poor kid can’t even ride it. He broke his toe/foot playing dodgeball. Soon enough he will be up and on it though.

xxx

This Toy Has Gotta Go!

I can tolerate many different noises. Most toys don’t bother me, not even several going at once with a house full of noisy kids.

But this toy… It’s loud. It flashes. It plays a really fast annoying song that is hard to understand. It’s fast paced and the thing just drives me crazy! I can only take it for short periods of time. VERY short periods of time.

Collin got it for his last birthday. We didn’t even know it made any noise for the longest time…until Bradley started playing with it one day. He comes in from the porch, “Look, Mom. It plays music,” he said over the blaring noise and lights.

“Oh, good,” I said with a big sigh. Really?!

It is kind of fun toy because the kids love it. But it never stops! There is no button to push to make the song play one time. As soon as you flip the little switch on the bottom it plays nonstop.

Please! Make it stop!

But it is kind of cute watching the kids play with it. The girls love dancing to it. I can only take it for a short period of time before it gets “lost.”

It recently found a new home in the trash can. SHHH! The kids don’t know. I only threw it away because every time they get it out pieces of it keep falling off and I’m afraid the babies will choke. Good excuse, I know.

My favorite types of toys are like the ones below. Simple. Basic. Cheap. Quiet.

Even though, as you can see, they can still get hurt on the most simple toys, though. I think when she was trying to bite the tub she got her finger. Oops.

xxx

Oh, Christmas Tree…Oh, Christmas Tree!

The first weekend in December:  I hauled up the Christmas tree box from the basement. I didn’t even get it set down on the floor and the boys were trying to tear into it like it was a present on Christmas day. “You have to wait. This is just the Christmas tree. Mommy is going to set it up. THEN you can help put the ornaments on,” I said. This seemed to appease the little Christmas beasts.

I pulled out the pieces. The top, middle and bottom. Gotta love these new trees that practically come put together, lights and all. No more sorting branches by faded color stickers at the end of each branch. No more waiting for Dad to put the lights on the tree.

 Oh, the childhood memories I have of pacing while waiting for the tree to be ready. Trying to wait patiently as my Dad made piles of similar sized branches. Getting anxious and digging through the boxes of ornaments to decide which ones to hang first.

“Dad, are you almost done?” and “Dad, can we hang the ornaments yet?” and “Dad…Dad…Dad…” We probably pestered him the whole time, but he kept working away, meticulously straightening branches and hanging lights. Now, I am the same way about straightening each branch, making sure the lights are strung around evenly. Thanks, Dad, for passing on this obsessive behavior about how the tree should look.

When I was pulling the tree out a sparkly green ball bounced across the hardwood floor. I recognized it immediately. It was one of Grandma Jean’s ornaments from last year.

I miss her. She would be so happy we are putting up her tree. I can hear her now, “Isn’t that a nice tree? Look how each branch is so perfect and how all the lights sparkle. It is a beautiful tree. Uncle Steve picked that tree out special for me (every year he would come and help her set up the tree and even come back and take it down. What a good son. I hope one of my kids will do that for me when I am old),” I can hear her now, as I sit here thinking about her. I can see her in her beige leather recliner int he big living room, crocheting away on a multicolored afghan, watching tv, and admiring her tree.

 

If she were here now, I know she would want to see all of our trees. She would ask, “What do the babies think of the tree?” and she would remind me (even though I know) to “make sure you keep the ornaments away from the babies. They could swallow one of those hooks. You have to keep them safe. Get down on the floor and make sure a hook didn’t fall off that you didn’t see. You have to be real careful. Run your hands along the floor.”  And even though I know this, I would reply, “Okay, Grandma,” and I would probably tell her about how I have the tree set up on a card table in the living room so none of the little ones can reach it. And she would say, “I know, hunny. You take such good care of those babies,” and she would tell me how proud she is of me. Man, I love her and miss her. 

It was a trial and error with the trees this year. I put up two. A small one and a regular sized one. I put up the little tree first just to see what the kids think of it…and I was also making sure they weren’t going to try to climb it. I set it up on a small table in the corner. I put the ottoman in front of the table and a small chest ont the other side. The twins couldn’t reach it, but it was still a bad idea. Collin just used the items as step stools to get right up to the tree.

See what happens when my back is turned?!

Needless to say, it was moved. I also used a taller table for the large tree so there were no stepping stools. One of these days when the kids are older and I am able to put the tree on the floor, like normal people do, they are going to be confused. I can hear them already, “Why is the tree ont the floor, Mom?”

I located the plugs on each different part of the tree and had that thing standing upright and lit in five minutes. Hallelujah!

I put Grandma’s sparkly green ornament right by a white light so it sparkles and glitters all the time.

I love Christmas. I love all of the memories, even ones as simple as a small ornament.

xxx

Mom, I Wanna Be 64

As we were sitting around the table eating an after school snack, Bradley says, “Mom, I wanna be 64.”

“64!” I replied, sounding amazed.

“Yea. You wanna know why?”

“Why?” I asked, now intrigued.

“When I’m 64 I will be tall.”

***

Later that evening.

“Mom, I wanna be 88. You wanna know why?”

“88! That’s a lot! Why do you want to be 88?” I asked.

“Because then I will be old.”

“But when you are 88, I will be really old. I probably wont even be around.”

“Where will you be?” Bradley asked very innocently. “Will you be in the Navy?”

***