A day at the movies

Yesterday, on a whim, I decided to take Perrin to the dollar theater to see Kung Fu Panda 2. I was fully aware of the craziness of taking an 18-month-old to the movies, but since it was only a dollar, I figured I didn't have much to lose (except a dollar... and possibly my sanity. That's all).

We went to a show in the middle of the day, so we practically had the theater to ourselves except for a man there with his daughter (who looked about 3) and someone who sat in the very back row all alone. Pretty ideal conditions, really. No angry mobs to ambush us when we would inevitably destroy the ambiance.

I contemplated grabbing one of the booster seats provided for little kids, but I figured Perrin would prefer to sit on my lap. We found our seats, and I needed to put down my things and get situated so I briefly stuck Perrin in the seat beside me. It promptly folded him in half. And he let me know in no uncertain terms that he did NOT appreciate that. I rescued him from the mean old chair and let him snuggle up with me.

For a little while, Perrin was a perfect angel. He sat in my lap and sipped his milk and snacked on raisins (yes, I snuck in food and milk. Come on, I'm not going to feed my toddler coke and gummy bears for his afternoon snack). I think he was pretty fascinated by the gigantic screen. But after about half an hour, he was ready to explore. He ran up and down our row, which I didn't mind since it was empty and I could easily keep an eye on him. He came back to me every now and then to watch more of the movie. Then he got a little braver and wandered out of our row and into the main aisle--which meant it was time for me to chase after him. As soon as he saw I was coming for him, he starting shrieking and giggling at the top of his lungs and ran straight for the front of the theater. I chased him in front of the screen, ducking the whole time so I wouldn't block the view (try running and ducking while chasing a giggling toddler sometime... it's LOADS of fun). I finally caught him and realized he was really, really stinky.

I let Perrin walk to and from the bathroom for his diaper change, then we went back in the theater. But I guess that little taste of freedom ruined him for the rest of the movie--from that point on, he thought it was a great big game of hide-and-seek in the dark. I got tired of that pretty quickly, so we left. In all, we saw about an hour of the movie--which was more than half. So it wasn't too bad, I guess.

Watch out, Everest!

Perrin has become quite a climber. He's always loved going up and down stairs and pulling himself onto furniture. But he's taken it to a new level recently (literally). Four times yesterday (four times!) I had to pull him off our dining room table. He had climbed up, seated himself directly in the middle, and begun dumping salt all over the table and floor (I knew I shouldn't have shown him how a salt shaker works... stupid, stupid, stupid).

He can also climb up on our bar stools and reach our kitchen counters. Nothing is safe anymore! I guess it's about time to bolt the bookcases to the wall. We see shelves; he sees ladders.

1 job + 1 job = 2 much craziness

It's sometimes tough to balance my two jobs (part time at FamilyLife, full time mommy). I'm so glad I can work from home, but it means that occasionally the two worlds collide. And not in a good way.

I had just gotten Perrin up from a nap yesterday when my cell phone rang. It was someone from work, calling to discuss some details for a training seminar we're organizing in a couple weeks. I sat down at my work computer so I could look over a spreadsheet while I was talking. I figured Perrin would be fine wandering around the house by himself for 15 or 20 minutes. After I'd been on the phone a couple minutes, I heard the pitter patter of his little feet running down the hall towards me. I was still focused on the computer screen, so I didn't bother looking at him until he thrust his hand at me and said, "This! This!" As in, "Look at this, Mommy!" I looked. His hand and arm up to his elbow were COVERED in huge globs of vaseline. I cradled the phone against my shoulder and rushed him into the kitchen to try to rinse it off. But guess what? Vaseline doesn't rinse off. And his icky hand was touching everything within reach. I grabbed about 20 paper towels and began wiping him down, all while trying to continue my conversation in a somewhat professional manner. I had to run back and forth from my computer a few times to answer some questions. By then, the vaseline was all over me, my clothes, and Perrin's hair. I finally got him marginally clean, then I dared to approach the mess in my bedroom. Yep, just as I suspected--vaseline all over the floor. I got off the phone and started cleaning.

Hmm... an office job is starting to look kind of nice again.

Vacation!

We're back from spending over a week at the beach. (Incidentally, it was the same beach where we got married over five years ago. Awwwwww!) Perrin LOVED it! He played in the sand, buried my feet, got knocked over by the waves a few times, chased a few seagulls, and tried desperately to catch a giant crab.

Perrin rode home with my parents, so Trey and I had a few days of baby-free beach fun at the end of our vacation. The highlight was going jet skiing and coming across a group of about 15 dolphins. We also walked on the beach at night listening to live music, ate at lots of great restaurants, tried a ropes course that was waaaay more terrifying than I expected it to be, saw a magic show, and got great tans! We may be 20 pounds heavier now that we're back home, but at least we have a nice glow!

Busy busy busy day

It's 8:00 PM and I am sitting down to relax for the FIRST time today. Seriously. We all woke up this morning at 6:00, as usual. I fed, bathed, and dressed both me and Perrin and packed a lunch for Trey for work. Once Trey was gone, Perrin and I went grocery shopping. We came home and unloaded the groceries, watered the flowers, then headed off to the library to watch the Irish dancers. We came home, and I whipped up a quick lunch for Perrin then put him down for a nap. Then I clocked in on my work computer and worked for an hour and a half. I also roasted a butternut squash and made applesauce muffins for tomorrow's breakfast (Perrin woke up about halfway through the cooking). Meanwhile, I kept getting text messages from Trey saying he was in the ER with a kidney stone and might need me to come get him. Around 2:30, Perrin and I drove to Jacksonville so I could drop him off for a play date. Then I got a call from Trey saying he'd been discharged, and he did indeed need me to pick him up. So I drove all the way to Little Rock, picked up hubby, stopped on the way home to let him lean out of the car and puke, and finally made it home and put him to bed. Then I mixed some bleach and water and got on my hands and knees and scrubbed the tile floor in our kitchen and dining room--just because it desperately needed to be done. I realized I needed to go pick Perrin up, so I washed up, threw on some clothes, and drove like crazy back to Jacksonville. Once I got Perrin, I raced home and cooked a quick dinner for the two of us. Trey was writhing in pain by then, so Perrin and I took his prescriptions up to Walmart to get them filled. The pharmacist said it would be 30 minutes, but it was actually an hour. Perrin and I ran (literally-RAN) back and forth across Walmart for the entire stinking hour. I got us back home as quickly as possible, drugged up hubby, then got Perrin all ready for bed. Now he's in his crib talking to the wall and I am lying on the couch with hardly enough energy to write this blog. No clue about  Trey... he doesn't seem to be writhing in pain anymore. Guess I ought to go check on him.

I've been wondering lately how hectic life would be with two children. I think I have an idea now.

Book Babies

This summer I've been taking Perrin to a program called "Book Babies" at our local library. It's a story time designed for babies with lots of singing, hand motions, rattles, and fun. Unlike other story times we've been to, Perrin is one of the oldest ones in this particular group. If you put him in a room full of 2 or 3 year olds, he blends in pretty well. But put him in a room full of 6-12 month olds, and he seems downright aggressive. We've been to three Book Babies so far, and Perrin has already accomplished all of the following:

Threw a shoe at a girl

Spilled about 50 cheerios all over the floor
Threw a cup at a girl
Stole another baby's toy
Ripped a page out of a book

Ran away from me about 5,397 times within a half hour span (one of those times he made it into the adjoining bathroom and put his hand in the toilet water before I caught up to him)

Stole another baby's snacks and started eating them

Gosh, when you look at it in a list like that, he sounds like a bit of a hellion, huh? The good thing is that none of the other parents seem the least bit phased by his antics. And he has his moments of sweetness too--he passes out the bells to everyone, he giggles when we sing the elevator song, and he tries to share his milk with anyone who comes within ten feet of us (it's only fair since he helps himself to anything that lands in his vicinity). I've also found that I'm much more tolerant of other people's kids these days. Hmm... funny how that happens when you become a parent.

Summer fun for cheapskates

These summer days can get rather long and boring, so I've been trying to come up with fun things to do with Perrin. We're taking full advantage of our library's programs--story time on Thursday mornings plus special events throughout the week. But I still have lots of free time to fill.

Today I decided I wanted to take Perrin on a mommy/son date. But where to go? There are actually LOTS of things to do--if you have money to spend. The tricky thing is finding stuff to do for free. So I loaded him in the car and drove into North Little Rock, not exactly sure what we would end up doing. Then I spotted Petsmart. Perfect! I gave Perrin the unofficial tour and let him press his face against the rodents' glass homes (he liked the guinea pigs the best). He was also rather fascinated with the lizards and birds. Then we visited the aquarium. He even said "fish!" (Well, sort of. He actually said, "ish" but I knew what he meant.) By the look on his face, you would have thought we were at the zoo. He had a blast.

Next stop: the indoor amusement park! Also known as Toys-R-Us. Against my better mommy judgment, I let him loose in the store instead of putting him in a shopping cart. There were a few times I had to straighten up an aisle after he'd gone down it, but for the most part he was pretty good. He tickled Elmo and danced with Micky. He threw a ball at me. He test drove a car and rode a rocking bull. I could almost hear him thinking, "WHY exactly have you never taken me here before?"

We were pretty hot and thirsty, and it just happened to be happy hour at Sonic. I ordered a large cherry limeade and brought Perrin into the front seat with me while we were parked to help me drink it. He was far more interested in pushing the buttons on my radio, so we ended up listening to lots of static and a few pieces of country songs. But whatever, it was his date so I left it up to him.

After a quick stop by a park to go down the slide once or twice, we headed back home. And of course, he threw a screaming temper tantrum along the way. It's a good thing because our date surely wouldn't have been complete without that.