Don't worry, I am not complaining about the warm weather. I have been reveling in it. What I am complaining about is the complicated position I am in this year. I am perfectly comfortable having Summer and Layla play in the front or back yard without me hovering over them. We have a no outlet street, I open the blinds for a better view, and I pop my head out every few minutes to check on them if I don't have a visual (I usually can hear them). They have strict instructions that they are not to leave the driveway or yard without asking, and (so far) they have always complied.
Now Olivia. Dear Olivia. That child is one I have ZERO trust in. Like I get nervous when a car actually does drive down our street because the child would run out in front of it if a bubble went that way. I'm serious. She actually semi-did this the other day when Emmie's ball rolled out into the street. My neighbor had pulled out of his driveway but was stopped in front of our house to say hi and out she ran.
Needless to say, she is concerning.
The one thing I have been able to do is block her into the top part of our deck by barricading the entry to the stairs and putting the sand table up there. I have full view of her from the kitchen and it is perfect... but only lasts for so long.
So with Summer still in school, I really like her to spend her afternoons outside since she was cooped up all day. Olivia is usually sleeping during that time, so Summer and Layla get some time outside while I get a few minutes to actually do a dish or (gasp) put away laundry. Then... the daily debacle begins: Olivia waking up and wanting to be with her sisters + Summer and Layla wanting to stay outside + me trying to make dinner + the ever-so-familiar arsenic hour. If I can possibly get Olivia calm by luring her into helping me make dinner (except sort of impossible when I am cutting an onion or doing anything on the stove... the child doesn't understand heat as much as she doesn't understand that cars are dangerous) it only lasts until the next time one of the other two come bursting in to go to the bathroom, get water, tell me that there is an ant, etc. Then I have Olivia go into a screaming, pathetic, devastating fit with her trying to claw her way out the door while I physically restrain her. It is kind of an impossible situation. I have to cook dinner, and not everything can be prepped earlier in the day. Granted, making something that required caramelizing onions for 40 minutes was probably not the smartest choice this week after I discovered this problem (but they were soooo good). That was a different night than the one when the girls were ridiculously, anxiously awaiting the UPS man to deliver our new sprinkler. I can't properly explain the anticipation/devastation when every car coming home from work was NOT Mr. UPS. I'm pretty sure someone else took over Summer's body because she lost every ounce of patience and turned into this creature I had never seen before. Considering the fact that she usually is a relatively calming force with the other two, it was definitely a "everyone down to the basement and don't open the door unless there is blood" night. Then I had to add on, "if I can hear you sobbing on the basement steps over the sprinkler I will hold it hostage even after it is delivered." Mean mommy? Dude. You have no idea.
So I am optimistic that once Summer gets out of school, I will feel better about bringing them all inside while I make dinner because they will have ALL been outside ALL day. Here's hoping... a mom can dream.
In other news, Matt and his brother Scott did amazeballs in the member-guest golf tournament last weekend:
Layla got extremely involved in her cupcake frosting at a birthday party:
And I failed yet again and forgot to send in a dollar with Summer and have her wear a hat on Monday (spirit week or cancer fundraiser or something like that???) I got all the way to her school to drop off the dollar but then remembered the hat and got concerned there was something else in that stack of papers that should have been due. Went back home, tore half the house apart to only find her Redskins hat she wore as an infant. Took the dollar and hat back (the other papers were due Wednesday, phew) to find that only like five kids in her class were even wearing hats. Oh well. I give myself an "A" for effort.
On a totally separate note, I don't know if you saw that I posted a "Weekly Chuckle" on Monday. I am hoping to slightly evolve the limitations I somehow put on myself (just doing one super-long post on Thursdays). We shall see what that turns into!
Happy Thursday!!!
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