Rainy day conversations

This morning Brent was chiding me for making the windshield wipers go up and down. I tried explaining that the rain was a good thing, and how much we needed it.

"Brent, do you know how you love applejuice?"
"Yes..."
"Well, the trees and the grass and the ground all drink water from the rain, and they've been so thirsty lately. So now they are all so happy that they're getting something to drink!"

"....." He pondered this for a moment...

"Silly Mommy! They don't have mouths!!!"

Fingerpainting

Well, the eyes are better, but the drops remain necessary for a few more days. And I guess when you're 3, you can think of maybe a million or two things that you'd rather do that get stinging drops put into your eyes a couple times a day. So, although he was an angel about it yesterday, today is a different story.

I held him down while Mom did the deed, and afterwards, I praised him for being SO good and asked him what he wanted to do now. He turned those big eyes up to me and said softly.... "Paint!?"

It wasn't the first thing I had thought of doing at the end of a long rainy day, but it turned out to be just perfect. We went from neat paintbrush lines, to both of us elbow deep in colors mixed together in beautiful rainbow-streaked mud. But a more perfect mud cannot be found, I think. We made handprints, streaks and dots that turned out to be a lovely mirage of some sort, and then merrily cleaned up, leaving the sink a little worse for wear.

If only all of life's difficulties and tears could be erased with a little fingerpainting, the world would be a lovelier place.

The Pinkest Eyes in the West

Okay, maybe not the west, and maybe not the pinkest, but definitely the cutest case of conjunctivitis I've seen. Between the crusty, snotty eyelashes and red spider-webs where the whites of his eyes should have been, he looks a mess. But we've had a nice relaxing rainy day. We haven't had a good rain in a couple months here, so it's such a blessing to look outside and see the dreariness staring back at you for a change. I was starting to get too uplifted all the time with the endless blue sky and puffy clouds. Sometimes you need a good cloudy sick day to really come to terms with life.

Hopefully tomorrow he'll be good as new, and life will get back to normal. Until then, here's hoping for a long night's sleep, drifting off to the splatter of raindrops against the windows.

October birthdays

Saturday was a busy one, starting with the visit of my dad and sister and crew. Oh Brent just loves it when his cousins visit. They played in the sandboxes, pulled each other on bikes and wagons, and of course got lots of attention from all the grandparents. Who could resist :)

Brent woke up Sunday morning and immediately ran out to see if they were still there, then ran back to find me. "Mommy! Panda and Allison are still here! They wanted to stay with me!!" And off they ran to find more adventures for the morning.

It's times like that I feel bad that he's an only child, because he loves having people around to play with. He even shared his new train, which is quite a sacrifice. The kids are playing together so much better these days, and we find ourselves going minutes at a time without having to intervene or negotiate terms to end an argument. What a luxury to have so much love in a family....

Pumpkin Patch

Saturday afternoon after visiting with my Dad for awhile, we headed to the pumpkin patch with my sister and her two girls, and my mom. Oh man was it so much fun! Between tractor rides, hay rides, hot dogs and pig races, the kids were completely drunk on hillbilly excitement. We made our way through the corn maze, trying to follow the songs of the banjoes to find our way back. After 30 minutes, we had to raise the flag and be rescued, but little legs can only wander through mazes for so long. Okay, actually I think they could have gone on forever, but us grownups were getting tired!

We picked our pumpkins out of the patch, laughing as Allison tripped over vines every 10 seconds or so. The sun was low in the sky, lending a mystery to the already surreal experience.

And finally, the smell of hay strong in our noses and the plucking of bluegrass still ringing in our ears, we headed home.

Summing Up

A Day Out with Thomas

So the big day finally arrived! It was time to go RIDE THOMAS! We excitedly get ready and head out for our 3 hour trip. As we're deciding what to eat for breakfast, Daddy says those infamous words "You do have the tickets, right?"

Yeah! Another hour added to the trip for a return home. Oh well. We still make it there within 10 minutes of when Andy's parents arrived, so all turned out well.

We spent the first few minutes finding the grandparents (which he was SO excited to see!). Then we went exploring and trying to figure out which thomas-filled tent to venture into first. We decide to go get Brent's free temporary tattoo, which he shows us for pictures, but his eyes have already caught the biggest parent-trap of all - the biggest Thomas gift shop in the world! He sees the rows and rows of trains, and for a moment I'm afraid he might have a stroke or something. It's like he didn't know which way to go first. There were Thomas trains, of course, and tracks. There were also shirts, hats, books, sunglasses (yes, I replaced the ones I flushed) and more. By the end of the day, he had made quite a haul, though he won't get most of it until Christmas.

Then we ventured into "Imagination Station", where lots of tables were set up with different Thomas tracks and trains that the kids could play with. As he was busy summing everything up and deciding if it was safe to venture among all the large-eyed, overly excited children, he spent a few minutes at an uninhabited table where you could decorate paper with Thomas stamps. Finally, he waded among the crowd, unable to resist any longer. He passed by the sets that were similar to what he has at home, and settled in among the battery-powered displays. Happier than a fox in a henhouse, he played until it was time to go RIDE THOMAS.

Only it turns out that Thomas is just for picture taking. We rode on passenger cars that were parked BEHIND Thomas so it may have fooled the kids, but he had fun on the 20 minute ride none-the-less. After he got bored of the scenery, he spent the rest being tickled by Grandpap.

After the train ride, we posed with Thomas for a picture (I have yet to go online to order the prints, but they'll be coming shortly). And then we headed back to the tents. Sir Topham Hat's line was pretty long, but we did catch a sighting. And Brent and I petted a large snake, turtle and sheep in the petting zoo before heading back to Imagination Station. I'm pretty sure he would have stayed there for days until he passed out from lack of food. And eventually I was forced to drag him away, literally kicking and screaming. But in my defense, he hadn't had a nap and his eyes were beginning to droop, so I made the executive decision.

From there, the rest of the clan walked over to Pizza Hut, and I drove the car. As I passed them, I made the "L" for LOSER sign on my forehead, just as I made a wrong turn and got stuck on the on-ramp for the freeway. After that, I got extremely lost, and spent 20 minutes wandering around that town from hell trying to find my way back. I guess I showed them who the Loser was :(

So after dinner, we headed back, all of us (except for one) with enough Thomas in our brains to last a century. Happy Birthday, Brent :)