| House Open House | | Date Created: Jul 16, 2006, 04:05 PM |
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Will's parents took the guys to Florida to visit my parents. They're on their way home now; it's only a couple more hours until they get here and our clean floors get muddy, our touched-up walls fingerprinted, our organized toys dumped and dismantled, our smell of fresh flowers overpowered by dirty diapers, and the silence decimated with shrieks, cries, whines, and fightin' words.
The boys' welcome absence has been so that Will and I could have open house here yesterday and today and try to get this house sold. We've only had a few people stop by both days, but even without a huge turn-out I wish we could have open house every weekend. Without the boys or the TV on it has been so incredibly quiet. I miss quiet more than any other thing I think. Will and I read books, read the newspaper, sat in the rocking chairs on the front porch. It's been lovely. We also went out to eat, went to a bar, went to the movies, went to Sunday brunch, went on a long walk, lived like we used to. I'd love to say it's just not the same as it once was, not as much fun without the boys, but I'd be lying. It was marvelous!!! Especially because the boys have been SO bad this last week.
I don't know what got into them, but they have been driving me crazy. The good news is that they've been playing a lot more independently of me and using their imagination. They love playing in their room without me. James makes his bed into a "golf cart" John's is a pirate ship, and I can't remember what George's is. The problem is that sometimes Captain John wants to ride on the golf cart and sometimes George wants to take the helm of the pirate ship and sometimes James and John want to sit on George on his bed and take over the fascinating blinds on the window that they like to get under, pull on, and get closer and closer to destroying and closer to getting huge goose-eggs on their heads. These maneuvers make fights. Tackling, scratching, biting, and, to me worst of all, screaming. I am so sick of the noise!
I am also sick of James' flip flops. He has a love-hate relationship with them. He loves to wear them and insists on wearing them. Only seconds later though he drops to the floor writhing and screaming and grasping at his feet because the back strap is twisted or the part between his toes MIGHT BE (1 times out of 50 it is) in between the wrong toes.
John's problem is screaming. My problem is screaming back at him to stop. This induces more screaming and generally doesn't work except to allow me to vent without physically injuring anyone or any pieces of furniture.
George used to be good. And he will be again I'm sure. But right now he is whiny and fidgety and pouty. His favorite letter is Z and of course his favorite animal is the zebra. So any puzzle, magnet, or little figure we have of either zebras or the letter z is taken from its set by George and hidden until he decides he needs it and desperately so and then we can't find it. Not to mention all of our alphabet games are missing their ending and our arks missing one of the much-needed pairs. And he insists on taking his cherished items and books wherever we go no matter how many times I tell him we might lose them like we lost the zebra magnet at Fort Moultrie where he now lives in the grass near the cannons and swims with the dolphins. One of his favorite things he likes to take with him is his "Shepherd book" which is really "S is for Shepherd." It's a sort of biblical alphabet. The only problem is it's one of the biggest books we have, not heavy or thick but about three-fourths the height of Georgie. He must take it, but it covers him up when he's in the car seat or it ends up hitting a brother, or George gets frustrated because it's so big and the car seat so cramped he can't open it and turn the pages as easily as he'd like.
The good news is we will all have more room in the new house. When James flails I can go downstairs. When John screams I can go downstairs. George can have his own room with all his zebras and z's safe and sound without having to mix them in with the general population of toys. When they are fighting I can send them to their own rooms and send myself to my own room.
They are on their way home now. No more complaining from me. I hope they were good for all the grandparents. Thank you, grandparents! Thank you, Jessica, who is coming over for supper to help ease the transition from footloose weekenders to Monday morning harried parents. Who knows, maybe the boys needed a vacation as bad as we did and we'll all be glad to see each other...
It's going to be a good week. It's going to be a good week. It's going to be a good week... |
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