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their idiot is missing. I swear I'm the only one these days doing really stupid things. That or else everyone else is smart enough not to confess them on their blog.
So, am I the only one who gets in bad habits and realizes it, but doesn't think it'll matter? Take for example the habit I have of throwing my keys in the car over the driver's seat while buckling Tayler into his seat. I've always realized that it could have consequences, but I couldn't see how it would really happen. Now I've seen.
I ran to Shopko (yes, Shopko. I think I go there maybe twice a year, and this happened to be one. It makes the story that much better because [insert apology to all loyal Shopko shoppers] I think of Shopko as a little white trash. But, hey, so's Walmart and I shop there regularly.). Anyway, as I was leaving and trying to buckle Tayler into his seat, I had my keys in my hands and he was grabbing at them. This is why I always throw them over the seat. So I did. Unfortunately, I forgot to recognize that in his grabbing, Tayler had hit the lock button. So I threw the keys over the seat, closed his door, and tried to get in. No luck. The entire car was locked tight with Tayler inside, buckled tightly in his car seat.
Now, had Tayler been free inside the car, he could have found a way to let me in. I found myself half hoping he would suddenly learn to escape his car seat, and then realizing the horror that new skill would entail. So, I started calling everyone who I thought could help. Tyson - no help. No keys. (I've always wanted to see if that "5 Uses for your cell phone" spam email was true, and if Tyson had taken his keys to work today, we could have tried it!) And then I realized that the spare set wasn't hanging on the key rack and I had no idea where they were, which meant that no one would be able to find them except me. So I called my dad, he looked up the non-emergency number for the police, and I humbled myself and called.
An officer came really fast and was very nice. He advised me to not let me 2-year-old drive again and was into my car in 5 seconds. It really made me feel secure about my car's theft potential! At least the alarm went off. He told me my tire needed air and was gone, all in less than 2 minutes. Thanks officer!
Unfortunately, I'm not a stranger to the police letting me into my car, but it's always been campus police before, and hey, are they really police? It seemed to happen during finals week when my mind was so preoccupied with formulas and facts that I couldn't find the space to remember my keys when I left the car. I did, however, remember to lock the car. Really it only happened 2 or 3 times in the all of undergrad and graduate school, but it was always when I was too overloaded with school, work, and life to function. I guess I'm there again, just with different overloads like kids, church callings, housekeeping, etc.
Tanner: When I grow up, I'm going to grow a beard.
McKayla: When I grow up, I'm going to be a mom and I'll be exhausted. You'll just get to go to work everyday.Is it women's intuition or just mom who complains too much? You be the judge.
for mother of the year. You can also throw in a vote for babysitter of the year if you want to after reading this. Today was the day of the impromptu epinephrine injection. No, we had no allergic reaction at our house. Just too many boys.
I was watching my sister Lisa's two kids, Barrett (2 1/2) and Charlotte (4 months). Charlotte was sleeping like an angel in my locked bedroom (have I mentioned before how much I love girls?), and the boys (Tayler and Barrett) were first playing upstairs, so I sat down at the upstairs computer to pay the bills while they played. Before I was done, they took their haul of toys down to the family room. Thomas the Train was on TV, so I felt OK about the 5 minutes it would take to finish. Not a good choice, in retrospect. At this point I might need to mention the fact that Tayler and Barrett together are trouble. Not just double the work of one, but more like 10 times the work. They feed off of each other's naughtiness. They have been banned from Grandma and Grandpa's monkey room multiple times for such behavior. They're just a bad pair, but oh so cute together.
So, minutes later (really it was 2 or 3, I swear) Tayler is screaming like he's dying. "Fwowy, Fwowy!" I jump up and run down the stairs. The boys had emptied Lisa's diaper bag on the family room floor, and Tayler is still screaming. I accused asked Tanner what happened and he shrugged. That was when I found the epi-pen. I hadn't even remembered that Lisa carries one in her diaper bag for Barrett's peanut allergy (we almost got to use it last time she brought him here, thanks once again to my incompetence as a parent...but that's a story for another day. Or never.) But then I see it. An open epi-pen on the floor, needle bare. I started to believe Tayler's screams of death (still going: "fwowy, fwowy!"). I asked him where the fwowy was and he pointed to his back. That's when I saw the blood spot on the back of his shirt. And when I lifted his shirt, I saw the injection site. Then started the "Bear-bear fwowy," meaning Barrett did this. The pen was dripping epi, and I put two-and-two together.
This is what I have recreated: Tayler begins emptying the diaper bag, one of his favorite pastimes when Lisa is around. Barrett watches with a big smile, maybe even encouraging him. The epi-pen comes out and Tayler uses his mad "I can open anything" skills to open the said medication. Barrett now sees an opportunity for fun. (Remember, at this point on an epi-pen, the needle isn't visible.) He picks it up and uses his new-found tool (those of you who know Barrett know without question he was calling it a tool) and uses it on Tayler's back. The needle is exposed, and Tayler gets the best "fight-or-flight" response of his life. Then I come in.
I talked to medical professionals (meaning my mom and any doctor she could get a hold of) who first assured me there was no real risk of harm to Tayler, and then laughed hysterically at the fact that two 2-year-old boys were shooting each other up with epinephrine. All the while, I'm recognizing my severe incompetence as a mother. Mother of the Year? Babysitter of the Year? You can go ahead and vote now.....And hey, I'm free to watch your kids anytime.
I loved conference this past weekend. It's always so uplifting and encouraging. I have to say that so far (I say so far because I have Saturday Tivoed due to soccer games, so I'm yet to finish all the sessions..), my favorite was M. Russell Ballard's talk on being a mom. I loved his suggestion that motherhood is frustration, exhaustion, and a lot of other things with a few shining moments that keep us going. I think that stuck with me because I had just had one of those shining moments with Tanner.
Tanner has been having some issues with being scared at night and having nightmares, so I was trying to help him by suggesting he think of things that make him the happiest as he fell asleep. That way he would dream about them. He thought really hard and then told me Pokemon makes him happy. He paused for a minute, then looked at me so sweetly and said "And you Mom. You make me happy and I love you." It's these moments that keep me going. Each child has their own moments.
And then apparently, there was a lot of talk about dead people during conference. Tanner and McKayla had packets of fun things to do during conference. McKayla did a wonderful job of listening and writing. Tanner did good,too, although he appears to have a one-track mind. On several sheets of the packet, there were pictures of the 12 with a blank tie next to them to color to match the tie they spoke in, as well as space to draw a picture of what they talked about. Tanner's ended up with a lot of people drawn on them.
When I asked what they were pictures of, he informed me they were dead people (apostles, prophets, etc.) that had been spoken about. He explained that you can tell they are dead because they have x's for eyes and their tongues are hanging out. At least we can hold on to the shining moments!
My baby is two! And, well, terrible doesn't even begin to describe it! OK, so he's not always terrible, but when he is, he's terrible. He's deceiving because he looks so sweet and innocent with the blond hair and big blue eyes, but underneath it, he's a little fireball. Tanner, at least, came with the look of a little devil.
We had a little friend party for Tayler at the local "Fun Center." It was great until the bus loads of 12-year-olds on a field trip showed up. Where do you have to go to school to go on a field trip to the skating rink? Seriously! But after they cleared out, we had more good times. Tayler scooted, climbed, rode, jumped, and slid his way to a very fun day!
Lisa even got in on the action, playing the Deal or No Deal arcade game and raking in the tickets! Go Lisa!
The family party was a hit for Tayler, too.
The child is shoe obsessed, and he got his "Choo Choo Shoo" which he wears all day every day (taking them off for naps is a trick!).
He also got a lot of adorable clothes and toys from family and friends, as well as his new bike.
My baby can't be 2 already! But if he has to be, it turned out to be a great couple of days. I love you Tayler!
