CSI and an Art Show

Tonight I discovered 4 blue X's on my couch. (Will it ever end?) Cash told me Penelope did it. She has been writing on herself again lately and I believed him. I brought Penelope to the scene of the crime, and disciplined her. (I won't say exactly what that means lest some might get the wrong idea about me...) She cried. I went to get the cleaner for the couch. Libby followed me, saying that it was NOT Penelope but that Cash did it. I really don't know who to believe so I questioned Cash and he was very insistent that it was NOT him, that Penelope did it.

I began to believe Libby since she kept insisting it was Cash. He became more convincing, and I decided he must be telling the truth. Back and forth I went. Libby would not let it go. She became quite the investigator, making me a believer by simply explaining, "Mom, Penelope can't make four perfect X's. Cash did it." And I stopped to assess Penelope's writing abilities and discovered she is correct. It must have been Cash. I disciplined him as well. In the same manner. I didn't do a very good job. He said, "That didn't really hurt Mom." Well, then I did the job better, if you know what I mean. Thank you, Libby for your crime solving skills. (And she was actually a witness as well, so that helps.)

And also, last night we had our Home's Cool Art Show and here are a few pics. I am glad the home school year is wrapping up for me. I've done this a few years now and I think they really are learning something. Like you know, crime scene investigation and such. And how to make perfect X's. What I need to devise is a class for my entire family about writing utensils and their purposes. I can see the syllabus in my head already. Class One: SHARPIES. Class Two: Ball point pens...

If it's yellow, let it mellow

Just wanted to document our trip to Busch Gardens this past Sunday. We didn't bring any sort of still or video camera and I was thinking, if you don't have pictures, did it really happen? Because I really think it's possible to forget events like this, even though I've always been really good with dates and my own personal and family history. When enough time passes, these things sort of blend together.

It was a fun day filled with lots of cool things for the kids to see, plus I got to ride two roller coasters! But the strongest memory for me was when Penelope decided to sample some of her own urine. My kids are growing up and I fear I'm going to run out of these kinds of stories yet still they seem to happen to me.

I was watching Penelope, Libby, and Cash play in their swimsuits in the kiddie water playground. Basically a bunch of falling water contraptions and spouts of water that come up from the ground. Penelope is potty training and doing quite well, so I just had her in her swimsuit with no diaper or anything. There were a lot of kids there and a lot of parents, so when she began to spread her legs and look down and watch the stream of yellow going through her suit and onto the rubber ground, I was standing a good distance from her so I decided to pretend she was not my child. I figured she'd finish her business and move on, and if anyone was grossed out by this they wouldn't know who to blame.

I'm doing fine until she reaches down, catches some of the pee in her hand and puts her hand to her mouth. But I'm committed. Besides, I really don't want to admit to being her mom at this point. Yet I can't let it happen twice so I go over and catch her in the act and redirect. She looked at me as if she knew but didn't care. This is toddlerhood at it's best. The "I know it's bad for me but I'm going to do it anyway and see what happens" mantra they must brainwash the toddlers with when we're not looking. Like, if we played their kid videos backwards it's going to say, "Eat poop, bite people, and run the other way when your parents call you!" This, I believe, is why God makes them so stinkin' cute. Because if any person over the age of 4 samples their pee, we are repulsed by them. But when my angelic looking 2 year old does it, it's really quite funny. But still really gross!

I'm sure there are times I've lost it when my kids want to pretend like I'm not their mom. This is the nature of family. We're figuring it all out together and we love each other regardless. And in the end, it all goes down the same drain.