“Pick That Up, Please.”

As I reached the top of the steps John Cena the action figure bit my big toe. Buzz Light Year grabbed my ankle and refused to let go. I told him I was going nowhere near Infinity or Beyond and to leave me alone. Hotwheels lined up and revved their painted threats and little army men stood their ground in a plastic mess. I threatened to melt them all or pull out their stuffing…they didn’t listen. So I yelled at the boys, “Pick up this mess!”

Only Collin came running to attempt this request. Bradley used to be so well trained, I don’t know what happened…probably being 5. Bradley can be a challenge and you have to get creative to get him going, or just threaten to take away his video games and that usually gets him motivated. But Collin, oh sweet little Collin, he is another story…

Collin doing dishes.

With Collin I always have an extra shadow following me. A little blonde hair, blue-eyed angel who is Mommy’s extra couple of hands. He is always there, no matter what I’m doing; it could be dishes, folding laundry, feeding babies, you name it and he is there. If I suddenly stop, he is running into the back of me. I often wonder why we even bought him Christmas presents because he never plays with them. He rather be in the cupboards stacking Tupperware or banging pots and pans.

When I do the dishes I bring in the step stool so he can help. Tonight he climbs up and is supposed to be rinsing. I look over and he is wearing the colander as a hat. I chuckle to myself. This is why doing dishes isn’t so bad, even if I do have to re-wash half of them. And every time I put something into the sink he says, “Tank too” (thank you).

He even helps unload and load the dishwasher. He puts away the silverware, but never in the right spot. Oh well, it keeps him busy and temporarily out of the way so I can unload the rest of the dishes. And most of the time clean  Tupperware lids get washed in the dishwasher. It’s all good. OR…my favorite from this evening – I hear this weird scraping sound and turn around…Collin has a Tupperware bowl on each foot and his walking/sliding across the kitchen floor. I decided to call it “Tupperware Skating” or “Leftover Skiing.”

Mommy and Baby Collin, 2009

So this kid is always up to something and I can’t turn my back for a minute. And he is extremely fast! So I also have him pick things up for me all the time and he loves it. It is also something I LOVE about this age. It is extremely helpful when I have one of the babies in the Sleepywrap, which usually happens when I’m doing the dishes. I will drop something, “Hey Collin, pick this up for Mommy, please,” and he tells ME “thank you” when he’s done. lol

So of course I am constantly dropping things, over and over and over again. It makes him happy and all I want is for my children to be happy. “Pick that up, please.”

***Note***  I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Sleepywrap and have used it with the last three of my babies. It has came in handy at the park, mall, work, home, and a million other places. It should probably be a whole other post in itself. I highly recommend it.