Friday, November 15, 2013

Dog Is My CoPilot

As Brian gets ready for another work trip, I prepare myself to hold down the fort here as a solo parent.  It's the same feeling I get when a storm is on it's way. I feel the need to go out and buy as much milk and bread as I can possibly shove in my grocery carriage - even though nobody here drinks milk.  I will then make a trip to BJ's to shop in bulk for such non perishable items as canned peas, tuna, 16 pounds of stewed tomatoes, and a vat of sauerkraut. I will most likely get excited by a useless item I see on a display at the end of an aisle, because I am a "marketing victim" like that.  They build those displays for me.  I'm a total impulse buyer and all I need to see is something bright and sparkly (even if it's just the sign advertising the product) and I'm sold.  BOGO?  Even better.  Because I need a 14 pack of WD-40. I may even stop off at Home Depot on my way home and purchase a snow shovel even though there's no snow coming.  But at least I'll feel like I've done my due diligence in preparing for the onslaught of crazy that will occur while Brian is gone and Brynn (my English Mastiff) and I are left to manage the asylum on our own. 

Once I get home I'll realize I don't actually have ingredients to make a single meal, so I'll proceed to order out for the next 4 days.  Meanwhile, the kids know something's up....their "spidey senses" are tingling.  They've started having morning meetings in Lauren's room to plot their strategy for house domination. They make a pot of coffee and sit around at their project table making plans.  There are blueprints laid out, white boards riddled with ideas, as Ben (3) & Lauren (4) sit with their feet up on a table spitballin' ideas for an uprising.  At one point, they have sandwiches delivered to their meeting room and make a request for premium cigars and aged whiskey. 

These kids are very clever.  Lauren, has in fact turned in a "tween" overnight.  She's 4.  After church last week she asked me "Who is Jesus, Mama?"  I thought it was really nice that she is starting to understand and question these things.  So I said, "He's God's son."  Figured I'd keep it simple.  Lauren thought about it for a minute then said, "Mama, you're talking ragtime!"  What?! Ragtime??

Meanwhile, my little Benjamin Bunny has taken to flirting with the girls in Lauren's preschool class when we drop Lauren off at school in the mornings.  I'm helping Lauren take her coat off and hang it up in her cubby and I hear Ben over at the sensory rice table introducing himself to group of girls.  He's playing it up with his sweet little smile, and rockin' his curly little locks.  I'm pretty sure I heard him exchanging a recipe for Chicken Cordon Blue last Monday.  He reminds me of Ferris Bueller sometimes...



In other news, Thanksgiving is upon us.  Everybody will be coming to our house for turkey and to celebrate Lauren Allison's 5th birthday!  Her birthday is 2 days before Thanksgiving this year.  Some years it actually falls ON Turkey Day.  In fact when she was born, it was the day before Thanksgiving and we spent Turkey Day in the hospital and our family came to us with turkey :)   It was so nice...and it feels like that was a minute ago...but it was 5 whole years ago. So with her birthday coming up, Ben seems to think it's his birthday, too....but his is in February.  He's at that stage where he wants to do everything Lauren is doing.  So of course as we were discussing Lauren's bday cake (she wants Hello Kitty) - Ben is planning out what kind of cake he wants.  Hopefully he doesn't want a Barack Obama cake like he did last year.  He also has a list of gifts he'd like, too.  I wouldn't be surprised if he was registered at Toy's R Us or William Sonoma.

Ok, well I'm heading over to BJ's - just saw there's a sale on a 36 pack on yellow rain ponchos....and really - you never know what this week will bring.  Luckily I'll have Brynn as my right hand girl to help me keep the house under control...