The Devil in Disguise

A quick bit about me... I'm married with two beautiful angelic children, hahaha.  No seriously, they ARE beautiful and they ARE angelic... it's just that when the Devil takes over, my boy runs the gamut full force and I swear he's going to give me either a heart attack or a stroke before I turn 50!

Here he is being all charming and debonaire...

Then if you look closely you can see that little Devil grin shining through... 

and right there on church grounds no less!!

 

So, lately he's become quite an escape artist... on the go, doesn't like to be cooped up in the house.  So what better way to fix that other than taking off outside when our backs are turned!  He's gotten outside before but it's never been this bad before.  One day last weekend I was literally in the bathroom doing my thing when my daughter comes and says, Where's the boy*?  So off I went and sure enough there he was in the front running up and down the sidewalk in the rain wearing only a t-shirt and pull up. And if that weren't bad enough, of course the dog went out with him and was checking out the neighbors dog too.  Heart attack #1 for the weekend right there... you just never know what could happen.  A stranger could come along and snatch him right up, he could run in the road and get hit - anything could have happened and that scares the bajeebers outta me!  Couple more times he snuck out and got into the car and was pretending to drive... then he snuck out with the dog again while I was vacuuming.  SERIOUSLY!!!  I was in the living room vacuuming, I turn around and see that the sliding door in the kitchen is open and there they both were, in the yard.  The dog was taking a dump so I shudder to think what could have happened had the boy got tangled in that mess.

Let's fast forward to Tuesday, day 3 o f Houdini's adventures.  The hubs works midnight's so the boy usually goes to daycare on his work night so he can get sleep, but then he's there on his days off even if it falls on a week day.  So Tuesday morning the hubs comes home at 6:15am super tired and hoping the boy will sleep longer... one can always hope.  Well long about the day apparently hubs fell asleep for a brief moment in the chair and when he woke up the boy & dog were gone and the back door wide open.  So he rushes to get clothes on and by the time he's outside to see the boy dog combo in the neighbors yard, the police had arrived.  Oh yeah, never a dull moment around here... don't know who, but someone saw him out there chasing the dog around.  I honestly have to assume it was a passer by because all the neighbors know us and have seen the kids out there running around and know we've had these issues of late.  HOWEVER, if you were a passer by and didn't know better I suppose it would only be natural to call the police when you see a 3 year old in a diaper chasing a pit bull through the neighborhood.  Yes that's right, I said pit bull and for all you nay sayers, bite me.  The sensationalized media hype about Pit Bulls is a topic for another day but for now I think these pictures speak big volumes in disproving your vicious myth.

So after that "little" incident we decided it was time to invest in a chain lock...

It wasn't long before he tried sneaking out again... from the living room I heard the door slide open and then a little voice say, hey guys door not open.  hehehehe... nope it sure doesn't.  But that didn't stop him from at least trying to squeeze out it... anyone want to take bets on how long it will be before he finds
a way around this little set back?

*Actual names omitted for security reasons

Unexpected Guests

I absolutely love surprise guests, it's how I know who is a real friend and who isn't - they aren't afraid to just drop in any time!  I know some people freak out because their house may be a mess, they may not be dressed or whatever but I say screw it and YAAY, come on in!  Oh sure you will likely show up on a day my house has been terrorized and looks like I haven't cleaned in three weeks but I don't care... #1 I have two very active young children and #2 you just showed up unannounced, you certainly can't expect a tidy home without warning.  So I guess if you're judgmental and particular then please, by all means - call first... or if you're traveling a great distance to get here, cause it would suck if you drove five hours to surprise us and nobody was here - I've done it and it sucks.

But I digress...

Last week we've had a couple of unannounced guests show up... not the type you may expect, I know I didn't expect them, but it was exciting all the same!  On Thursday evening I was relaxing, watching one of my shows when my daughter comes in all excited and says "there's a geese in the back yard."  "A geese huh?" "yeah, it has a green head."  "that would be a Mallard."  And then it clicked - what the heck is a duck doing in our yard??  I know we live fairly close to the water but we're also "in the city" and there isn't much wildlife happening around here.

I got up to check and sure enough, Ma & Pa Mallard were strutting around the back yard!  The kids were so excited, they were feeding the ducks right from the back door!  Who needs to go to the park to feed the ducks - they come to you now!  Pa Mallard was such a gentleman, he was letting Ma get all the food first and just stood by watching, checking things out like all good protectors should.  Pa toured the yard, the bushes, the flower beds all for what I believe to be a nesting spot.  That's when I got excited!  How kewl would it be to have baby ducks in your back yard?  I'm a country girl at heart and would love for my kids to experience that!  They eventually left, but came back the next day... and I haven't seen them since.  I'm hoping they just went away for the weekend to visit family... If they come back I'm going to have to invest in some real food for them. I mean, after all, we can't have the Mama eating poorly if she's expecting and has to raise babies... she needs good nutritional feed!

Happy Mother's Day Ma Mallard

Am I Mom Enough? A Motherhood Wish List

I'm hoping that all or at least most mother's will agree with this article.  If you haven't seen the cover of Time Magazine, take a gander and read the story HERE.  Then read the article linked below... that's my wish!

Am I Mom Enough? A Motherhood Wish List

The Third Side...

I’ve always tried to live a drama free life but it seems that anymore I don’t even have to do anything and it finds me!!  I see it happening all around me and that’s where I leave it, I don’t ask questions (although I’ll listen if someone starts talking) and I certainly don’t pass judgment or bad mouth those involved.  There are always three sides to every story, your side, their side and the TRUTH!

The opposite sides of each story are not necessarily good or bad, but different views of an event.  Have you ever jumped to a conclusion before hearing both sides of a story? Have you ever failed to give someone the benefit of the doubt, even though they had never wronged you or even your loved one?  We’ve all done it at one time or another… thankfully I’ve learned over the years not to do that anymore.

Arguments amongst friends can lead to real sticky, unwanted situations. If the argument doesn’t involve you at all, then it is in your best interest to remain neutral. That means not taking sides- getting both sides of the story, understanding where each person is coming from, and not to side with one person over the other. It’s not your job to play detective to figure out the truth. Your job is to be a friend to both.  And for the love of all things Holy – Please refrain from all bashing.  If you weren’t there to witness the event, then you have no right bashing one or the other… and if one side comes to you bashing the other, I’d rethink them as a friend - cause you know they’re just as wrong and only bashing to build themselves up.  Chances are they’ve bashed you to the one they’re now bashing as well.

“Things turn out best for those who make the best of the way things turn out.”  ~Jack Buck