The Tornado just went to bed. She was extra wild tonight and I am not sure why... We took a bath together because she was throwing a huge tantrum and we could not get her settled down. She was throwing a huge tantrum because, well, I am not really sure why she was throwing a huge tantrum. Anyway, we asked her if she wanted a bath and she said no and so I asked her if she wanted a bath with mommy and she said "Yes, and with horseys too." So we got in the tub - me, T and a herd of her toy horses. Her mood quickly changed and she began happily singing something that sounded similar to "Happy Birthday to You" Cool, I thought, this is way better than crying and screaming and so I joined in singing happy birthday. We sang happy birthday to Tiva, to her horses, and to a guy named Ned. Not sure who Ned is but she insisted we sing happy birthday to him, so Ned if you are reading this and it's your birthday, Tiva and I send you best wishes on this, your special day. The bathtub birthday celebration was really quite grand and even the horses took part, marching around on my legs to the rhythm of our songs. This is quite odd, I thought, but hey Tiva is happy and singing, so whatever. And we continued. Our bathtub sing-along progressed with hits like The Itsy Bitsy Spider, the ABC song, Jesus Loves Me, Jesus Loves the Little Children, etc. By the end of bath time, Tiva was happy and clean and I felt successful in our distraction tactics, unconventional as they were. I was sure my Tornado would be relaxed and ready to settle down in to bed. She wasn't. Perhaps she is part Gremlin and getting her wet was a bad idea, because when she got out of that tub, she took off squealing and streaking though the house at 100 miles per hour and literally did about 20 laps through the living room, dining room and bedroom, laughing hysterically and squealing. "Get Me!" Lance and I sat down and watched in amazement. Finally when it seemed this behavior would not come to an end on its own, Lance did "get her" and wrestled her in to some jammies, was able to comb her hair and get her ready for bed. She came over a planted a big smooch on my lips, waved her hand at me and said loudly, as if trying to capture the attention of a large audience, "Bye mama." I smiled and replied, "Goodnight Tiva, love you." She giggled as Lance carried her off to bed. I always let out a big sigh when she finally goes to bed, as if I have been holding my breath in anticipation for the few moments of peace before I go to bed myself. I know I don't actually hold my breath, but she does make me gasp repeatedly throughout the evening because I am sure that one of her Tiny Tornado antics will result in her having a broken bone, concussion or some other bodily hazard requiring a trip to the ER. It hasn't happened yet, but with her its only a matter of time. So here I am in my few moments of peace, reflecting on the things I do for my children (and the things I've done just today) and I can't help but think that if people really were able to see my thought process and what leads me to do the things that I do, they would think I have lost my marbles. Perhaps you are thinking that right now, but if not, let me give you another example. Today I went to Petco. We were out of dog food, so I made a quick stop on my lunch hour. While I was there I had to use the restroom (TMI, but I'm setting the scene). On the way to the restroom, I had to walk through the bird and small mammal (rat, hamster guinea pig) area. I finished using the restroom, walked back through that same area, but stopped, and looked through all the rat food, checking the ingredients for the best quality RAT FOOD. Why, you might ask? Because Austin brought home a 2 week old baby rat from his job at the reptile farm. "Mom, I was in the rat room and saw him and he was so cute. He was one of the biggest ones and if I didn't take him, he would've been fed to the reptiles." Now, don't misunderstand... Austin is okay with rats being fed to reptiles, but he is an animal lover like me and this little guy stole his heart and he named him Pocket, because the rest of the day at work, Austin kept this little guy in his shirt pocket.
Austin and "Pocket"
I used to teach Preschool and we had pet rats at one time and they really do make wonderful pets, so I caved. I simply couldn't let cute little Pocket end up as snake chow. Geez, I am a sucker. Anyway, back in Petco, I picked out a bag of the 2nd most expensive Rat food and a little water bottle for Pocket. I grabbed a bag of dog food and then I was on my way back to work. I texted Austin a picture of the rat food and water bottle (which by the way he didn't even ask me to purchase), and told him I am the best mom ever and he is welcome. He sent me a smily face and said he might be getting another rat to be a friend for Pocket. Gah! I told him to clean his room (because his room would literally make a fantastic rat habitat and I was having some scary visions because I am TERRIFIED of rodents). I guess this behavior makes me crazy, but my kids made me do it... I am not the only one in this family though that is crazy. Example: Tiva has us all wrapped around her little tiny finger. She made up this game during the summer that is odd to say the least, but even odder (is that a word?) is that we ALL play along with her as she orders us around. The game goes like this: Tiva has to kiss you for you to be in the game. As soon as she kisses you, you have to start running in a circle (like follow the leader, but just in a circle). Pretty soon we are all (literally the WHOLE family) running in this circle and Tiva is the leader and she will yell at us, "STOP!" "RUN!" and we have to comply with her orders. We play this game fairly often and I am sure our neighbors or anyone else who sees us, thinks we all belong in a mental hospital. Several times over the summer, we played the game so long that we were all sweating from the constant running. It is crazy, but she loves it and it makes her happy, so we play. Now I am sure you are thinking that you are reading the blog of a crazy woman and looking back at some of the things I do, I think I must be crazy too, but my kids made me do it. I am crazy - crazy in love with them and wanting to do odd things like have a bathtub birthday bash with horses in the tub with my toddler, or search for the best quality food for my son's new pet rat or play an insane running game with my toddler just to see the joy on her face. I've lost my marbles, but my kids made me do it, and who needs marbles anyway, when you have amazing kids to play with. Goodnight Friends.